SME50 moves to position one million businesses for market access

Desired to put Nigerian indigenous businesses on the global map, by giving them the right visibility and exposure that puts them at par with their global counterpart, SME50 has unveiled plans to create investment opportunities for viable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

SME50, an initiative of Radius9 limited and YuuZoo Corporation is one year development plan targeted at one million businesses.

The Managing Director of YuuZoo Nigeria limited, Emmanuel Olaiya revealed that part of the challenges investors avoid the Nigerian market is due to lack of credibility as the realistic state of the businesses are not positioned on the internet.

He said it is achievable primarily by giving them the necessary tools to become investment-worthy brands.

According to Olaiya, with Nigeria becoming Africa’s leading hub for foreign investment, it is imperative that home-grown businesses which are the building blocks of the economy are strategically positioned to exploit the opportunities made available through foreign partnerships.

“Our plan is solid. We are going on a partnership with the private sector and the public. We are partnering with entities like the SMEDAN, Corporate Affairs Commission and the Bank of Industry to provide brand and web presence for these businesses in Nigeria, taking local businesses that would have not been able to have access to international partnerships or business partnerships that will add to them globally.

“Our vision is to take Nigerian local businesses and take them globally with the simple presence on the internet you now have a global presence with the world wide web,” he said.

However, for businesses to participate, the YuuZoo boss stressed that with the vision of the initiative to create accessibility for the SMEs, an instalment payment of N50,000 is made to give their businesses brand presence.

“I think this will solve a major economic problem in Nigeria. It’s going to be a full handshake across sectors. Through government intervention, we have been able to secure the support of the BoI to shortlist members and institutions that would qualify for grants given to businesses. We encourage other SMEs to have a constant online presence to be able to expand and grow their businesses.”

Folashade Omole of Kickstart, a youth enterprise program where companies sponsor SMEs said for local businesses to grow and get supported, they have to embrace the digital platform initiative to grow and expand their businesses into the global market, adding that a lot of vital information are being passed daily through the online media which might be of immense benefits to their businesses.