The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has announced plans to partner with Payxy, a financial technology firm, to boost market access for small businesses through its e-commerce platform, ‘Oloja by Payxy’. The Deputy Director of SMEDAN, Bunmi Kole-Dawodu, disclosed this during the formal launch of the platform on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, in Lagos.

Kole-Dawodu noted that the partnership, which would be solidified through a Memorandum of Understanding, aims to integrate more SMEs into the digital economy to drive global sales. According to him, the platform addresses the perennial challenge of market access by providing virtual shopfronts for small business owners.

“It is a platform where all businesses have their own virtual shopfront where they can sell products to individuals or customers. The app’s uniqueness lies in offering multiple solutions in one place; beyond being a shopfront, it combines inventory management, record keeping, and other tools tailored to SME challenges,” he said.

The Marketing Manager of Proximaforte Ltd, the parent company of Oloja by Payxy, Damilola Adeniji, described the innovation as an online shopfront built to revolutionise Nigeria’s e-commerce landscape. “We are giving brands a platform to drive visibility and the ease of selling online with just a link,” Adeniji said. He added that the platform prioritises payment ease and strict data protection, noting that it had already gained significant traction.

Also speaking, the Head of Partnerships, Business and Operations at Proximaforte Ltd, Chuks Anitche, assured stakeholders of the platform’s regulatory compliance. He clarified that while onboarding on Oloja is free, transaction charges apply and are transparently communicated to merchants.

“Oloja by Payxy was created to ease the burden of ensuring last-mile fulfilment and everything in between. It was made by Africans for Africans and global businesses as a solution to the struggles for sales despite the vast e-commerce platforms available,” Anitche added.

The Product Lead for Proximaforte Ltd, Chigozie Obiora-Duru, explained that while Payxy serves as the flagship payment gateway infrastructure, Oloja acts as the marketplace: “The idea is to move businesses from isolated selling into collective sales and distribution within African countries and globally.”