Etisalat to Nigerian SMEs: Innovate to boost your business

Mobile phone company, Etisalat Nigeria, wants small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country to innovate to enable them boost their productivity.

Mr  Bidemi Ladipo, Head Enterprise Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, said in Lagos that SMEs must adopt innovative models of doing business to accelerate growth, increase capacity and maximize profit.

He says that being innovative will help startups and small businesses to grow sustainably in spite of environmental challenges that every business faces.

“When you are starting a small business, you have to be unique and innovative. Don’t copy other people’s business ideas; if your idea is based on an existing one, then you have to go the extra mile by adding something unique”, Ladipo told participants at the Market Access Initiative organised by Etisalat Nigeria and the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University.

“We are proud to be associated with small and growing businesses in Nigeria because we share a similar story. When we came to Nigeria, the market had been fully taken by existing operators. Though we came into the market as a small player, today our story is different. We have over 23 million subscribers and we are on our way to becoming the number one player in the industry. This tells us that every small business has a potential to grow into a big corporation, which is why we associate with small businesses.”

Wale Anifowose, General Manager, Programs and Partnership at Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos said that Market Access Nigeria is a platform for SMEs and large companies to network, start relationships and create opportunities to ‘buy’ the goods and services of the SMEs.

According to the organizer, platform has recorded tremendous success since its inception in 2011.

Last year, the platform toured the country to regions including Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt with a combined total audience of over 2,000 people for the year.