Simba Group has reiterated its commitment to empowering more Nigerians through its products and services. Business Head of Simba TVS, Mr. Manish Rohtagi, speaks with COLLINS NWEZE on the company’s partnership with Microfinance Banks, need for banks to lend more to customers, state of the economy, challenges faced by businesses operating in the country as well as its widespread investment.
can you tell us about the transport business and how the TVS brand is supporting the Nigerian economy?
Transport is essential to the functioning of any economy and is one of the main drivers of it. Our products address the last mile transport needs of Nigerians. It has been shown each tricycle or motorcycle sold creates employment for around four people as these machines not only require riders, but also mechanics, dealers and spares distributors among others. That’s even without considering our own employees. Hence, this industry is one of the biggest employment generators in the country.
Along with that, we have been running several programmes that empower the youths. We have worked with several government agencies including National Automotive Design Development Council (NADDC), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) among others and trained countless people into becoming keke riders or mechanics for free. We also try to partner with the State and Federal Governments so that we empower more and more youths.
What are your views on financial institutions, especially on loan access both for your company and your customers?
There has been much progress and commitment from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on lending more to the economy. But there’s still a long way to go before we really begin to see efficient financial models where bank customers can easily have access to loans. There are few Microfinance Banks which we have partnered with to ensure that more of our customers have access to credit. And I think that things are getting better. If many more banks can come and offer people loans to buys tricycles and motorcycles at a subsidized rate or even collateral free, then things will move much faster.
Can you tell us about Simba Group operations in Nigeria?
Simba Group has been in this country for over 30 years. We started our business with bicycles and bicycle parts way back in 1988. We are present in several key sectors that are critical to the development of the Nigerian economy including transport, power, information technology, agriculture among others. The office you are in is the headquarters of our transport business. We in partnership with TVS Motors India are the largest manufacturers of tricycles (Kekes) in Nigeria and our two wheelers, also known colloquially as Okadas, continue to reshape the Nigerian two-wheeler market.
Could you tell us a bit about Simba Group’s other companies?
As I mentioned earlier, along with transportation, Simba Group is also into power backup. Our Luminous Inverters are the most popular inverter brand in the country, we are also heavily investing in the development of solar energy. Other companies in the group include Simba Agric where we focus on mechanization which includes tractors and irrigation systems – both responsible for increasing agricultural productivity. Simba Cycles sells bicycles, SimbaNET provides business connectivity solutions to corporates and Simba Infrastructure offers Business Communication Solutions in partnership with Avaya. But basically, the focus area for me is transportation.
What are the challenges you face in doing business in Nigeria?
We get lots of support from government institutions but there is still a huge opportunity for public and private sector financial institutions to increase the access to cheap and collateral-free loans. This will provide a major boost to the industry, and the economy at large.
What are your projections in the nearest future?
We see limitless growth potential in the country and the growth quantum can be much bigger than any other countries. Nigeria can be among the top 10 economies in the world. I truly believe that, and our investments in the economy certainly reflect that.
Is Simba into any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
The CSR has always been integral to the Simba Group. As part of our group philosophy of empowerment, even our CSR programs follow the same ideology. At the heart of our offering is our emphases on training – something that we provide free of charge to mechanics and engineers who aspire to be mini entrepreneurs or gainfully employed in the industries we represent.
We have intervened in times of national disaster, such as our actions and contributions during the recent Kano floods, and have been praised for our contributions to the victims of that terrible atrocity.
We believe in Women’s Empowerment very strongly, and our efforts to support the development of women, have taken two forms. Firstly, we have partnered with the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) to distribute cycles to girl student to encourage them to attend school. And secondly, we run the Queen Riders program – a program in which we train and certify women from under-privileged backgrounds to become Keke riders and help them on the path to self-employment by harnessing the ecosystem of financiers that we have created.
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