Matilda (Tilda) Ndu Mmegwa has emerged as 2025 winner of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-ESRC Impact Award.She won the prestigious award under the Coventry University ESRC-IAA post-graduate research, for her PhD research on: “Driving growth for SMEs via the use of sustainable Finance: the case of Nigeria”.
The award is a testament of Tilda’s efforts to advance sustainable finance in the SMEs sector in Nigeria for socioeconomic growth.This reaffirms her keen drive for sustainability, innovation, competitiveness and inclusivity.In their remarks, the ESRC-IAA Panel of Expert Reviewers said, “This research has an extremely impressive list of beneficiaries and is remarkably ambitious in scope. This looks like a very worthy application with good potential for delivering real change
The Research looked at critical issues of sustainable growth, efficient resource utilisation and job creation challenge nations, especially the developing and emerging economies, including Nigeria.
Leveraging the research result should enable Nigeria to achieve the needed transformation of the SMEs sector.“Although Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have the potential to contribute significantly to addressing these challenges, they face major hindrances including ease of doing business, unfavorable policies, informalities, and significant finance gap. Traditional finance is expensive and short-term, and global shift to sustainability has increased investors’ eco-consciousness, making them prefer sustainable finance (SF) and sustainable businesses.
