SMEDAN Lauds Glo’s SME Initiative

A cross section of Business Member Organizations under the aegis of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has commended Globacom for its initiative to empower SMEs with grants.’

Mrs. Betty Adepoju , national president, Beaded Jewelries Designers Association, said: “Globacom has again demonstrated its resolve to assist Nigerians to break the shackles of poverty by empowering micro, small and medium business enterprises. The grants would lead to rapid economic growth at the grassroots. It is a great privilege to be invited for this meeting”.

Also speaking, Dr. Femi Egbesola, national president, Association of Small Business Owners, thanked Globacom for involving them in the planning stage and made a case for business friendly conditions to access the grants.

Similarly, Segun Tayo Kuti-George, chairman, Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), made a case for the inclusion of kitchen enterprises like chips and fried plantain sellers in the grant scheme.

Welcoming Chairmen and Secretaries of the Business Member Organisations earlier to the inaugural meeting held at Radisson Blu,Lagos recently, head, Corporate Sales, Globacom, Mr. Kamaldeen Shonibare explained that the partnership is to radically change lives by moving citizens from grass to grace.

He said as a proudly Nigerian company Globacom would not repartriate profits but spend it on adding value to the experiences of Nigerians in all walks of life with a view to making life more abundant through a bulk grant that would be distributed among SMEs and those in the Kitchen category comprising plantain and condiments sellers.

Mr. Shonibare observed that Globacom’s strategic partnership with major stakeholders in critical sectors of the economy had given the company valuable experience which would stand it in good stead in the SMEDAN empowerment programme.

Delivering a keynote address, Globacom’s acting Coordinator, Business Solutions, Mr. Ike Oraekwuotu described Globacom as the game changer and acclaimed leader in pioneering innovations and offerings in the country and cited the on- going recruitment of about ten thousand Glo Xchange agents across the country as an example of the company’s empowerment drive.