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Tag: SMEs’

  • FirstBank deepens SMEs product lines

    FirstBank deepens SMEs product lines

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited is demonstrating its commitment to the success of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by introducing array of products to the market.

    The bank has a cocktail of products and bespoke solutions, specifically designed to help grow SMEs and enable them play out their business scripts and fulfill their goals and aspirations.

    The lender offers advisory services that are tailored to meet the needs and aspirations of their SME customers.

    The Import and Export Finance is another product that helps the customer finance imports and exports as well as track all transactions. The Import Finance facility would provide a structured and controllable mechanism through which the bank may provide finance to trading companies to support the importation of goods.

    The lender also uses the Payments and Collections Solutions to facilitate effective money collection from distributors and customers of SMEs. With these solutions, third party payments can now be made with ease. The Key Distributorship Finance is another vital product designed to ensure that SMEs never run out of stock and timely execute customer orders.

    According to the FirstBank’s spokesperson, Folake Ani-Mumuney, the Bank is committed to supporting its customers with customised products and services designed to ensure a continuous success story for every SME.

  • Heritage bank boosts SMEs with N500m grant

    Heritage bank boosts SMEs with N500m grant

    Heritage Bank Limited on Thursday launched a N500 million Young Entrepreneurs and Students (YES) Grant to boost small industries. The initiative, which is in partnership with the Nigerian Youth Professional Forum (NYPF), will, according to the bank, support students and young entrepreneurs toward socio-economic freedom.

    The Managing Director, Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, in his remarks at the occasion in Lagos, explained that the bank’s support for the programme arose from the fact that the initiative aligned with the bank’s vision to help create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.

    The Managing Director, who was represented by the bank’s Group Head, Market Strategy, Mr. Obioma Emenike, added that the bank will also support the project in terms of training the beneficiaries, disbursement of the grant as well as in the monitoring and evaluation of the project’s milestones as agreed with the beneficiaries.

    “We have been playing strongly in the education and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) sectors of the economy. This project syncs with our mission and vision as a bank. The age bracket of 18 to 40 years for the beneficiaries also aligns with our corporate goal, just like the key sectors which include agriculture, ICT and creative industry, identified for the project are pivotal for economic growth” he said.

    The NYPF, according to its Chairman, Mr. Moses Siasia, is a non-governmental organisation conceived by a group of young professionals with the mission to promote innovative ideas for socio-economic development.

    Siasia said the programme is geared towards assisting both aspiring and existing young entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses, and ultimately create jobs and distribute wealth in the economy.

    For the students, the grant can be accessed for tuition fees to help low income students and technological research and innovation.  Students in Nigeria can access up to N500, 000 only. Students in the United Kingdom can access up to 3000 pounds, while those in the US can access up to $5,000.

    For young entrepreneurs, the grant will be available for the following target sectors: agriculture, creative industry, Information and Communication Technology (ICT).  In each category, an entrepreneur with an existing business can access up to N2 million.

    Before the latest initiative, Heritage Bank had packaged a N200m loan facility for young graduates willing to advance their dreams in small-scale businesses. It is also collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the CBN initiative, Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP).

  • Expert advises SMEs owners on ICT

    Expert advises SMEs owners on ICT

    Consultant, Teleios Consulting, Adeola Kayode has urged small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owners to establish online arms to grow their businesses.

    He spoke during the launch of his book, Digital Epidemic, in Lagos at the weekend.

    Kayode, also Principal, Teleios Online Marketing Academy (TOMA), stressed the need for small businesses to increase their  investment in technology, adding that they are operating at a time   online subsidiaries are crucial to their survival.

    According to him, digitalisation is helping  businesses to grow rapidly, noting that Nigerians are become active online consumers. With digital technologies having an impact on all businesses, he said, SMEs can’t afford to ignore the opportunities the internet can offer.

    For small and medium sized businesses, he said a digital presence could empower firms to find new markets, sell more products, and increase revenue.

    He said it was vital that organisations use the digital tools at their disposal to ensure they are able to take advantage of growth opportunities. The growth of e-commerce, he noted, leaves SMEs with little option but to invest in online technologies, such as SEO optimisation, Google adwords, among others, to attract more customers online.

    He said SMEs should focus on creating their brand identity and uniqueness that can differentiate them from others to showcase in the market.

    He emphasised the need for the Startups and SMEs to pursue ‘digital marketing’ and position themselves as thought leaders in their space.

    His book looks at companies doing the best marketing campaigns and how they use digital elements to deliver scale.

    Brand Activation Specialist at Google Nigeria, Lanre Aina stressed the need for brands to brush up digital marketing  skills to deliver effective ads in the marketplace.

    The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) President, Kelechi Nwosu, said with digital marketing campaigns, dramatic changes in advertising as well as marketing have been observed.

    He noted, however, that digital marketing have become important options with regards to reaching a wider audience.

    According to him, social media have created useful marketing options to businesses.

    He urged business owners to take advantage of the book as it provides useful information that can help them achieve success with online advertising, tools of digital marketing.

  • Foundation seeks improved funding, support for SMEs

    Foundation seeks improved funding, support for SMEs

    Executive Director, FATE Foundation, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, has called for improved finance options and support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to grow their businesses.

    Addressing the  Foundation’s Alumni Knowledge Building Programme in Lagos,Mrs Adeyemi said SMEs were facing challenges in sourcing funds from banks,  stressing the need to reduce barriers that are hampering them from getting access to funding.

    She said many small enterprises could be helped if the banking sector did more to ensure that SMEs are aware of the financing options available to them.

    She said the forum was meant to expose the opportunities provided by the SME finance market for entrepreneurs.

    In his presentation titled: “Financing opportunities for Nigerian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES),” the Divisional Head, SME – South, Bank of Industry, Abdul-Ganiyu Mohammed, said small and medium-sized enterprises are not only the backbone of the economy but  also vital in generating new jobs and driving innovation.

    Nationwide, he said, there are 37million SMEs. These include micro 36.99million, small  68,168, and medium 4,670. In all, he said Lagos State, has the highest number of SMEs 11,663, while Kwara State has the least 226.

    In terms of micro enterprises, he said Lagos has the highest number  with 3,224,324, followed by Oyo State -1,864,954, and  Kano State 1,794,358. The total number of persons employed by the MSME sector as at December 2013, according to him, stood at 59.7million, representing 84.02 per cent of the total national labour force.

    Mohammed said the bank provides  long-term fund of up to three -15 years, including a moratorium of one to four years, depending on the source/line of credit, while concessionary interest rates are between four and 10 per cent depending on the credit.

    To reduce the rejection rate of loan applications that emanate from SMEs, he  said the bank  has engaged 122 Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) to help potential beneficiaries package their loan applications as well as mentor them after their loans have been approved to ensure proper utilisation and repayment. Each BDSP has been mandated to submit 10 loan applications to BoI yearly.

    Mohammed said BoI was undertaking cluster-based financing approach to achieve commodity-based industrialisation across the country.

    He reiterated the bank’s readiness to provide a range of financial advice and support, including direct financial readiness support for companies looking to raise finance through it.

    To relieve SMEs of their time and financial burden, the Unit Head, MSME, Sterling Bank Plc, Ms. Omolara Akinfolarin,  said the bank was  financing entrepreneurs in member-organisations.

    She said also the bank was ready to support start-ups by introducing business partners from its network.

    She said the bank has established an entrepreneurial  academy.  Customers, she said, would benefit from courses and networking events.

    She said Sterling Bank has developed some web-based tools intended to improve awareness among SMEs of the funding options available.

    During the programme, the entrepreneurs were given an opportunity to present their questions. Participants wanted the banks to make it easier for small firms to raise money.

  • KPMG urges tax relief for SMEs

    KPMG urges tax relief for SMEs

    Granting tax relief to new businesses will improve the economy, the Associate Director, Tax, Regulatory, & People Services, KPMG,Mrs Ehile Adetola Aibangbee, has said.

    Mrs Aibangbee said more new businesses could be helped to  get off the ground through pioneer tax status  boosting  growth and transforming  the economy.

    Mrs Aibangbee said  more startups could flourish while more entrepreneurs take advantage of the pioneer status incentive which enables a company to make reasonable levels of profit within its formative years or initial period of expansion.

    Earlier,while addressing  Fate Foundation’s  Alumni Knowledge Building Session in Lagos, she  said there are many  incentives available to encourage investment that small businesses were not taking advantage of, adding that the government has done a lot to  support the growth of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector through tax incentives.

    She, however, noted that the need to harmonise taxes between the states and local government councils to prevent multi taxations citing examples such as land use taxes collected by both the state and local government councils.

    She said enforcement and compliance by all the levels of government agencies would make the harmonisation structure beneficial to the economy.

    According to her, the government faces major constraints in its efforts to enhance revenue collection as a large number of SMEs are not paying their taxes.

    She said SMEs that are registered are  finding  it very difficult to fulfil tax obligations due to the complexity of the regulations.

    Mrs Aibangbee warned small business owners to expect new taxes as a way to raise money to implement the budget.

    Apart from the personal income, sales taxes, company income taxes,she said government was going to introduce mansion and road taxes.

    She reiterated that the government is going to rely heavily on the tax sector for its revenue.

  • Driving entrepreneurship, funding support for SMEs

    Driving entrepreneurship, funding support for SMEs

    The passion to provide financial backup for prospective entrepreneurs to launch their ideas and grooming them to become big businesses could be interesting. Sterling Bank’s Meet the Executive (MTE) initiative, a business plan competition with opportunities for winners to access grants to finance their businesses, is already creating new generation entrepreneurs. COLLINS NWEZE writes on the lender’s commitment to entrepreneurship and support for intelligent business ideas.

    Entrepreneurship is the soul of every thriving economy. That explains while forward looking organisations are giving priority to projects that get more people into entrepreneurship schemes needed to galvanise the economy and create a productive workforce.

    Sterling Bank’s Meet the Executive (MTE)  initiative, is one of those plans by the lender to  broaden  opportunities for young entrepreneurs to achieve their life ambitions of creating wealth and developing the economy. The MTE is a social media-led initiative geared towards encouraging and supporting small businesses and budding entrepreneurs.

    Speaking at the  flag-off  of  Season 11 of the programme in Lagos at the weekend, Co- Founder, Elearn.ng, Michael Onobote, who was the top five winners in the maiden edition of the MTE initiative, said  the programme ignited his  drive to launch his company.

    “The MTE initiative was the springboard for us to start Elearn.ng, a listing platform for vocational skills providers to list their businesses and have a booking feature implemented on the platform. So, their customers can find them online, and book their services with instant e-mail alert or SMS. We also have an online learning feature whereby people who are interested in learning online can come and subscribe to a course and learn how to do the business while we get our fees,” he told The Nation.

    Onobote explained that during the MTE initiative, the lender provided compensation cash prize for winners as well as business support. “When we wanted to launch our company, we sent the bank an e-mail for them to know where we are. We have been in constant communication with the bank since 2014 when the maiden edition was held,” he said.

    He explained that there are a lot of vocational skills providers such as photographers, bead makers, makeup artistes among others whose services are constantly in huge demand.

    “Most people think it is all about getting a white collar job, but there are so much potentials unemployed graduates can have when they have vocational skills. I see vocational skills as a key point in national development. We just launched in the last three weeks, and it is amazing we have about 26 signed up, and we have three skilled traders lined up already with their courses on our platform. So, within three weeks, I think we have made significant progress,” he said.

    Speaking further on the MTE initiative, he said: “It was a good springboard to launch my idea because if I did not come for the Meet the Executive Competition, it would not have been easy for me to launch my ideas. For people who have ideas they want to launch, I think now is the best time”.

    The young entrepreneur explains how it works: “The way it works is that you go to our platform, list your business and then you write a small profile about yourself especially the things you have done. Once you upload the data in our platform, we create a booking feature for you, which you can share with your customers. The customers can then book you online, and you also have visibility to other people who want to book photographer for their next wedding, or make-up artiste for their party. We make our money from monthly subscription, and we also have a revenue sharing that we get from the courses”.

    Another Co-Founder, Elearn.ng, Olanrewaju Odunowo, said the company is looking at the informal sector, adding that there are huge opportunities in that segment of the economy. He said that many of the vocational skills providers do not have Information Communication and Technology (ICT) skills but the company focuses on promoting their businesses while they focus on their skills.

    “One of the things is that we are solution providers, and we realised that there is so much focus on the formal sector. We are trying to ensure that those in the informal sector become more profitable. We believe we can empower them, and assist them grow their businesses,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “One of the challenges is that majority of the vocational skills providers do not have websites, so, we go to their shops to get them signed on”.

    Speaking on the MTE initiative, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director, Yemi Adeola said entrepreneurs that emerge from the Meet The Executive campaign get project-based grants and are always introduced to local and international investors.

    He said the programme is driven by the lender’s passion for helping budding entrepreneurs attain great heights.

    He advised the participants to persevere in the face of daunting challenges facing the subsector, adding that it is one’s ability to rise above limitations that determines the level of success. “Any economy anywhere is the world is driven by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). And unless we encourage them, create conducive atmosphere for them to operate, we will continue to struggle as an economy,” he said.

    He said the bank’s support for SMEs is also inline with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele’s vision of promoting small businesses and supporting them to become great business entities.

    Adeola said the bank is easier for the youth to think beyond all the negatives in the society, and become creative entrepreneurs. “For the bank, this is a social corporate responsibility. We owe it a duty to continue to create employment, encourage entrepreneurs and also they will definitely become our customers. Sterling Bank has done a lot in this area, we are introducing in an innovative manner competitions, ideas, innovations; making it possible for young Nigerians to be able to think beyond the negative ills we have witnessed in the society today,” he said.

    The bank’s Executive Director, Abubakar Suleiman, said the lender’s motive for sponsoring the MTE  initiative was not to make profit but to ensure that Nigeria has entrepreneurs who are well equipped to run businesses that are profitable and sustainable.

    He said although capital is a critical factor in entrepreneurship, it is not the main challenge faced by aspiring entrepreneurs. He said many of the young entrepreneurs have no knowledge of accounting, book keeping and other skills needed to successfully run a business.

    The MTE initiative is currently in the “Call for Entries” stage where interested participants submit their business ideas and plans on the bank’s website, following which a review conducted by an independent consultant-HT Limited. Other stages include the training and the final stage wherein the entrepreneurs present their revised business plans to a panel comprising top executives of the bank, judges and venture capitalists.

    Suleiman said: “We realised that there are lot of young people out there who have a lot of credible ideas but they need people to guide them so that they can run their businesses successfully,” he stated.

    Speaking on the initiative, the Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Shina Atilola, said, “Today’s economic realities have necessitated the birth of a crop of businesses led by visionary individuals called entrepreneurs.

    ‘’Although these individuals have been described severally as the drivers of the economy, they encounter a number of challenges, chiefly the need for funding and financial advisory. These are the gaps we are trying to fill with the ‘Meet the Executive’ initiative”, he explained.

    He explained that the goal of the second edition of the MTE is to bring to the fore, the creative, innovative and brilliant ideas housed by Nigerians with a focus on developing their ideas and bringing them to life.

    “With up to N6 million worth of grants available, participants will jostle to be short-listed among the final 25 that will defend their business plans or ideas before a panel. The MTE initiative creates an avenue for entrepreneurs to have an offline engagement experience with the bank,” he said.

    Other winners in the first edition are Gbemisola Esho, a female entrepreneur who specialises in making shoes and bags from raw leather and Ankra fabrics; Rufai Adeyemi who runs a restaurant specialised in aquatic produce and Daniel Momma, a pet bottle recycler. All these individuals received business grants totaling N5 million.

     

    Partnership with FSD

    Sterling Bank Plc also signed an agreement with Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD), a vocational training institution, to provide training programmes for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The pact, the bank said, is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive to support skill acquisition among youths to prepare them for self-employment.

    Under the agreement, the bank will sponsor the training of NYSC corps members in various vocations during the course of their service year in alignment with its expressed purpose of enriching lives. The lender has so far funded the training of about 100 NYSC members in various vocations during the pilot stage through the NYSC-SAED (Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development.

    It has also equipped a 20-seat ICT laboratory of the FSD which will provide all participants with rotational access to free ICT training.

    Sterling Bank in a statement explained that the need to support the development of skills among the youth has become inevitable given the growing rate of unemployment in the country. “We believe that the steps we have taken so far would help in ameliorating the problem of unemployment in the country and support other initiatives such as the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) and the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOU-WIN) introduced by the government to checkmate the relatively high rate of unemployment in the country.”

     

    Social lender scheme

    In its determination to keep supporting the youthful population, Sterling Bank has repackaged the Social Lender Scheme by increasing the minimum on-line micro credit from N3,000 to N10,000.

    The scheme was launched last year and the bank has disbursed over N6 million to over 2000 on-line customers. To date, over 90 per cent of the loans have been paid back by the beneficiaries.

    Social Lender, the first in Nigeria is a modified peer to peer lending solution using the Social Media Platforms through which micro-credit is offered to members of these communities. The scheme provides a platform for online fans and followers who are customers of Sterling Bank to obtain these monies via social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

    The bank in a statement explained that the scheme was repackaged with added benefits because of its success story for the bank, the quality of feedback from members of the on-line community and the impressive pay back attitude of the beneficiaries.

    Also, the bank has begun the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Academy in furtherance of the bank’s commitment to enriching lives by focusing on the unique needs of its entrepreneurial customers. The project is also meant to promote private sector involvement in the development of small businesses and the Nigerian economy at large.

    Atilola said: “The Sterling MSME Academy is aimed at capacity building for existing and emerging micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to enable them build viable businesses and position them to access funds for expansion. MSMEs would also enjoy access to relevant and reliable business intelligence and information that would help them to navigate the challenging operating environment.”

     

  • Rosabon Financial Services deepens SMEs’ funding

    Rosabon Financial Services has reiterated its commitment to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) financing. The firm has also clinched the ‘Best SME Financial Advisory Nigeria 2015 Awards given it by UK based Capital Finance International, CFI.co, an international print journal and an online resource reporting business and finance trends across the world.

    The annual award, CFI.co said, seeks out individuals and organisations that contribute significantly to the convergence of economies and truly add value for all stakeholders.

    To win the award, Rosabon Financial Services, along with two other Nigerian companies, was nominated by CFI.co audiences, and then shortlisted for further consideration by a panel. The CFI.co’s research team gathered additional information to help reach a final decision. The senior members of nominee management team provided the judges with a personal view on what sets their companies and institutions apart from the competition.

    Rosabon was declared winner in this category based on its outstanding records on financial performance, risk management, corporate governance, customer services, innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility policies, market leadership, transparency, response to market demands and strength of nominations.

    With the award, Rosabon has joined the league of top players in Nigerian corporate world such as Zenith Bank, Schlumberger Nigeria, CRC Credit Bureau, ARM Investment Managers and PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria which won different categories of the award.

    Speaking on the award, Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Rosabon Financial Services, Chukwuma Ochonogor, said: “The CFI.Co award is a great recognition that reiterates Rosabon’s commitment to economic growth and development by providing fast, easy and reliable funding and advisory services to small and medium sized enterprises, to enable them run effectively as well as expand their businesses whilst creating jobs for the good of the economy”.

    He said SMEs remains major economic drivers but there has been a huge gap in performing this role largely due to financing risks adding that his firm is committed to bridging the funding gap for SMEs.

    “Rosabon Financial Services maintains one of the industry’s most successful client development strategies which have seen it multiply its revenue stream. The firm offers a full suite of products carefully crafted to fill the diverse needs of businesses across all sectors of the economy,” he said.

    Rosabon’s Head of Strategy & Marketing, Chidimma Onyeokoro said: “We are grateful to CFI for recognizing our intent funding of SMEs.

  • How we’ll position SMEs, by Lagos Commissioner

    How we’ll position SMEs, by Lagos Commissioner

    The Lagos State Government has put in place a framework to ginger Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to perform optimally in a conducive environment. This will allow them play their role as the engine room of the economy, Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives Prince Rotimi Ogunleye has said.

    Speaking with The Nation, Prince Ogunleye said because of the vantage position of Lagos State as the economic hub for sub Sahara Africa, the state government through the ministry is determined to boost SMEs to contribute meaningfully to industrial production and create a forum for the diversification of the economy.

    He said as part of the ministry’s efforts at getting Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) to survive into maturity, “We have the corporate assembly, which we are going to do in this first quarter to call the operators in the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to meet with Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode so that they can discuss various issues affecting them, which can be tackled through government.

    The programme is the fifth in the series usually hosted by the governor. The Commissioner said the ministry was working with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to look at MSMEs’ capacity building and production.

    “We have the industrial and enterprise zones for the micro operators. We have the industrial park for the small scale operators and we have the industrial estate for the medium operators,” he said.

    Ogunleye noted that the industrial parks are scattered in various parts of the state, such as Ijanikin, Badagry, Matori 1 and 2, Yaba, Imota, Igberigbe, Ikorodu, Igbonla in Epe, Ibeju Lekki and others. According to him, the efforts are in the hope of moving the nation away from the current mono product system centred on oil.

    He said, for instance, that the Lekki Free Zone has been specifically packaged to address that. He added that the Lekki Free Zone Development Company is saddled with the development of the project, which covers 16, 500 hectares of land in the Lekki area of the state.

    “Right now, we are in the first phase, which covers 3, 000 hectares,” he said, adding that the agreement is 60/40 equity sharing ratio between the Lagos State Government and the Chinese consortium of China Africa Lekki Investment Limited (CALIL). While CALIL has 60 per cent shareholding, Lagos State has 40 per cent.

    He further explained that in the Lekki free zone enterprise, Lagos State Government is not directed involved, rather she has a limited liability company known as Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited that represents her interest and also seek investors all over the world to invest in the free zone.

  • KekeAds unveils new product for Smes, berths in Lagos

    An answer to the constant struggle by the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria to grow their businesses is now available through a new option, the ‘KekeAds Find Us Noticeboard Advertising’.

    The advantage and higher recall rates of transit media are high compared to any traditional media. A focused research was carried out to highlight the effectiveness for small businesses wishing to reach various segments of the Nigerians.

    After developing the Keke Display system advertising media for big brands, where there is an option of advertising on the inside and outside placed panels, they have moved to developing the concept for the SMEs. The Find Us Noticeboard service allows a number of companies to share the passenger facing panels inside the tricycles. Up to 10 SMEs can optimally use a panel and have enough space to display their messages, addresses and contact numbers to passenger while they commute. The service is very cost effective and from as low as N500 per month, a company can reach an attentive audience.

    The benefits of this advertising, apart from the obvious attention that this media attracts, are many, and as up to 18,000 passenger interactions in a month can be encountered by a  Keke; it has a very low cost per eyeball ratio. It moves with the crowd, catering to a captive audience that has the time to digest and note the numbers of any business they find interesting. The media has immense potential of be used as an innovative form of classifieds advertising.

    The most common myth that many advertisers had with this media is the proof of its effectiveness.

    Head Marketing, Rikies Cakes, Mr. Sam Akubuine, says, ‘the management, apart from being averse to advertising on this media, doubted it would reach its target audience. For this, we tested this media with only 20 Kekes to do a sample study, to our surprise there were numerous calls from interested people which lead to an increase in our sales of birthday and wedding cakes. Such reach to the audience from such a low number of Kekes was totally unexpected and delightful at the same time‘.

    Facing the steep challenge of convincing the advertisers for this new media and its effectiveness, KekeAds has expanded its operations across all the state capitals through strategic alliances with franchise operators and agencies. The national roll-out, which kicked off in November, last year, is offering a special introductory offer to brands wishing to test the system. The Lagos leg of the roll-out will comes up next month.

    Marketing Manager, Mr. I. G. Nwachukwu, said: ‘’Nigeria is a vast market with millions of consumers on the road each day, most of the time stuck in traffic. Many times during the day, these consumers would be inside a Keke for long periods and would then be the best example of a captive, wide demographic audience who have no choice but to absorb the messages displayed in the backs of the Kekes.’’

  • ‘SMEDAN trained 25,000 SMEs in 2015’

    ‘SMEDAN trained 25,000 SMEs in 2015’

    The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) trained 25,000 small business owners in various vocational and enterprise development programmes in 2015.

    The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mallam Bature Masari, who made this known to reporters in Abuja, said the agency had strategised to provide more services to Nigerians in the current year.

    “No fewer than 25,000 small business owners were trained under various vocational and enterprise development training programmes of the agency in 2015. This includes about 4, 000 small business operators trained under SMEDAN’s 2015 capital project implementation across all states of the federation and the Federal capital, Abuja. In addition to that, more than 1, 000 business owners and starters have received various trainings, mentoring and counselling under the National Enterprise Development Policy piloted by SMEDAN.

    “Also, more than 20,000 other business operators accessed SMEDAN empowerment and training programmes through the implementation of the 2015/2016 zonal intervention capital programmes of the National Assembly,’’ Masari said.

    He said the zonal intervention capital programmes of the National Assembly were aimed at bringing succour and economic empowerment to Nigerians in the senatorial districts and federal constituencies.

    Masari said the agency had adopted strategies to provide its services to more Nigerians by redesigning its training programmes to run throughout the year.

    “From this year, the agency will be conducting its training programmes quarterly instead of waiting till the last quarter of the year,’’ he added.