The National Entrepreneurship Research Institute (NERI) was established as a specialized agency to deepen Nigeria’s knowledge economy through entrepreneurial research, policy innovation, and enterprise development. Conceived as part of a national strategy to promote inclusive growth, NERI operates under the mandate to generate data-driven insights that strengthen Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and support evidence-based decision-making across sectors.
NERI was founded as a response to the growing demand for structured, research-based approaches to economic development and enterprise advancement in Nigeria. Built to serve as both a policy think tank and a capacity-building engine, the Institute was created to provide an evidence-driven platform that empowers institutions, entrepreneurs, and public agencies with the knowledge, tools, and strategy needed to nurture sustainable entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
The idea for the National Entrepreneurship Research Institute (NERI) was officially activated in 2021, following years of strategic consultations between national development stakeholders, academic institutions, and entrepreneurship advocacy bodies. It was legally constituted under the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to strengthen Nigeria’s research-to-policy pipeline in the entrepreneurship sector.
NERI is officially established under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to serve as Nigeria’s primary research and policy institute focused on entrepreneurship development.
The Institute launches the Entrepreneurship Knowledge Index (EKI), a nationwide research project designed to map the challenges and opportunities facing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
NERI partners with leading academic institutions and innovation hubs to initiate the Policy-to-Practice Labs, a flagship program designed to translate research insights into scalable enterprise interventions for public and private sectors.
NERI inaugurates its National Enterprise Data Observatory, creating a centralized repository of entrepreneurship trends, startup performance metrics, and investor behavior patterns across Nigeria.
NERI rolls out the Founders & Policymakers Dialogue Series, a quarterly convening that brings together entrepreneurs, regulators, and researchers to co-design actionable solutions for Nigeria’s evolving business landscape.
Over the years, the National Entrepreneurship Research Institute (NERI) has emerged as a key driver of entrepreneurial transformation and evidence-based policymaking in Nigeria. Its contributions span across multiple sectors and demographics, with notable achievements including:
NERI’s research and data-driven recommendations have directly influenced national MSME strategies, regulatory frameworks, and intervention models, contributing to a more enabling environment for entrepreneurs.
NERI has facilitated partnerships between universities, business incubators, and development agencies, ensuring that entrepreneurial education is aligned with market realities and national economic goals.
Through targeted programs and baseline studies, NERI has helped spotlight and support women-led businesses, rural microenterprises, and youth innovators, ensuring inclusivity in enterprise development.
NERI’s robust research outputs, including national surveys and state-level enterprise mappings, have filled critical knowledge gaps in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, empowering both government and private sector stakeholders with reliable insights.
As part of its commitment to decentralize entrepreneurship research and make data-driven policymaking accessible across Nigeria, the National Entrepreneurship Research Institute (NERI) has launched regional hubs across the six geopolitical zones. These centers serve as grassroots engines for field research, policy testing, enterprise diagnostics, and innovation development.
NERI’s pilot hub was established in Ilorin to coordinate entrepreneurship research activities across North Central states. The center has since facilitated three statewide entrepreneurship data mapping exercises and supported multiple academic-industry collaborations.
This hub serves as the home of NERI’s MSME Policy-to-Practice Lab and has become a testing ground for scaling enterprise support frameworks in semi-urban communities.
NERI launched this center to support innovation in youth-led businesses and artisan clusters across the South East. It also hosts NERI’s first Business Formalization Observatory.
With Kano as the economic nerve center of Northern Nigeria, this hub supports trade-centered entrepreneurship research and SME scalability frameworks for informal markets.
This center focuses on coastal and green entrepreneurship, working closely with environmental enterprises and youth-led climate ventures.
NERI’s most recent addition, this hub aims to strengthen data collection in underserved regions, with a focus on displaced entrepreneurs and post-conflict enterprise recovery.
