One of the leading tech platforms in Europe, Africa, and Central Asia, Glovo, has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, with the launch of the new Glovo Academy in Abuja.

The academy is an in-person learning and development initiative designed to provide training and digital tools to help local businesses optimise operations, boost their brands, and increase online sales through the Glovo platform.

In this Glovo Academy edition, Head of Growth, Glovo Nigeria, Reni Onafeko, noted that the company remains committed to empowering SMEs on its platform by offering access to opportunities such as advisory and financing.

She explained that, with the million orders delivered since the launch of Glovo in Abuja in 2022, over N11 billion in value had been delivered to partners.

According to her, the company has recorded a 30 per cent increase year-on-year in orders in Abuja, working now with over 1,000 local restaurants. She emphasised the need for SMEs to adopt digital literacy, enabling their businesses to expand, formalise their operations, and scale sustainably.

Speaking during the panel session, Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Industry, Ifeoma Williams, stressed that MSMEs remain the backbone of any economy, noting that current data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that 40 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product is derived from these small businesses.

While bemoaning the poor access to loan facilities from the Federal Government for many SMEs, she attributed the challenge to a lack of proper structure and a lack of a well-defined business plan. She stated that the government is taking significant steps to implement the right policies for thriving businesses.

Making his contribution, the founder of Ahmad’s Sharwarma, Tijani Mustapha, who delved into the operational challenges confronting SMEs, stated that business owners must have staying power or resilience to overcome challenges of human resources and quality control. Mustapha underscored the need for SMEs to invest in technology to stay competitive and grow their businesses.

“Any business we do today must embrace technology. Through technology, we can gather customer feedback, keep the business in check, and improve,” he said.

Also speaking at the session, Head of ICT, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Kayode Meyanbe, stated that through the agency, the central government is leveraging a partnership with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to provide free registration for 250,000 businesses. He urged SMEs to take advantage of the opportunity to formalise their operations and access the opportunities provided.

In his remarks, Head of Commercial at Glovo, Nigeria, Kolawole Adeniyi, disclosed that the platform, which registered its presence in 2021 in Africa, had invested 206 million Euros on the continent.

According to Adeniyi, the platform has impacted businesses, with 90 per cent belonging to the SMEs category, and offers N55 billion in direct economic value generated for partners.

At the event, presentations and sessions were held for partners to educate them about the company’s operations and capacity training. The training session and presentation focused on operational excellence, marketing, addressing customer complaints, and capacity-building training on business and financial literacy or management facilitated by the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University.