A new multi-market study by Mastercard has found that Nigerian small businesses are more optimistic about their prospects than the broader operating environment might suggest, with 81 per cent of SMEs surveyed expressing confidence about the next 12 months and 68 per cent expecting revenue growth.
The Mastercard SME Confidence Index, released on 3 July 2026 and covering markets across Africa and the wider EMEA region, captures a picture of resilience and ambition among Nigerian entrepreneurs — but also one of persistent structural constraints that optimism alone cannot resolve.
Read also: Nigerian SMEs spend 40% of profits on electricity as N48 trillion credit gap widens
What the data shows
The most striking finding from the Nigerian component of the study is the unanimous endorsement of digital payments as a growth necessity. Every single business surveyed — 100 per cent — agreed that digital and online payments are critical to their future success, a figure that reflects how fundamentally the commercial reality of Nigerian SMEs has shifted over the past five years.
Beyond payments, 79 per cent of Nigerian SMEs identified training and upskilling of staff as a top priority, and 60 per cent viewed stronger physical and digital security as critical to supporting growth — a finding that reflects the rising awareness of cyber risk as businesses move more of their operations online.
The combination of high optimism, universal commitment to digital payments, and strong interest in staff development paints a picture of Nigerian entrepreneurs who are not waiting to be rescued. They are investing, adapting, and positioning — constrained not by ambition but by access.
Read also: ProvidusUnity Bank begins operations, creating a stronger platform for SME and retail banking
The credit gap that sits beneath the optimism
The constraint that looms largest is financing. Sixty-nine per cent of Nigerian SMEs surveyed are actively seeking credit to fund their expansion — a figure that reflects genuine growth ambition. But that ambition is colliding with a lending environment where commercial rates exceed 30 per cent and most small businesses lack the documentation or collateral to qualify for formal loans.
The study found that 63 per cent of SME owners are currently using personal cards for business expenses — a data point that reveals how blurred the line between personal and business finance remains for most Nigerian entrepreneurs. It signals resourcefulness, but also the absence of dedicated business credit tools that are accessible, affordable, and sized appropriately for how small businesses actually operate.
Read also: Wema Bank, EIB Global seal €50m deal to fund Nigerian SMEs focusing on women and youth
What Mastercard is doing about the acceptance gap
Mastercard’s Country Manager for West Africa Ngozi Megwa, writing ahead of the report’s publication, identified a widespread acceptance gap as one of the most consequential barriers to SME growth in Nigeria. Consumers are increasingly ready to pay digitally, she noted, but a significant proportion of merchants are not yet equipped to receive those payments — limiting the commercial benefit of digital adoption for both buyers and sellers.
In response, Mastercard has launched QR-on-Card solutions in partnership with Wema Bank and UBA, enabling 1.8 million Nigerian SMEs and gig workers to accept payments instantly with no hardware costs. The initiative directly addresses the cost barrier that has historically prevented smaller merchants from accessing card payment infrastructure.
For a trader who cannot afford a POS terminal, a QR code embedded in their existing bank card is not a technology upgrade. It is the difference between being part of the digital economy and watching it grow around them.
