Key Points
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Dangote SME support drives engagement at the Kano trade fair.
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New sugar packaging targets smaller traders across northern markets.
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The company emphasizes long-term SME development and skills transfer.
At the 2025 Kano International Trade Fair, the Dangote Group is giving even more support to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). This shows how committed they are to helping businesses grow in Nigeria’s commercial hub.
The event, which starts on November 22, is being sponsored by the company. It will have dedicated help desks and a place for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to show off their goods and meet potential partners.
Anthony Chiejina, Dangote’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, says that Kano is still at the heart of the group’s business operations and long-term growth strategy across the country. Dangote has one of its biggest rice mills in the city, and the company is building similar ones in Jigawa, Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi, and Sokoto, with a goal of reaching a total capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year.
Dangote gives SMEs real access
Dangote’s presence at the fair does more than help it financially. The company says it will set up special help desks at the event so that entrepreneurs can talk directly to its business units. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), this gives them rare chances to get into big supply chains, get advice from experts, and make new distribution partnerships that are usually hard to get.
Trade fair is where new products are launched
Dangote plans to show off new sugar packaging styles at the fair on its “Special Day.” These will include 100-gram sachets and 25-kilogram bags. The company says these sizes are meant to meet the needs of small stores and informal traders who have been asking for packaging that fits their business size and customer needs for a long time.
Dangote says that being at the fair gives him more visibility, but he also says that it fits with his larger goal of strengthening Nigeria’s industrial base by giving small and medium-sized businesses more power.
The company is asking traditional groups and businesses like the Kano Chamber of Commerce to help with backward integration, skills transfer, and building up the industrial capacity. Officials from KACCIMA say that Dangote’s partnership will include working with local businesses and helping young entrepreneurs develop their skills in a structured way.
