The Chief Commercial Officer, Jumia Nigeria, Ijeoma Arum has urged operators of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria to leverage eCommerce to boost sales and grow their business.
The Jumia CCO, while making a presentation titled: ‘Growing your business’, at the maiden edition of Ecobank Nigeria’s MySME Growth Series, observed that small and medium-sized businesses in Africa are faced with challenges such as access financing, stiff competition from established brands and regulatory compliance. Thus, leveraging technology such as eCommerce has the potential to transform their businesses.
“eCommerce increases reach and awareness of products and services, allows businesses to gain valuable insights into customer behavior and can be used to create targeted marketing campaigns and personalized experiences,” she explained.
She added that eCommerce allows customers to shop at their convenience, day or night and small businesses can also streamline the sales process to reduce overhead and achieve greater profitability.
The MySME Growth Series is an innovative training program of Ecobank Nigeria targeted at empowering SME operators in the country. Under this initiative, the Bank aims to train over 1 million SME operators nationwide in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Head of SME & Partnerships at Ecobank Nigeria, Osahon Akpata, in his earlier remark noted that the webinar series is in line with the Bank’s commitment to power the success of SMEs in different sectors of the economy.
He disclosed that Ecobank aims to train 1 million SMEs in Nigeria to improve their capabilities and stimulate growth.
“We are launching the first phase of our training program – MySME Growth Series, a selection of virtual boot camps led by facilitators who are experts in their fields. SMEs are the growth engine of Nigeria’s economy contributing almost 50% of GDP and 90% of jobs. As a bank that is growth-focused, Ecobank is committed to the success of SMEs in different sectors of the economy,” he said.
He stated that with an overall theme of “Scaling up your SME in 2024”, the webinar will be held every other Thursday throughout the year. In addition, Mr. Akpata explained that the series would dwell on various topics that cover key areas of concern for small businesses such as accounting, credit, sales & marketing, taxation and inventory management, adding that the Bank is also planning to launch an SME Mentorship program to collaborate with successful entrepreneurs.
“We will also equip SMEs with tools to help their business such as budget templates, calculators for simulating scenarios and links to government forms. They will be trained on resources for starting a business, including registering, market opportunities, and key points to consider when running a business. We will also provide articles on key topics including tips to increase sales, advertising ideas, business management practices, case studies and guides to leveraging technology, amongst others,” he enthused.
