The Federal Government has inaugurated the Steering Committee for the National Digital Invoicing and Financial Optimisation Strategy (NDIFS), aimed at improving access to working capital for businesses.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the strategy, approved by President Bola Tinubu, should go beyond digitising compliance and address the cash-flow challenges facing businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“For many SMEs, the constraint is cash conversion. And when cash is trapped in receivables, production slows, inventories tighten, suppliers weaken, and export opportunities are lost,” she said.
Oduwole said the NDIFS should establish a “national receivables-finance corridor” that would enable verified invoices from exporters, manufacturers, agro-processors, fast-moving consumer goods value chains and eligible public-sector counterparties to be converted into transparent, regulated and affordable working capital.
According to the minister, the proposed corridor will require four interconnected components: a trusted digital system for authentic invoices and validated transaction data; a legal framework covering assignment, enforceability, priority and collateral; a financing system involving banks, development finance institutions, fintechs, insurers and guarantors; and a market network made up of businesses, exporters, anchor buyers and suppliers.
“None of these rails can operate in isolation,” Oduwole said. “Trusted data without financing will not solve the liquidity problem. Financing without legal certainty will not scale. Technology without interoperability will create new silos.”
She said the committee’s six-pillar architecture and phased implementation roadmap must be supported by effective execution and measurable results.
Oduwole said the strategy should be assessed based on the value of verified receivables entering the system, financing unlocked, SMEs and productive suppliers reached, financing costs and turnaround times, repayment performance, and its impact on inventory cycles, production, supplier resilience and exports.
She outlined five key priorities for the committee, including designing e-invoicing to support financing from the outset, developing interoperable systems instead of closed platforms, protecting data and cybersecurity, starting with real transactions, and assigning clear owners and deadlines to each action.
The minister directed the secretariat and relevant institutions to develop a controlled 90-day pilot involving selected exporters, productive value chains and anchor businesses, with measurable outcomes.
“I would like the secretariat and relevant institutions to develop a controlled 90-day pilot pathway around selected exporters, productive value chains and anchor businesses, with measurable outcomes,” she said.
Oduwole also urged the committee to make its next meeting focused on implementation, with a dashboard tracking milestones, responsible officials, deadlines, dependencies, risks and required decisions.
“If we cannot measure the economic outcome, we cannot claim success,” she said.
The committee’s mandate covers revenue administration, monetary and financial infrastructure, securities regulation, industry, trade, insurance, development finance, SMEs and the organised private sector.
Its draft terms of reference include advising on strategic direction and sequencing, reviewing the implementation roadmap, identifying policy and regulatory measures, promoting institutional alignment, managing delivery risks and supporting stakeholder engagement.
