The Federal Government has begun rolling out a new strategy that will allow small and medium sized businesses, manufacturers and exporters to convert unpaid invoices directly into usable working capital, as part of a broader push to ease the persistent cash flow problems facing Nigerian enterprises.

The initiative, known as the National Digital Invoicing and Financial Optimisation Strategy, was formally set in motion on Thursday in Lagos at the inaugural meeting of its Steering Committee, chaired by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole.

The strategy has already received the backing of President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking at the meeting, Oduwole explained that verified digital invoices generated through the new system should eventually allow businesses to unlock cash that is currently tied up in outstanding receivables, turning what is owed to them into transparent and affordable financing rather than debt they have to borrow separately. She noted that when payments remain trapped in unpaid invoices for too long, it slows down production, tightens inventories, weakens suppliers along the value chain and ultimately limits how much Nigerian firms can export.

The minister said the plan was to build what she described as a national receivables finance corridor, through which verified invoices from exporters, manufacturers, agro processors, fast moving consumer goods companies and even eligible government counterparties could be financed quickly and reliably. She stressed that the strategy has to go beyond simply digitising compliance and paperwork, warning that cleaner invoices alone would mean little if productive businesses were left starved of cash at the end of the process.

To keep the programme grounded, Oduwole directed the committee to track it against measurable outcomes rather than good intentions alone, including the value of verified receivables entering the system, how much financing is actually unlocked, the number of SMEs and exporters reached, the cost of financing, how quickly it is disbursed and how well it is repaid. She also called for a controlled ninety day pilot involving selected exporters and anchor businesses to test whether digital invoices can genuinely translate into faster access to working capital before the system is scaled nationwide.

The Steering Committee itself draws representatives across revenue administration, monetary and financial infrastructure, securities regulation, industry and trade, insurance, development finance and the organised private sector, reflecting how many different arms of government and the economy the initiative is expected to touch.