In the last few years, small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in Nigeria have contributed around 48 percent of the country’s GDP, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics. They account for around 50 percent of industrial jobs and nearly 90 percent of the manufacturing sector in terms of a number of businesses, with a total population of around 17.4 million.

This emphasizes the notion that SMEs are the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. However, SMEs in Nigeria face a number of obstacles, in areas such as sales, financing, taxation, and face other factors that impede business growth.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have long proven to be significant in economic development as they provide solutions for poverty reduction, job creation, economic emancipation, and overall well-being. SMEs are considered as the “engine room” of a country’s economy because they promote the use of local raw materials, promote enterprises’ intermediary interaction for GDP growth, and operate with little or no formal schooling.

Sales play a pivotal role in business expansion and growth. It serves as a metric of success for business owners and also evaluates the company’s long-term viability. Slow sales growth can put a company in a precarious position, with bankruptcy being the worst-case scenario.

Bazaar Nigeria is focused on supporting small businesses in increasing their sales, networking, collaborations, and partnerships. This will be accomplished through pop-up sales exhibitions that will take place throughout the year in key states around Nigeria and eventually in Africa.

In achieving their objectives in supporting SMEs, Bazaar Nigeria is collaborating with Traction, to provide business owners in Nigeria with an opportunity for growth and development, understanding the significance of SMEs to economic growth.