Despite the rise of FinTech companies in Nigeria, over 80% of micro, small and medium businesses are financially excluded. It is not strange that petty traders in Nigeria are not aware of the opportunities FinTechs offer.
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Most often, this FinTechs focus on big businesses or businesses captured on online data and other platforms like social media. However, a lot of Nigerian petty traders, big merchants, and retailers with little or no online presence are excluded from the FinTech experience. Moreover, we can trace this exclusion to illiteracy and ignorance on the part of these financially excluded businesses, or simply the lack the will or interest on the part of these FinTechs to engage underserved areas.
Over 80% of Nigerians engage in buying and selling. They are in major markets, minor markets, streets, retail stores on the highways and what-have-you. They deal in consumables, appliances, clothing, furniture, and so on. These underserved groups are virtually the engine house of the Nigerian economy. However, these small and medium businesses languish in poverty due to a lack of steady finance and other issues of financial literacy. The problem of credit facilities remains an impediment to the growth and development of MSMEs. In this article, I discuss 8 ways FinTechs can reach out and engage these underserved businesses.
- Draft Plan.
The first step is to prepare a plan of action. The question of how long the project will last, what is the mission and objectives of the project, how it will be executed, who to execute it and what to expect should be topmost on your mind and that of your team. You must also plan the strategy of reaching out. Reaching out to financially excluded MSMEs is not a walk in the park. It takes careful planning.
- Map Out Select Markets.
It is advisable to carry out financial inclusion in underserved areas bit by bit. Liking a domino effect, target a specific area where you plan on reaching out, and from there launch out. Or better still, get more hands, split them into groups and commission them to reach other spaces.
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- Survey Selected Areas.
Studying the area you are about to cover is very expedient. This will give you clues on how to effectively cover those areas. To penetrate Nigerian markets easily, all you need to do is to collaborate with the market administration and unions. Every market in Nigeria has its market leadership and unions from which you can get the basic data such as the number of businesses in a specific location. This is the best possible way of reaching out to them. Studying the markets before reaching out is an effective way to know the climate of the area.
- Reach Out.
This is the execution phase of the process. There are multiple ways to reach out to MSMEs in Nigerian markets. It can take several forms such as campaigns and rallies, which can be used to draw awareness and can be done alongside one-on-one discussion, distribution of fliers, pasting of posters at strategic places in the market and so on You can simply perform scheduled visits with business owners which is often the best. This can give you the time to educate them. Aside from this, using traditional (television, newspaper, magazine and radio advertisements and jingles) and new media is another way to engage these micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
- Educate, Prepare And Enlighten.
This is the most key of all the processes. There are various platforms by which you can educate and enlighten small and medium business owners. You can use either manual or digital platforms. For manual processes, you can distribute pamphlets that contain information about your company and what it offers. You can as well evangelise through words of mouth. In 2021, the number of mobile internet users in Nigeria amounted to over 101.7 million. This gives an avenue to digitally teach MSMEs owners. You can download your app on the Google Play Store and teach them how to go about it. Ensure that the UI and UX of your application are user-friendly.
- Empower.
Offer the necessary services and facilities in due time. Fintech companies help MSME owners in filing their tax returns. There is also the specialised skill set required for financial planning. The algorithm of these tools is powerful enough to create financial plans for MSMEs owners. Fintech services also provide credit ratings. With the rise of digital and online payments and e-commerce, the usage of wallets has seen a steady rise. Furthermore, these Fintechs should not only provide this facility to MSMEs but also make available these wallets. Digital currency is the way forward and with fintech at the helm, MSMEs must become tech-intensive and savvy in the times to come.
- Monitor Feedback.
This is where you engage consumers to know their needs and know how best to sustain Customer Relationship Management. You get feedback through their telephone numbers, emails, social media platforms and so on. Getting feedback is to know if they are satisfied with your solutions, services and products. You can use AI to gather and analyse data.
- Follow Up.
Finally, ensure you are constantly giving them the latest information about what your company is offering and to see that they are enjoying every bit of the FinTech experience.
Featured image: THISDAYLIVE
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This article was first published on 1st February 2022
nnaemeka-emmanuel
Nnaemeka is an academic scholar with a degree in History and International Studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also a creative writer, content creator, storyteller, and social analyst.
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