The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and iTEKKU, an online marketing platform, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to upscale Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) profitability and growth in the country.
Director-General, SMEDAN, Mr Olawale Fasanya, at the MoU signing on Tuesday in Lagos, said the idea was to improve the competitiveness and scalability of Nigerian MSMEs in spite of the economic challenges facing the country.
He said the development would provide some value and incentives such as medical insurance at a subsidised rate and advisory services for MSMEs.
He said with the MoU, MSMEs would be given access to carry out commercial transactions with consumers, providing solutions to their marketing problems.
Fasanya added that the businesses would have access to interact with consumers directly by displaying information, business profiles and product offerings; also able to communicate with consumers, validating payments and other activities.
“We are excited that it is young people like you that are driving these, because part of our priority clientele are women and youths.
“We want to make sure that we work with a lot of youths with innovative ideas that can easily impact the ecosystem as we believe that you will put all your energy into this.
“There would be other initiatives that would come to complement the package, so it is not just a market place but a place MSMEs would come aboard and benefit from some incentives,” he said.
Commenting on the partnership and its benefits to MSMEs in the country, the Co-Founder, iTEKKU, Mr Olupitan Ayomide, said the company was committed to boosting MSMEs in Nigeria by upscaling them on their platform, also improving the goals of SMEDAN.
He explained that merchants, consumers and resellers, logistics and last mile delivery, credit (buy-now-pay-later) and payment systems were among the stakeholders connected to their platforms.
“iTEKKU, an online market, is a social commerce platform that enhances the concept of Business to Consumer (B2C) and provides an opportunity for MSMEs to expand.
“MSMEs are the lifeline of any economy, especially in emerging markets like Nigeria, yet, this segment of the market has limited access to the customers that require these products and services.
“Our approach seeks to address these challenges through the ITEKKU Marketplace.
“iTEKKU is solving problems across various sectors majorly targeting the MSME for them to scale up their businesses by exposing them to the markets, users that would come on our platforms to buy from them.
“They do not have to go through the stress or issues of having to do their marketing personally for themselves.
“They have a platform now where they can come and upload their catalogues for services that they offer and have access to users that can reach them and buy the products and services,” he said.