Nigerian telecommunication giant, MTN has partnered with Google to empower over 40 Small and Medium scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) with practical skills to implement effective digital marketing strategies.
The participants who run businesses in various sectors of the country’s economy were empowered in a 4-hour session to gain first-hand experience on how to use digital tools to maximise their businesses.
Facilitators of the empowerment scheme enlightened the beneficiaries on how they can effectively promote their businesses, using various digital tools with a focus on owning business websites, running business ads, leveraging on social media amongst others.
The empowerment programme is one of MTN business’ commitment to promoting SMEs, enabling SMEs to contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth with massive potential to generate employment opportunities for the country’s teeming population and generally be the backbone of the economy.
SMEs’s need to be digitally inclined is unegotiable
In the digital world of today, the need for every individual and enterprise to go digital cannot be over-emphasised. Having a digital presence for a business is now an unavoidable requirement for investment growth. To simplify the point made so far, if your business is not online, you are as good as you don’t exist.
Experts have argued that for a business to exist, let alone succeed and grow, the business needs to leverage the digital space to be known.
In view of the fact that reachability is profitable, there is need to acknowledge that while age-old methods of advertising on billboards, newspapers, and TV are still available.
Thumbs up to MTN on this. CSR is not just about how you make your money but also how you spend your money.
Other telecommunications giants like Airtel,Glo,9Mobile and others should follow suite.
This action by MTN is not just about CSR but will eventually help the tel giant deepen its customer base ,help it gain better and deeper insight of this customer segment to hopefully develop customized products to serve this segment. That way, mutual benefit is created on both sides. This is sustainability thinking!