Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are losing between ₦5 trillion and ₦10 trillion annually to employee fraud and workplace corruption, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise has revealed.
The policy think-tank made this known in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, and shared on Sunday.
According to the CPPE, occupational fraud has become one of the most serious yet underreported threats to Nigeria’s entrepreneurial economy.
The organisation warned that internal fraud has moved beyond being a routine management issue. It now poses a significant economic risk capable of undermining business sustainability, investor confidence, and national growth.
The CPPE said employee-related corruption — including cash theft, payroll manipulation, procurement fraud, and inventory diversion — is eroding already thin profit margins in the MSME sector.
Many small businesses, it noted, operate with weak internal controls. They also rely on informal accounting systems and high-trust management structures. This makes them especially vulnerable to financial misconduct.
“Employee corruption and internal fraud have become a silent but significant drain on business sustainability and profitability,” the statement said.
It added that the scale of the losses runs into trillions of naira annually.
“Employee corruption and occupational fraud constitute one of the largest hidden drains on Nigeria’s entrepreneurial economy, with annual losses ranging from ₦5 trillion to ₦10 trillion,” the CPPE stated.
The think-tank stressed that tackling employee fraud requires a coordinated effort. It called on business owners, regulators, and policymakers to work together to strengthen governance and accountability systems.
The CPPE reiterated that protecting MSMEs is critical to safeguarding Nigeria’s broader economic stability. It described the fight against workplace corruption not merely as a managerial concern, but as a strategic economic imperative.
