A Few Lessons From Previous Connect Nigeria eBusiness Fair Discussion Forums

There are a lot of people, who wished they had attended the Fair when some of their industry icons showed up to speak. While there are a few, who don’t know what we could be listening to from 9 am till 5 pm, during the fair. This summary from different speakers, over the years, is just for you.

Importance of Cash-less Society to Economic Growth and Development

“The cashless initiative of CBN is a catalyst for the promotion of electronic payments in the country, as all the drivers and electronic channels in the cashless project play an essential role, in ensuring a safe and efficient payment system. If all stakeholders (government, corporations and individuals) adopt electronic payments in the country, the Nigerian economy will most certainly be among the world’s most developed economies by 2020.” Keynote address by Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and delivered by the deputy governor of CBN, Mr Olusuyi Adaremewa in 2013 Google and The Growth of Your Enterprise “As a business, people are always interested in getting customers. On Google platforms, you will find that people are searching for what you are selling every day; billions of searches every minute. As a business owner, you need to take advantage of this moment, when people are looking for what you are selling, to promote your business to the next prospective customer. Google has a bunch of business tools like Google apps, a suite of applications such as emails, calendars, documents, presentations, chats and facilities for businesses, and Google advertising.” Kaosiso Anaekwe, a Google representative at the 2013 Connect Nigeria Business Fair Your Business and Technology “I am a tailor. Luckily, I have a post-graduate degree in information systems and technology, so I know the value of technology to business. Initially, I started off using my personal number for business, but after a while, I had to get a business line. These days, I use a virtual number that routes the calls to your mobile line. Now I have one number for life, and that is technology for you. Also, I have an application where once I put in the specifics of an order, it calculates the cost (based on some pre-set values), creates an invoice and mails it immediately to my customers. When the person pays, I input how much was paid and it generates a receipt for my client and sends it to their email. It also helps me send the order to any of my specified tailors to sew. It makes my work easier. There is so much more you can do with technology. This is what I want people to get right. It is not just about your craft; there are many other things to do. For me, fashion is 30%, business is 70%. When you have all your systems and processes in place, technology helps you to drive it”. Ohmai Atafo, Creative Director of Mai Atafo Inspired, 2017 guest speaker. E-Business And The Growth Of The Nigerian Economy “If your business is an SME, you have to do all the right things. Your tax, your structure, your figures,  and everything, for when your business will be big. You have to start thinking big to make sure your business is scalable. Nigerians do not have an export drive, or a “consume” made-in-Nigeria products. Looking at data statistics, we have the potential to be a great economy. Oil only accounts for 10% of our National GDP. Telecomms, IT and Media are higher contributors to our GDP than oil. Our economy is already diversified, so we are in a great place.  Nigerian business owners should not limit their market to being local, start looking out there (international market). Once you do that, it gives you the option of coming back to satisfy domestic demand. It is better to earn dollars than to buy it from the black market. As an SME, we should look towards being world-class in reputation and service delivery to eradicate Afri-scepticism. There isn’t a reason why you as an SME shouldn’t have a broad goal”. Ayotunde Coker, MD Rack-Centre, speaking at the 2017 e-Business fair.   And this is just a tip of the iceberg. Join us this Saturday, 3rd February 2018 by 9 am, at Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. To sponsor, exhibit, or register, visit www.connectnigeria.com/bizfair or call 0700 800 5000.

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This article was first published on 2nd February 2018

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