Technology has become a  global phenomenon, cutting across all businesses in  the developed and developing economies of the world.  Its    importance   in enhancing the growth of small businesses, which often are the drivers of economic growth is very obvious. Mr. Adim Isiakpona,  the Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Intel West Africa in this interview with Emeka Aginam  explained how Intel seeks to offer Nigerian small and medium businesses( SMBs), with   technology solutions  to help grow their business. Stating that  Africa is their  growth market ,  he said  SMEs should leverage on technology to boost  their their businesses.

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SMBs as the engine of growth  for socio-economic transformation

This is true, not just for the Nigerian economy but any economy. Studies show that In developed countries, Small amd Medium Enterprises,  SMEs, account for a large proportion of the  total employment growth, In such countries SMEs produce a significant share of increase in gross domestic product(GDP) while contribution from larger enterprises. The situation in Nigeria  is not  different as SMEs are springing up each day. You will find that an averagely managed SMBs create employment opportunities, income for citizens and ultimately the government benefits by way of taxes.

Challenges facing SMBs in Nigeria

Adim-Isiakpona

Government regulations, hiring employees, employee healthcare, growing revenue, increasing profit. But to put it in proper perspective.

I will say that  the key  challenges SMEs face included structured and  relevant support from large corporations, proper training or skills acquisition.

Why Intel choses  to be a part of this initiative

Intel celebrated 50years of existence a few months ago, and our core mission as a corporation is to enrich the lives of everyone one on earth through technology. We have been in the business of  providing innovative technology that drive success for about 50years. More critical than ever we have started to narrow down to the SMBs as we see huge potential in that space. They are the game changers to look out for in our society, extremely flexible and their time to market isn’t determined in a board meeting. Our main objective is to ensure that as SMEs in Africa strive to grow their businesses, they achieve this by using technology and solutions that help increase productivity and ultimately save time and money.

Strategies  put  in place to ensure accessibility

Our partnership with Diamond bank, MTN  Business, Microsoft and HP is in itself strategic, as we individually have the SMB  segment on our priority list of things to do. This program does not just seek to offer product and services from the different partners involved but to truly engage as closely as we can with SMEs to understand what the real limitations are and ultimately help drive business productivity through technology & entrepreneurship trainings, using the right technology & services for their business enhancements.

How Intel is  involved in training SMBs to grow in Nigeria

Over the years at Intel we have worked with different sub sets and partnered with countless organization to scale Technology and entrepreneurship skills. We have specifically tailored training programs that address relevant areas SMEs need to go grow their business uch as entrepreneurship training, Easy steps training on technology usage and adoption. . With this initiative we intend to not only focus on our existing training programs but leverage that of our partners to ensure we are really addressing SMEs pain points through technology.

Intel support  for small scale businesses

Over and above this program Intel is constantly working with the IT ecosystem to ensure we deliver to the market the right products at the right price. Africa is one of our growth market and we not just working with big corporates to deliver these products but we also engage local manufacturers to scale and deliver locally relevant products and contents. These engagement we believe in-directly affects the SMBs space.