Senior Manager, Innovations and Development Department, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Mr. Muhammad Jiya, has emphasised the need for small business owners to move from offline to online operations, using digital skills.
Jiya said this on Saturday in Abuja at the Business to Business (B2B) Nigeria 4th National Dialogue with the theme: “Digitilising Nigeria’s Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Space for Profitability.”
He said digitisation was transforming everything, from markets and whole societies to the environment and individuals.
He added that “it is a paradigm where computing resources are available when needed, and you pay for their use the same way as for household utilities.”
According to him, business in Nigeria is still experiencing slow growth due to manual ways of operation that is devoid of digital and advanced processes.
“It is high time, therefore, we move from offline to online which may be disruptive to some SMEs, but it paves the way for SMEs to create their own destiny,” he said.
The NIGCOMSAT official listed some free online services which SMEs could use to move their businesses to the digital world to include Microsoft, Google, Apache Desktop Openoffice.
He also listed NIGCOMSAT services that could be useful to SMEs to include Transponder Leasing, Broadband Services, Broadcasting/Direct to Home, Navigation Services, Telemedince/E-Health,
Others are E-Commerce and E-Government solutions, Urban and Regional Planningsolutions and Software and Hardware Solutions.
He urged SMEs to talk to their peers in other small businesses or collaborate with someone who could transfer and share with him/her both the particular technology and the digital skills needed for digitisation.
“SMEs should establish a culture of innovation: Digitization is becoming increasingly important in the search for more efficient solutions and constant improvement.
“SMEs interested in digitisation should exploit collaboration with IT specialised SMEs in their community, build strong network of business partners to exchange skills and resources.”
Suggesting ways government could stimulate digitisation of SMEs, he said agencies like Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) should organise regular workshops on ComputerAppreciation and Digitisation processes.
He also suggested that government should do more to make electricity and other infrastructure needed for digitisation of SMEs available and affordable.
He said “I want government to make loan facilities available to entrepreneurs/would-be entrepreneurs (SMEs Operators).
“In addition, government should approve two additional Communications Satellite for NIGCOMSAT for Nigerian SMEs to enjoy affordable and High Speed Broadband Internet Connectivity, irrespective of their locations in the country.”
NAN
