E-Business
GoOnline Nigeria to Empower SMEs for Digital Age
GoOnline Nigeria has announced the roll-out of its business growth programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria to equip the ecosystem lead competitiveness in the Digital Age.
GoOnline Nigeria is a business growth programme for SMEs in Nigeria delivered by an alliance of Programme Partners and SME Growth Drivers across the technology, Internet, payments, financial services, media and allied industries.
Mr Foluso Busari, executive director of GoOnline Nigeria announced at a stakeholders’ retreat held in Lagos recently that the programme will aggregate Nigerian entrepreneurs and SMEs to lead and unlock business innovation, efficiency, competitiveness and profitability in the Digital Age.
GoOnline Nigeria is a 360-degree programme delivered in three key modules: Get Online, Grow Online and Succeed Online for SMEs across Nigeria to sell profitably on the Internet, while the official portal on www.goonline.ng has also been opened to the Internet community.
According to him, GoOnline Nigeria Programme Partners representing SME Growth Drivers in the technology, banking and financial services, media and other sectors have partnered with a shared vision to unlock entrepreneurial possibilities that foster innovation, job creation and overall economic growth across the SME ecosystem in Nigeria.
He said, “SMEs are a very important component of the Nigerian economy and are regarded as engine of sustainable growth. SMEs also hold potentials to contribute higher proportion to GDP in Nigeria with targeted initiatives like GoOnline Nigeria to unlock potentials in the sector and build a stronger SME sector. Consistent commitment to the development of strong SMEs sector can be unlocked by implementing initiatives like access to finance and financial incentives; basic and technological infrastructure and a commitment to building domestic expertise and knowledge.”
The GoOnline Programme Director also identified that the Nigerian SME ecosystem is very well positioned today with increasing telephony subscriptions and penetration across the country, which is also driving Internet access among a growing population of Connected Nigerians.
Official market information by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) puts the telephony connections at 153,514,107 lines and Internet subscribers at 93,176,061 as at October 2016, “a trend that has enabled easier access to the Internet and social media services, he added.
Mr Busari also said that “the growing access is enabling easier channels for customer acquisition and retention as the Internet marketplace offers services that connect SMEs directly with customers.”
He stressed further that, “within the Nigerian macroeconomic environment, several initiative like the Local Content Policy, “Buy Nigeria” will further help SMEs harness compelling growth potential and like other emerging economies, are likely to constitute a significant portion of GDP in the near future.”
According to the Programme Director of GoOnline Nigeria, “our vision is to provide 21st Century IT and business resources for Nigerian entrepreneurs and SMEs to lead business innovation, business competitiveness and profitability in the Digital Age. GoOnline Nigeria will be sustainable into the foreseeable future by evolving SMEs that will be agile, sustainable, efficient, innovative and profitable by embracing the Internet for business.”
Under the plan, Mr Busari said that the GoOnline Business Growth Programme will be delivered for the following demographics:
SMEs that have no Internet presence at all and wish to start selling their goods and services online; SMEs that already have a website but are not recording online sales;
SMEs that sell online on third-party Markeplaces but do not have their own websites;
Market clusters across Nigeria with identified opportunities to embrace Internet to achieve business scale, operational efficiency and profitability;
Small businesses planning to open their own micro-enterprise or already run their own small business; Entrepreneurs interested in business but may or may not be familiar with basic business concepts;
Entrepreneurs that use some technology in their business or for personal purposes but do not maximize the use of technology in managing their business;
Entrepreneurs interested in learning how Internet and ICT tools can help them run their business.
Entrepreneurs interested in brief, practical and relevant hands-on training on Internet for Business.
Entrepreneurs interested in learning, exchanging ideas and networking with other entrepreneurs.
According to the GoOnline Programmes Director, the first phase will involve provision of affordable web presence bundling free Nigeria .ng Internet domain name, website, web hosting, telecoms starter kits for SMEs, e-commerce, CRM and other business management tools.
“This phase will demystify the Internet and other online business platforms for small business and provide affordable and effective websites to gain and retain new customers and also target online communities, demographics and market opportunities across the local Internet community”, Mr Busari explained.
Stage Two on Grow Online will provide SMEs across Nigeria with 21st Century IT and business skills for entrepreneurs to lead business innovation, operational efficiency, business competitiveness and profitability in the Digital Age.
This phase of the programme will incorporate targeted trainings, workshops and seminars spread over a one year cycle of monthly learning experiences to offer partner SMEs the needed skills and competence to gain and retain customers by leveraging the Internet.
According to Mr Busari, “more importantly, this phase also enable partner SMEs and merchants to unlock value propositions available from GoOnline Programme Partners and SMEs Growth Drivers to grow their businesses.”
This phased programme will feature online business communities, Monthly Learning & Networking Experiences, Quarterly and Annual Online as well as Physical Showcase Events, according to the GoOnline Nigeria Programmes Director.
“We are positive that GoOnline Nigeria will be the next wave for SMEs in Nigeria by creating a sustainable path to accelerate online revenue growth and profitability. The Programme will enable SMEs across Nigeria generate higher percentage of revenues from Internet storefronts to complement their physical storefronts”, Mr Busari added.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
Otti stated this at the Nnamdi Azikiwe State Secretariat premises at Umuahia, the state capital, while flagging off the first phase of the Umuahia Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network And Managed Network Services Project (Project), saying that it promises to re-engineer efficiency and flexibility in operations and interactions within and amongst institutions, enhance policy execution, and engender a culture of outcome-oriented competition amongst civil servants.
The Project is being handled by iPNX, a major internet service provider.
At the ceremony, Otti, said the project includes distributing high-performance digital tools, laying fibre optic cables in public institutions, and installing infrastructure for high-speed data transmission.
He added that the initiative focuses on improving leadership efficiency, empowering civil servants with digital tools, and enhancing service delivery.
Transitioning to digital platforms would streamline government processes, enable faster communication among Ministries, departments, and Areas (MDAs), and improve engagement with development partners and the global community.
The governor also announced a mandatory digital literacy requirement for civil servants, making proficiency in technology essential for career growth.
Assuring that while the government would provide training, those unwilling to embrace technology risk becoming uncompetitive in the evolving civil service structure.
Plans are underway to expand digital access across Abia, with an agreement already in place to lay fiber optic cables in Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia.
Otti directed Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, chief information officer to ensure that within nine months, every community in Abia must have reliable network service, enabling businesses to thrive virtually.
The Governor urged the people of Abia to embrace technology as a tool for empowerment rather than a replacement for human roles as the use of technology ought to be on enhancing service delivery and economic development, as well as keeping human decision-making at the core of governance.
The commencement of the initiative marks a major milestone in Abia’s journey towards a fully digital economy.
Ilukwe, described the project as a critical foundation for a digital government, emphasising its role in modernising service delivery.
Ilukwe said Phase I of the initiative prioritises multi-tenant buildings and complexes housing multiple MDAs and assured that MDAs not included in this phase would be covered in subsequent stages.
“Even as we are rounding off this phase, we are already preparing for the next, by the end of this service year, the entire government offices in Umuahia will be interconnected on a single network,” Ilukwe said.
Mr Ejovi Aror, group managing director, ipNX, expressed gratitude to Gov. Alex Otti for the opportunity to be part of the state’s digital transformation journey.
“This partnership signals the beginning of a new chapter in the journey towards building a digitally connected, technologically advanced, and economically empowered Abia State,” Aror said.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
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