Why technology is critical to SMEs’ survival, by Barrow
As major drivers of economic growth, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) need cost-effective, operationally efficient and flexible solutions in the management of their businesses. Lack of access to technology, finance and other tools necessary for the growth of SMEs are absent. Omatsola Barrow is Acting Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer, MTN Nigeria. An arm of the telecommunications firm that focuses on corporate customers, SMEs and the likes.
In this interview with ADEYEMI ADEPETUN, he spoke on why technology is critical to the survival of SMEs. Excerpts
What has necessitated the new focus on SMEs?
All over the world, SMEs are regarded as the engine room for growth within the economy. In Nigeria, we have seen a renewed and increased attention being paid to this critical sector in the last couple of years. And for us at MTN, we just want to be fully aligned to the government-led initiative aimed at strengthening SMEs.
We believe SMEs play a unique role within our economy as they provide employment opportunities to keep our people fully engaged. Whether you are talking of the micro (small neighborhood shops) or to the next level of business, SMEs play a key role in our economy as they provide employment opportunities and opportunities to get people fully engaged.
One of the things people at that level require is technology. What we currently see is that big technology decisions and processes required to drive businesses is well entrenched for the high value customers or for the big corporates, most of them have very well designed or established systems in place. Most of these companies have invested a lot of money in technology.
However, there is a gap because down below are the SMEs who do not have huge finances to invest or opportunities to share best practice across continents like the big multinationals have. Because of their pivotal role in our economy, it is key that we use technology to enable them, to help them manage their rising costs, to help them manage and drive better efficiencies in the way they do business and to make them effective and take them to the next level where they can compete with other businesses across the world and that’s what MTN next level is about. It is how we inspire and enable SMEs to grow.
This MTN’s Next Level initiative, what are the components for the small businesses?
The foundation of the Next Level is built around the Y’ello Directory. The Y’ello Directory will be the platform by which all SMEs come on board the Next Level engagement, if we can get on board the over 17 million SMEs we are told are available in this country into the Y’ello Directory.
The Y’ello Directory is a web-based page where we are able to create a community where SMEs are able to display their products, they get the right listing and they get visibility. We realize that one of the challenges SMEs face, unlike the big corporates, is that they are not able to advertise; marketing comes at a very high cost for them, creating the required awareness of their availability also comes at a high cost.
The Y’ello Directory affords them an opportunity for visibility as well as awareness. It creates a community where people go to buy products and services from the SMEs. Beyond that, we begin to expose them to the cloud. Cloud is simply outsourcing various solutions whether payroll, inventory or HR solutions and gradually introduce them to other solutions such as CUGs, domain names or the Internet. That is how the journey would be explored.
In looking out for the SMEs, we are concerned about their profitability and sustainability. At the end of the day, we want to see SMEs that will outlive themselves, that can be passed from one generation to the other, enabled by technology with the sole purpose of being sustainable and making profit.
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