- Microsoft partners Intel and HP to organise a forum of SMEs
- Over 100 SMEs in attendance
- Greenville organic food awarded N4million (Pitch Idea)
Again, experts within the technology ecosystem who gathered at the in a forum tagged ‘accelerate your business’ event organized by Microsoft, in partnership with Intel and hp, made it clear that for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria to drive business growth, they must leverage technology.
The forum which held recently in Lagos had over 100 Small and Medium Enterprises in attendance re-established the necessity for SMS to effectively and efficiently evolve in the ever-dynamic business world and this could not be better relevant with the current macroeconomic challenges facing small businesses in Nigeria.
“While the contribution of SMS to Nigeria’s GDP currently stands at one per cent, their potentials to contribute more and become the bedrock of the country’s economy cannot be over-emphasized. This compelled Microsoft’s partnership with Intel and HP to organize an SME-focused event aimed at educating them on ways to better adopt technologies to scale their businesses,”Adeniyi Adebote, Customer Marketing Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, spoke at the event.
Adebote said, “accelerate your business is an opportunity for Microsoft and its partners to collaborate with small and medium businesses to see how they can leverage technology devices from HP utilizing Intel processor and Microsoft Windows 10 operating system including its office 365 productivity suites, as well as cloud solutions to achieve growth and greater efficiency.”
On his part, Tolu Lawani, Regional Marketing Manager, Personal Systems North East, and West Africa, HP, tolu advised SMED to adopt right tools and technology to remain competitive in the current economic situation. Stating that business landscape in Nigeria is very dynamic, ass SMEs need support from relevant private and public sectors to find their feet in the economy.
He urged SMEs to register with SME business club, an initiative of HP, Microsoft, and Intel to host small and medium businesses and provide them with needed supports and exclusive product offers.
However, the forum came to a close with a ‘pitch your idea’ segment where five times were given opportunities to pitch their business ideas. The winner of the section, Greenville organic food which is into the production of ‘healthy garri’ was rewarded with four million Naira grant.
Expressing his gratitude, the founder of a Greenville organic food, Kayode Yusuf appreciated the organizers of the event, noting that the subsidy was very timely.
“I did not see this happening; I feel very elated. I sincerely want to say thank you to Microsoft, Intel, and hp because this is coming at a critical time in the history of this business. We had planned to get NAFDAC approval, improve out stock and distribution network, and to move on to that level we need funds. So this grant is coming at a very critical time to sustain the business and enables it to achieve its good living objective,” Yusuf said.
