Despite the challenging times, Nigeria’s business landscape continues to thrive with over 39million MSMEs operating across various sectors and segments. To highlight the positive impact of home grown enterprises, Remita, Nigeria’s fintech giant, a subsidiary of the System Specs Group, has reaffirmed its commitment to celebrating and promoting local businesses through its sponsorship of the 2024 Lagos Leather Fair.
The Lagos Leather Fair is an annual feature on the luxury fashion event calendar in Africa. Now in its 7th year, it provides an amazing platform for operators within the leather value chain in Africa to showcase their business and discuss key issues to advance their industry.The 2024 edition will be held between June29th and 30th at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.
In an exclusive interview with the Punch, ‘DeRemi Atanda, Managing Director of Remita Payment Services Limited shares thoughts on how Remita is positioned to celebrate and support indigenous businesses.
“By supporting the fair, Remita reinforces its commitment to empower everyone everywhere by making payments easy”.
Interviewer: What is the motivation behind Remita’s continued sponsorship of the Lagos Leather Fair?
’DeRemi: With increasing global recognition of African creative endeavours, there has been notable growth in the creative space, as African enterprises and individuals showcase a diverse array of creative works across different industries, one of which is the leather industry. As an African business, whose accomplishments in the payments technology space have been recognised and celebrated on the continent and beyond, we understand how much having a platform to showcase African businesses to the world can be to emerging businesses. This is what has informed our sponsorship of platforms that showcase African businesses and our continued sponsorship of the Lagos Leather Fair over the years.
We believe that having a single platform that brings all leather industry stakeholders from different parts of Africa together can help to further stimulate the growth of the industry and draw attention to other related value chain activities that other industries can leverage such as logistics, dyes and chemicals, modelling, designs, manufacturing and finishing equipment, franchising, and of course e-commerce and payments where we play. Sponsoring the fair also provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to making payments easy for everyone, everywhere.
Interviewer: Various companies in different sectors have initiated consumer-focused campaigns to promote local shopping. What are your perspectives on the “Made in Nigeria” campaign drive?
’DeRemi: The “Made in Nigeria” campaign is first and foremost a bold declaration that Nigeria has a lot of good news to offer the world despite its many challenges. There’s no one who’s seen the amazing leather works being undertaken in Aba that has not being wowed about what can come out of Nigeria. That’s a testament to the resilience of creative Nigerians in the leather and other industries.
The “Made in Nigeria campaign” is also a call to patriotism for Nigerians to continue in Nigeria. This is not just an emotional call, it is an invitation to patronize excellent products that come out of Nigeria. Buying Nigeria ultimately boosts the local economy, creates jobs, and fosters national pride. It encourages consumers to support home grown products, helping local businesses thrive.This campaign can elevate the profile of Nigerian-made goods, showcasing their quality and craftsmanship, which today rival international brands in many areas. By promoting locally produced items, we can reduce dependence on imports, stimulate economic growth, and build a more sustainable and self-reliant economy.
Interviewer: Can you highlight some key developments in the Fintech sector that SMEs can benefit from?
’DeRemi: The fintech sector within Nigeria is robust and continues to expand exponentially. Noteworthy advancements in the fintech sector that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can leverage include the growth of account-to-account payments, guaranteed “pay-small-small” schemes, decentralized SME lending platforms that provide much-needed capital that small businesses need to survive, book-keeping platforms for efficient record monitoring and inventory management, and a host of other technology solutions that empower SMEs to trade internationally.
As a fintech company, we continue to lead the charge for SME digitization in Nigeria as it activates its expansion into Africa. For instance, our Remita for SME suite provides omni channel collection capabilities to small businesses that empower them to receive payments in person and online and the ability to manage all transactions from a single touch point. Remita also provides are liable collection portal for SMEs who want to provide eCommerce services but don’t have the technical capabilities to integrate a payment gateway, as well as POS terminals that allow for efficient in-person collections in local and international currencies.
“The “Made in Nigeria”campaign is essential for boosting the local economy, creating jobs, and fostering national pride”.
Interviewer: How do you see the payment industry evolving to better serve SMEs in Nigeria?
’DeRemi: The Fintech sector in Nigeria has played a pivotal role in driving the digital transformation of the traditional financial sector, significantly increasing the reach and efficiency of financial services in the country. This expansive evolution is being facilitated through various technologies and solutions such as mobile banking, digital payments, blockchain technology, peer-to-peer lending platforms, and innovative financial management solutions. These advancements are revolutionizing the accessibility of financial services, particularly to previously underserved communities, thereby catalyzing significant and tangible financial inclusion. Furthermore, the proliferation of fintech has had a profound impact on widening economic opportunities, empowering individuals and businesses to participate more actively in the formal financial sector.
As the payment industry in Nigeria evolves, we expect to see increased access to digital financial tools for SMEs, these tools will drive digital payments, SME credit, business financial management, etc. We also expect to see stronger frameworks around fraud management and mitigation to avoid inhibiting the widespread adoption of digital payments by SMEs.Overall, more payment companies are focusing on creating value for SMEs, and we believe this renewed focus will drive new value creation and capture opportunities for SMEs operating within Nigeria.
Interviewer: What can participants expect from Remita’s sponsorship and exhibition at the Lagos Leather Fair 2024?
’DeRemi: You can expect to be thoroughly engaged! Our team will be on ground to showcase our innovative payment solutions that cater to businesses of all sizes, including SMEs. Attendees will have the chance to see live demonstrations of our platforms, showing how our tools can streamline financial transactions and improve business operations. SMEs can immediately gain access to our payments, collections (local and international), value-added services, agency etc. Additionally, there will be interactive sessions where participants can engage with our experts to gain deeper insights into our services. We’re also creating an avenue for networking, allowing attendees to connect with industry peers and potential partners. Our goal is to provide valuable knowledge, access to our cutting-edge payment solutions, and opportunities for meaningful connections.Wewillalsobegiftingluckyvisitorstoourstandtheopportunitytowin20 N50,000 vouchers to be spent at any of the exhibitors’ stand during the event.
Interviewer:Can you provide three words of advice for today’s entrepreneurs?
’DeRemi: Innovate, Sustain, Collaborate. These words reflect the need for continuous innovation, a focus on sustainable practices, and the importance of collaboration to drive success in any field of endeavour.