The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has partnered with global technology company Zoho to expand access to affordable digital tools for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across its ecosystem.

The initiative is aimed at addressing the cost of digital technology, which remains a significant obstacle to the productivity and competitiveness of Nigerian small businesses.

Under the partnership, Zoho will make wallet credits worth up to N20 billion available to as many as 25,000 eligible MSMEs within the SMEDAN ecosystem. The credits will enable participating businesses to access Zoho’s cloud-based business applications.

The programme is intended to lower the financial barriers associated with digital adoption while helping small businesses improve the way they handle operations, customer management, accounting, collaboration and other essential functions through cloud technology.

The partnership also supports SMEDAN’s GROW Nigerian strategy, which identifies formalisation, access to finance and markets, productivity and digital adoption as important drivers of sustainable growth for MSMEs.

Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said the agency was focused on helping small businesses progress from simply surviving to achieving sustainable growth.

“Our focus at SMEDAN is to ensure that small businesses are able to move from survival to growth and prosperity. That means helping entrepreneurs formalise, improve productivity, reach new markets and build businesses that can compete,” Odii said.

He noted that digital capability had become an increasingly important part of that process. According to him, the partnership would give thousands of MSMEs within SMEDAN’s ecosystem a practical means of improving their business operations and expanding their enterprises.

The programme comes as SMEDAN continues its efforts to increase the number of small businesses operating within Nigeria’s formal economy. The agency is also working with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to facilitate the free registration of 250,000 businesses.

The registration initiative is expected to put more MSMEs in a position to access formal markets and other opportunities for business growth.

Country Head, Zoho Nigeria, Kehinde Ogundare, stressed that simply making technology available would not be enough if businesses could not use it effectively to address their operational needs.

“MSMEs are fundamental to Nigeria’s economic development, but technology can only deliver its full potential when businesses are able to access and effectively use it,” Ogundare said.

He explained that the partnership would extend beyond the provision of technology credits. Participating businesses will also receive training, consultations and technical support as part of efforts by Zoho to lower the obstacles preventing Nigerian businesses from adopting enterprise-grade digital tools.

Eligible businesses will be able to use the Zoho Wallet Credits across more than 60 applications. These include Zoho Workplace, which provides business email and collaboration tools; Bigin by Zoho CRM, designed for customer and sales pipeline management; and Zoho Books, a cloud-based accounting platform.

Zoho and SMEDAN will also organise training sessions and workshops for participating businesses, alongside one-on-one business consultations and continuing technical support throughout the programme.

The two partners are expected to jointly oversee outreach to eligible businesses while tracking adoption and the programme’s impact.

The broader goal of the initiative is to strengthen the digital capabilities of Nigerian MSMEs and contribute to the development of a more resilient and competitive small-business ecosystem.

Source Leadership.ng