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By Oluwatobi Opusunju
Microsoft Nigeria and MTN Nigeria have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deliver sustainable and scalable initiatives for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The deal will help foster sustainability among SMEs, where research shows more than 40% of SMEs sink within the first two years.
The partnership will leverage Microsoft’s technologies and MTN’s innovative expertise to create strong value propositions for the SMEs sub-sector. The propositions will address the needs of SMEs around capability development, access to markets and business networks across Africa. It will also address some of their challenges through the creation of innovative solutions.
The General Manager, Enterprise Marketing, MTN, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka said the telco recognizes the significant contributions of SMEs to the country’s economy, even as she expressed the company’s unwavering commitment to the success of businesses in the country.
Highlighting MTN’s support for SMEs in Nigeria, Ikenna-Emeka said: “We launched the MTN Man-In-The-Box Initiative to further demonstrate our commitment to the development of businesses and ensure their sustained business growth.”
“The Initiative was designed to create and sustain awareness for MTN’s Enterprise Business and its focus to provide and facilitate access to technology, new markets, information and finance for SMEs,” she added.
Ikenna-Emeka stressed that MTN was poised to collaborating with SMEs to create bespoke solutions specially designed to help grow and sustain other SMEs in the country.
Country General Manager for Microsoft Nigeria, Akin Banuso reckoned that through the partnership, the SMEs will be able to digitally transform their businesses and be more efficient.
“Our approach at Microsoft has been one of empowerment and collaboration. We work with SMEs and as we learn from them, this makes us poised to provide tailor-made solutions to the challenges they face on a daily basis.
“We are excited about this partnership and looking forward to provide support to the SMEs through the Microsoft 4Afrika initiative. This means that we are able to empower them to digitally transform their businesses and be more productive and competitive,” he said.
