Visa partners Lagos to digitize payments for MSMEs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

As part of its efforts to educate and enable Nigerians to reduce reliance on cash, Visa, the global leader in payments, today announced the launch of the Cashless Lagos Hackathon in partnership with Lagos Innovates, an initiative of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), reports ITREALMS.

The three-day event, which is scheduled to hold from 14 September until 16 September, will seek to digitize payments for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and will be delivered by Passion Incubator (www.passionincubator.ng). The hackathon is open to software developers, programmers, coders, data specialists and designers who have the capacity to create lasting technology based financial solutions for MSMEs who are beneficiaries of LSETF.

Participants can access lagosinnovates.ng/hackathon for details on the hackathon and have until 11 September 2018 to submit their applications. Selected applicants will meet with the MSMEs on the first day of the hackathon to understand their pain points before the commencement of the hackathon.

Through the hackathon, participants are required to come up with solutions that would allow the business owners to receive payments, make bulk purchases and keep inventory of their transactions, thereby allowing access to bank loans and government grants.

Kemi Okusanya, Country Manager, Visa West Africa said; “This partnership is part of our strategy to help merchants become more financially responsible. What makes this hackathon unique is that it encourages Nigerians to develop locally relevant solutions, tailored for their specific environment and needs. We are always looking to support innovative programmes that can better equip individuals to manage their money more effectively, and these solutions will achieve that.”

Six teams will present their ideas to the judging panel constituted of representatives from a cross section of business and payments experts drawn from the public and private sectors. Three finalists will be selected based on impact, design, innovation, and customer validation. The winning teams will receive ₦2million, ₦1million and ₦500,000 grants respectively to be used for the development of the solutions, courtesy of Visa.

Commenting on the partnership, the Executive Secretary LSETF, Akintunde Oyebode said; “We are pleased to have Visa on board with us for the second edition of our Hackathon. Lagos State is the economic capital of Nigeria and the home of Africa’s leading startups. Our partnership with Visa puts us in a unique position to help uncover, support and apply emerging technologies to some of the biggest transaction challenges faced by entrepreneurs. We are excited by the possibility of leveraging technology, especially digital channels to improve our current cash-based economy”.

Nenye Dom/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

More funds for MSMEs as DevBank takes-off

ITRealms:

The Federal Ministry of Finance has confirmed the completion of the recruitment exercise for the Executive Management team of the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and has formally applied for the issuance of its operational license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is expected imminently, reports ITRealms.

The DBN, Director, Information at Ministry of Finance, Mr. Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta, told ITRealms, was conceived in 2014 however, its take-off had been fraught with delays. The President Muhammadu Buhari led administration inherited the project with a determination to resolve all outstanding issues and set a target of 2017 for its take-off.

The DBN will have access to US$1.3bn (N396.5 billion) which has been jointly provided by the World Bank (WB), KfW (German Development Bank), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Agence Française de Development (French Development Agency).  The Bank is also finalising agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

To provide clarification, the operations of the DBN will not in any way, result in the elimination of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) or any other existing development bank. The operations of the DBN is clearly distinct from other development banks as it is focused on supporting small businesses defined by size and not by sectors. 

The DBN, will provide loans to all sectors of the economy including, manufacturing, services and other industries not currently served by existing development banks thereby filling an important gap in the provision of finance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

As a wholesale bank, the DBN will lend wholesale to Microfinance Banks which will on-lend medium to long-term loans to MSMEs. The MSMEs contribute about 48.47 percent to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of Nigeria but have access to only about 5 percent of lending from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

The influx of additional capital from the DBN will lower borrowing rates and the longer tenure of the loans, will provide the required flexibility in the management of cash flows, giving businesses the opportunity to make capital improvements, and acquire equipment or supplies.

As the economy diversifies, the growth of the MSME sector will have a positive impact on the economy through employment generation, wealth creation and economic growth.

 Chuks Egbune/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

MasterCard, Grooming Centre sign MoU to extend electronic payments

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Leader in electronic payments, MasterCard has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  with Grooming Centre in efforts to extend solutions to 500,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in peri-urban and rural parts of Nigeria, reports DigitalSENSE Business News. 

Grooming Centre, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered is a Nigerian micro-finance organization that seeks to address the gaps in financial services through provision of affordable loans to women-owned MSMEs. 

DigitalSENSE Business News also reports that till date, Grooming Centre has disbursed payments by cash or cheques, which are less efficient than electronic means.

Chief Executive Officer of Grooming Centre, Mr Godwin Nwabunke, explained to DigitalSENSE Business News that under the MoU, the Grooming Centre would pre-load the funds onto MasterCard prepaid cards. 

Business owners, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered could now use their cards to withdraw funds at millions of ATMs or pay for goods and services at merchants that accept MasterCard payments in Nigeria and in over 210 countries globally.  

“There are a huge number of MSMEs that do not have access to any form of formal financial tools or services. Through the provision of electronic payments, these business owners will enjoy more convenient access to capital, be able to better manage and track their spending, save for future needs and protect themselves against unforeseen risks,”  said Nwabunke.

MasterCard and Grooming Centre will also work with various financial institutions to rollout payment devices including Mobile Point of Sale terminals, enabling these MSMEs to accept debit, prepaid and credit cards for the first time.

In her remark, Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice President and Area Business Head for West Africa, MasterCard asserted that through this partnership, they are enabling financial inclusion in communities where consumers have largely been unable to use formal payment products and have had to rely on cash.

“These payment solutions will help these MSMEs reduce the amount of cash they currently handle, increase sales, and improve cash flow while making it easier and safer for their customers to pay,” she said. 

Ojomuyide also said that MSMEs are essential to the growth of Nigeria’s economy, stressing that this kind of collaboration with Grooming Centre not only supports the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Nigeria policy, but it will help this vital sector to connect more efficiently to the national and global economy,” says Ojomuyide.

 

DigitalSENSE Business News, recalls that research carried out by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency and the National Bureau of Statistics shows that MSMEs represent 95 per cent of registered businesses in Nigeria and account for 75 per cent of the workforce.

 
+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +MasterCard
ITREALMS ... delivering news for ICT4D
Pix: Ezediashi Ofili, VP, Prepaid Product Management MasterCard, (Centre, Left) and Godwin Nwabunke, CEO, Grooming Centre (Centre, Right) shake hands following the signing of an MoU that will extend electronic payments to MSMEs in Nigeria. Looking on are Adesoji Tayo Executive Director, Grooming Centre (Extreme Left) and Uwagbae Uzebu, Director Acceptance Development Non Traditional Channels MasterCard (Extreme Right)

CWG, Openshopen host MSMEs to eCommerce in Lagos

ITRealms:

The Computer Warehouse Group plc (CWG) in collaboration with the Openshopen has hosted the some Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) owners to an electronic commerce (eCommerce) in Lagos, reports ITRealms.

Tagged “Learn How to Set-up, operate and advertise your own store online” ITRealms reports that the workshop was aimed at equipping business owners with the skills they require to take their business to the online community by operating an online store and selling to people other than those in their immediate physical community.

ITRealms also reports that while welcoming participants, the Head Marketing Communications, CWG, Success Nmerife, stated that the workshop was designed to introduce them to solutions and methods they could employ to maximize the benefits that the internet affords in growing their businesses.

She observed that the shift in the global focus from traditional business model to online commerce has made the utilization of the electronic media in business promotion and sales an indispensable tool for merchants.

In her remarks, Adriana De la Cruz Duffo, Business Manager, Openshopen told ITRealms that Openshopen has been uniquely designed to respond to the challenges of online trading encountered by SMEs in the Nigerian business environment.

“Openshopen is easy to use, cheap and profitable. It addresses the fears of payment gateway security. It also takes care of the logistics of delivery. It is a platform you as merchants can adopt, if you want your business to grow” she said.

Delivering his presentation, Head, Innovation at CWG plc, Mr. Tayo Oduwole, introduced the Openshopen online platform to the participants, stressing that CWG partnership with Openshopen affords them to introduce the eCommerce platform which is in line with its vision to enable Nigerian merchants acquire business enabling technology without incurring business killing own-infrastructure costs.

He pointed out that Openshopen differs from other online shopping platforms, in that it allows merchants sell directly to buyers and have the privilege of promoting their brands. Unlike other platforms that require merchants to submit their wares for sale.

“With Openshopen, you can sell your brand alongside your products, such that people can look for you if they want your products again”, he said.

The workshop featured a practical session where Mr. Oduwole took participants through step by step procedure of opening a store online. The participants had the privilege of creating their own store, each having their unique web address, corporate logo and products for display. Thereafter, they were taught the basics of promoting their business using various social media platforms.

Presenting certificate of participants to attendees, Chief Technology Officer, CWG, Mr. James Agada, noted that the workshop served as one of CWG’s ways of contributing towards the growth of SMEs in Nigeria, creating employment and contributing to the growth of the nation’s economy.

He also urged participants to utilize the knowledge they have gained from the workshop.

“Having learnt how to open your store and sell online, we look forward to seeing you sell on Openshopen”, he said.

For some of the participants, including Mr. and Mrs. Yemi Adeyemo, Directors at House of Treasures, “In fact, the workshop was worth the while, the lectures were extensive and the speakers were very good. We have learnt a lot that we will like to put them into use as soon as we get back home”.

 +Remmy Nweke @Success Nmerife

ITREALMS ... delivering news for ICT4D

Pix:L-R: Charles Ibonye, Project manager, CWG Plc; Mr. James Agada Chief Technology Officer, CWG Plc;  Tayo Oduwole, Head, Innovation; Success Nmerife, Head, Marketing Communications and Adriana De la Cruz Duffo, Business Manager, Openshopen at the maiden eCommerce workshop for merchants in Lagos recently.