Bank of Industry has declared support for the Market Access for MSMEs 2023, the major national convergence for last mile players and all stakeholders in the Nigerian downstream economic activities.
Industry journal, MSMEs Today, declared in a statement that the 2023 edition of Market Access for MSMEs will hold at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and industry Conference and Exhibition Centre behind MKO Gardens, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos on Wednesday, May, 2023.
Publisher/CEO of MSMEs Today, Pastor Amadi Iheukwumere, stated that the support from bank of Industry is a significant boost for the event, pointing out that the industrial bank remains one of Africa’s leading development finance institution and Nigeria’s oldest and largest development institution.
He noted that the sole mandate of BOI is to provide financial intermediation and assistance for micro, small, medium and large enterprises to help and support them catalyze economic activities that will enable them play their role as the engine of economic growth and development in Nigeria.
On the conference, Pastor Iheukwumere said Market Access for MSMEs is a veritable platform that will elevate discussions and provide practical guide that will focus on: markets, technology, branding and funding for all MSMEs and focused groups across all sectors of the economy.
“It is designed to mobilize MSMEs focused organisations to power a platform that helps MSMEs understand, learn, acquire and adapt the technology required; understand the role of standardization, branding and packaging, how to raise the required funding, to gain market access, grow their businesses, remain profitable and play the expected role of becoming the engine room for the economic growth and development of the nation; while meeting the job creation and employment expectations in line with the expectations of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD initiatives,” he aid.
He also describes MSMEs Today as “Nigeria’s most reliable online news platform for MSMEs, especially in the agriculture sector, published by African Consolidated Analytical Limited in conjunction with Small, Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the agency with a mandate of stimulating, monitoring and coordinating the development of the MSMEs sub- sector.”
According to Dr Iheukwumere, “the Director General of SMEDAN, Dr. Wale Fasanya, is expected as the Special Guest of Honour and he will be joined by carefully selected facilitators made up of seasoned digital marketing, branding, banking, business and financial management experts, IT professionals and SMEDAN facilitators who have experience in hand holding and providing services for MSMEs. Some of whom include: Dr. Friday Okpara, Director, Partnership & Coordination, SMEDAN. Dr. Okpara is an Entrepreneurship Educator and Small Business Development Specialist.
“Michael Abiodun Arokodare, PhD, Chairman, First Ally Asset Management Limited. Dr. Arokodare holds a first degree in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he graduated in 1982 as the best student in both the Department of Accountancy and the Faculty of Business Administration. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in Management & Finance (1990) from the University of Lagos. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) of the United Kingdom and a 1996 Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA).
“Damilola Aransiola, Chief Growth Officer, WhoGoHost, a Digital Marketing Company. Damilola has over 5 years professional and hands on experience in performance marketing. He has worked with numerous brands like MTN, Lumos, Dangote Flour Mills, and many more to help improve their online presence. He loves marketing and it keeps him alive all the time. Damilola owns a marketing agency and has spent over 30 Million naira on digital marketing/ online advertising.
“Hyacinth Aneke, Sales and Development, IT, Project Management, Business Intelligence, Marketing, Training, Business & Leadership Coach. Africa Leading Business Mentor and Leadership Coach who has helped smart entrepreneurs Discover, Start, Build, Systemize and Scale their businesses.
“SeyiOlawunmi, is a profound inspirational speaker, author, entrepreneur, performance strategist and leadership development consultant. Founder of school of success with a mandate to help individuals and organisationsoptimise their leadership potential for success. He is also the co- founder of Harpy Eagle Nigeria Limited. A leading civil engineering and security consulting firm with a very strong presence in the banking sector and clientele base including Zenith bank, Fidelity bank, Polaris bank, Wema bank, Sterling bank, Parallex bank, Premium Trust bank, Keystone bank. Seyi holds a BSc in applied chemistry from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and MBA from the University of Cumbria in the United Kingdom. He is also a trained project manager with cognate experience across various continents of the world.
“Tale Alimi, Tech focused SME Consultant. She comes with 14 years corporate experience in Technology, consulting and telecommunications where she built and managed some high performing business development teams. She is an entrepreneur with over 8 years of experience and has built two businesses with revenues of over 8 figures. Tale Alimi, has a first degree in Accounting, an MBA from the prestigious Lagos Business School and a certified certificate in Personal Coaching from The Coaching Academy, United Kingdom.”
In giving background information on the importance of the event, he the small businesses in Nigeria are projected to create significant 19.25 million jobs in 2023.
“As at 2022, there are over 39.65 million MSMEs that created over 16.04 million jobs. Out of this number about 9.99 million of them exist in the agribusiness sector. In 2023, it is projected that there will be about 47.58 million MSMEs in Nigeria and they are projected to provide over 19.25 million jobs.
“The data above reinforces the already known fact that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are catalysts for the economic growth and development of any nation capable of helping in industrialization and solving the huge negative impact created by youth unemployment if they are supported to be active, productive and thriving.
“It is for this very reason that we are providing MSMEs across the country with the opportunity to understand how to identify markets – local, sub – regional, regional and international, what they require to access the markets and how they can, grow, scale -up, sustain and run their businesses profitably.”
He said Market Access for MSMEs is also planned to hold in 22 locations spread across different zones of the country.
