By Juliet Umeh

Telecommunications company, 9mobile, has taken the third edition of its entrepreneurship initiative, The Hack, to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The gesture is in apparent commitment to the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, in Nigeria.

The Hack is a 9mobile free enterprise initiative and networking event where seasoned SME mentors and business leaders share business fundamentals and insights to help SMEs and growing businesses scale up.

The event, held at L.A King Dome, Rumuomasi. It was attended by hundreds of budding entrepreneurs eager to learn innovative business ideas.

9Mobile’s Director of Enterprise Business, Mr. Olalekan Fatusa, expressed joy at the impressive turnout of women to the training.

He said: “I am happy to see many female business owners in attendance. We recorded a gender mix in the other cities where we have held this same program, but Port Harcourt stands out with a larger number of young female business owners. It is impressive and encouraging to see our women show the willingness to grow their businesses.”

He assured participants that 9mobile through ‘The Hack’ will help them optimize their business, saying, “What we are doing today is to show you how to grow your niche and improve your businesses, as well as provide you with all the tools to scale. We firmly believe that, through entrepreneurship, we are on the road to overcoming unemployment in Nigeria.”

Also, Business growth expert Tricia Olufemi-Olumide (TriciaBiz), who was the key facilitator at the forum, spoke on business growth strategies such as product development, sales channel optimization, complimentary products and services, collaboration and partnerships, continuous online presence, and deployment of strategic public relations tools for SMEs to upscale their businesses.

She emphasized the need for SMEs to leverage the diverse opportunities of online platforms beyond selling.

“I encourage you to get on these platforms not to sell primarily but to gain massive visibility because people now look for adverts online to make business decisions,” she urged.

Manager, Corporate and SMEs Markets, 9mobile, Oluwasegun Dawodu, also said: “The Hack is a smart shortcut to get something done because there are different ways of creating solutions, and one of these ways is what 9mobile offers. ‘The Hack’ is when you know how to upscale your business using technological solutions and tools. At 9mobile, we have the focus and the mindset of SMEs,” he added.