Globally, Small and Medium Enterprises are leveraging mobile applications to strengthen their online presence. The SMEs in Nigeria have been encouraged to make more use of such applications to strengthen their competitiveness. ADEYEMI ADEPETUN writes

MOBILE technology has become an important instrument for economic and business growth, helping to access, adapt, produce and apply information to managing not just the business itself, but also in the development of human capacities.

The mobile technology has also been linked to increase in job creation globally because of the various opportunities that came with it.

Undoubtedly, the explosion in mobile phone usage in Nigeria has placed the country as the fastest growing market in Africa, displacing South Africa and making it a major bloc in the world.

The latest subscriber statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) buttressed this point. The NCC data as at February revealed that Nigeria currently had 116 million active subscriptions, with the GSM operators pulling the largest share of 113 million, while the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) had 2.7 million subscribers.

Various forecasts have shown the robustness of the Nigerian market and potential, which are yet to be tapped. Consequently, this has increased the influx of various phone manufacturers and brands into the country.

A World Bank study recently revealed that about two third of the global population had access to mobile phones, saying that the voice aspect of the mobile technology was gradually getting to its climax.

Analysts have asked telecommunications service providers to shift their focus from the usual voice services to other technology on the mobile phone, which could also guarantee other streams of income.

Indeed, the focus is gradually shifting to data services, with focus on applications development.

Arguably, some analysts were of the opinion that it wasn’t until the launch of Apple Appstore that the mobile applications industry started to blossom in earnest.

Already, it has been predicted that the total global mobile app market will be worth $25 billion by 2015 (up from about $6.8 billion in 2010), according to projections from MarketsandMarkets. Obviously, App Store holds nearly 20.5 per cent of this market share, while the global market is forecast to record a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 29.6 per cent from 2009 to 2014.

In recognition of the potential yet untapped in the app market both in Nigeria and globally, an indigenous technology firm in the country, VConnect.com has taken up the gauntlet, with the launch of a mobile app targeted specifically at the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs).

To VConnect.com, its target is to assist the over two million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, most of which has no wherewithal to expend on billboards, newspaper adverts, television and radio adverts, among other traditional media platforms.

VConnect’s plan is to assist in getting these SMEs through an app that will run on devices, such as a smartphone, tablet or even the computer.

Interestingly, with the emergence of mobile applications with the primary objective of providing information on products, services or businesses for Nigerians, operators in this cadre of Nigerian business community can now interact with their target audience within their locality in large numbers.

Experts believe that the use of mobile apps would help businesses reduce administrative procedures, improve productivity through efficient auditing to reduce waste as well as improve customer relations and attract new business.

Speaking on the VConnect’s apps development, Marketing Manager, VConnect.com, Mr. Hiren Parikh, said that the local search engine termed VConnect Global Services Limited, was an application site, which had given opportunity to businesses and had grown a database of over 500,000 organised businesses in two years.

According to him, in a country of majorly unorganised database, the search engine caters for large segment of smart phone users and is compatible with both blackberry and android devices providing information on the go.

Parikh stated that the app organises business fora for SMBs to aid their growth and like the VConnect business slogan goes: “Largest Local Search Engine & Information Service Provider in Nigeria,” the application no doubt is an amazing website that brings a lot of prospects to the nation’s economic growth as well as easing the stress of the populace associated with looking for addresses.

According to him, the technology is spreading very fast across the world, and businesses are gaining quick popularity because most of the apps can be downloaded for free by phone users.

VConnect, as a player, he said, had continued to see huge opportunity in the market.

Parikh, noted that the firm had boosted its network to facilitate good traffic management and easy access from anywhere in the world.

Describing the platform as a reliable search engine for businesses, he said BlackBerry and Android phone users had unlimited opportunity in using their phones to do legitimate businesses.

Explaining how the technology works, he said: “On clicking Near Me, for instance, if the GPS on a phone is activated for the user, a list of categories is shown to the user. These categories display businesses within the local government areas where the user is present. The user also has an option to view these businesses on map by just a click.”

He said that users could also get category displays for best businesses in particular areas, and get suppliers calling them with their bids and offers when necessary details like name, email, description, phone number, location, among others are provided.”

Parikh added: “With contemporary technologies, users are given an opportunity to add new businesses in their areas/locality. Relevant details like name of the business, phone number, email, address, among others, are requested and submitted.

“This information is further verified as the business owner is called for confirmation of the business information provided. Users may be required to log in or sign up with their login identity to access this.”

Users can select specific businesses and constantly be provided with updates as they come on the businesses selected, he explained, adding that updates like new businesses, new reviews, new products, new locations, among others, could be supplied as mobile feeds.

By and large, he said that the apps helped to create awareness as well as ease up stress by creating business profile and website designing and development services for SMEs for free.

“Vconnect also has an SMS service, which could be used in contacting a large target audience at a very cheap cost. SMS marketing is one of the cheapest advertising channels to reach customers. More so, users can write reviews on websites, movies or events on the VConnect website if they like the app,” he stated.

In one of his presentations titled, “Harnessing the potential of Internet and Applications on Mobile Devices”, at a Mobile Web conference, President, Cyberskuul news and a former president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Titi Omo-Ettu, said that the country had started seeing the mobile phone, in particular, as a device for change, a tool for closing the digital divide, an ultimate closer of the gap between the rich and the poor and between the rural and the urban.

Omo-Ettu said that building the rapidly expanding mobile system to generate more business makes good sense, adding that millions of SIM cards existed in the market and were supposed to be doing quite a lot beyond voice.

“Content creation is key and I am particularly concerned about how much of this can be locally targeted and locally produced.”

Omo-Ettu, believed that if Nigeria must benefit immensely from the apps market, there was need for improved infrastructure, capacity building among others.