Zenith Bank Promotes Women Empowerment

Nigeria’s leading financial institute, Zenith Bank Plc has introduced a new merchandise, Z-Woman, which is focused on endowing female business owners.

Z-Woman account holders stand a chance to experience loans of up to N10 million at a single digit interest rate, free digital skills training, free exhibition stands at Zenith Bank events and many other benefits which will help them grow their businesses and increase their sales.

According to the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Zenith Bank, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Z-Woman offers women the opportunity to enjoy a partnership with the Zenith Bank brand as the name Z-Woman implies. The Z-Woman account is designed to address the unique needs of women-owned businesses and offer them unmatched services that empowers them to do more and achieve more.

To learn more about Z-Woman, please visit www.zenithbank.com/zwoman

Invitation to participate at the 2020 Startup Clinic powered by NITDA

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is calling on startups who are at the early stage of their business to apply for this year’s Startup Clinic series, a five day business skills training scheduled to take place in three states: Jigawa 16th-20th March, Kebbi 30th March – 3rd April, and FCT Abuja 23rd – 27th March.

For further enquiries and information send mail to; info@ictinnovation.gov.ng

limited slots are available.

Apply here: bit.ly/SUC2020

AEA meets with delegates of Sokoto Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (SOSMEDA)

The Management of the Abuja Enterprise Agency received the delegates of SOSMEDA on 31st February 2020 and expressed gratitude to the Sokoto State Governor, for approving such a strategic meeting with his Special Adviser and representatives of SOSMEDA.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on SOSMEDA also appreciated the Agency for receiving them and pledged to relay the MD’s message to the Governor.  He also explained that SOSMEDA and AEA are sister Agencies with similar mandates, however, the location of AEA put it at an advantageous position in tapping opportunities for the development of MSMEs.

Furthermore, he emphasized the need to understudy the methodology and approaches of the Agency to enable SOSMEDA operate in line with International best practices in the management of MSMEs Development Agencies.

SME Springboard Tradefair 5.0 loading…

Tradefairs are always delightful to the ears of business owners and consumers because what usually comes to mind is more sales, affordable prices, less spending and more saving.

Thus we bring to you the SME Springboard Trade Fair 5.0 organised by the Helen Asimegbe, the CEO of StyleMark ProEnterprise Hub. She organizes trade fairs occasionally to encourage MSMEs to showcase their products, improve their access to market, and create networking platforms for MSMEs.

The theme of the tradefair is ‘The Unstoppable Entrepreneur and its happening on the 29th of February, 2020 at Bolton White Apartments, 31 Kigoma Street Wuse Zone 7, Abuja.

Another good news is that entry is free!!!, so come along with family and friends. You can also register to be an exhibitor by contact this number: 08069336400

Don’t miss it, it promises to be fun.

MSMEs the drivers of the Economy

The Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says that MSMEs currently represent 96% of the businesses in Nigeria and contributes 75% of the national employment. Of the 17.2 million MSMEs in Nigeria over 17 Million are micro-enterprises. Thus, the growth in this sector is directly correlated with the growth in the economy and in curbing unemployment in Nigeria.

However, a number of challenges are inhibiting the potential of MSMEs in Nigeria. Prominent among these challenges are (a) Very low access to affordable finance (b) Poor access to Business Development Service (BDS), and (c) Inadequate infrastructure/high cost of doing business. Despite these, it has not deterred MSMEs from contributing to Nigeria’s economic growth. Here are a few ways MSMEs are doing this:

Encourages entrepreneurship
MSMEs are the product of the business owner’s entrepreneurial spirit. By starting a small business, the business owner is taking charge of his or her future. Entrepreneurship fuels Nigeria’s economic innovation and prosperity and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class. Hence, there is no need to wait for the government’s empowerment programmes. You can empower yourself by leveraging on digital technology to start a business

Local jobs
Small businesses are job creators despite the many challenges they face. They have enabled a certain cadre of Nigerians to earn a living. A company that supports these MSMEs is Jumia . Jumia, Nigeria’s no 1 shopping destination via, Jumia Lending, has supported the millions of vendors selling on its platform with small loans and ensuring that they are run smoothly without any hiccups. Jumia lending gives small businesses the opportunity to grow and expand their businesses by granting vendors access to fast and easy short-term capital. With this capital, these vendors are able to employ more hands thus creating more jobs and the society will be better for it.

Innovation and competition
Small businesses, like any business, need to stand out from the crowd in order to survive. They must serve a legitimate need in Nigeria and do it better than their competitors. Having multiple small businesses all striving to be unique, innovative, and better can result in a healthy marketplace and well-served consumers.

Investing in products and services people need

What motivates a person to start a new business? Small businesses create new businesses in response to unmet needs and demands in the market. That is, there is an opportunity to provide a product or service that is not currently in existence, or otherwise available.

New technologies promote efficiency
The ability to turn ideas into new products and services that people need is important in a developing country like Nigeria. This is driven by new technologies and creative applications. With more and more small businesses embracing technology to boost service delivery, they have positioned themselves to earn more revenue and contribute to the growth of the economy.

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