E-Financial
SMEs and Freelancers learn ways to increase revenue from experts at Kuda Business partnerships webinar
Kuda Business, the enterprise-facing offshoot of Kuda, held a webinar for business owners in Nigeria seeking to leverage partnerships to maximise value from their ventures in this economically trying times.
Facilitated by sales experts and a notable entrepreneur, the webinar titled, ‘Leveraging Partnerships to Make More Revenue’, was held on Thursday, February 29, 2023.
Mrs. Vivian Ekwegh, the CEO of declutterdotcom; Maryam Ibrahim, Strategic Partnerships Manager (B2C) at Kuda; and Oluseye Babatunde, Strategic Partnerships Manager (B2B), Kuda, all spoke at the webinar aimed at freelancers and SMEs.
Speaking about the nature of business partnerships, Mrs. Ekewgh mentioned that partnerships are “a wholesome way to grow [a business].”
Furthermore, the declutterdotcom CEO advised Nigerian business owners to look for companies with similar values.
“Look for another business that is complementary, or even a competitor who has similar strengths.”
“Your reach is beyond your network because you’re now partnering with someone who has done it for a while,” she said, sharing a personal anecdote of how partnering with logistics services helps her business provide value to customers.
“At this rate, people should collaborate, not compete. Because nobody has it all,” she said.
Addressing the challenge of identifying potential customers, Babatunde shared that it was important to look out for compatibility. “Things to look out for, be sure you are compatible. Complementarity is very important. If you don’t understand the value chain, where you play, you won’t know how you can complement. After this, you begin to check out their integrity, you can also check out their track record of success. Then, read reviews about them.
“Do as much as possible to learn more about the company. Don’t just assume you know these people. You’re going into a different relationship with different dynamics,” he said.
On her part, Ms. Ibrahim shared that businesses should conduct “extensive research”. “You need to do a competitive comparison of the different players in the company, who is on top, which business will be beneficial for me. Then you need to be sure of the reputation and credibility of the organisation you want to partner with.”
The speakers shared their wealth of experience with attendees, using personal examples to drive home the importance of vetting partnerships properly.
Mrs. Ekwegh shared an experience with a delivery firm she had in the past, which was as a result of a difference in values. “We had to partner with a delivery firm, they contacted us. We connected them with a few clients. They didn’t understand business integrity or following through with customers. So it was so bad. Sometimes they damaged our products before they got to the customers’ side.
“Other times, you want to collaborate with a business. Some of them became so rotten, they began to scam the customers. It was a big challenge for the company because we identified with them. We spoke for them. It came back to bite us back.
“The biggest challenge I’ve had to face is deliveries with companies, some started scamming the customers and taking the money for themselves,” she shared.
Harping on the importance of negotiation in the process of establishing partnerships, Babatunde advised business owners to go to the negotiation table with clarity and honesty.
“I never go to a negotiation table without my clear ask—my clear terms. There might be some tweaks and adjustments along the way. You need to go with honesty. I don’t tell people what I cannot do. I see a lot of people go into partnerships trying to pad the figures and so on. It will haunt you later. If you cover Lagos and Ibadan, don’t say you cover the whole of the southwest. If your customer base is 50, say it’s 50,” he explained.
Ibrahim advised business owners to highlight the value they are bringing to the table.
The B2C partnerships expert shared that having a unique selling point is key.
“It’s very important to highlight the value you are bringing to the partnership. You need to show them why they are choosing you, or why they should go with you. You need to have your unique selling point,” she said.
But she also advised business owners to remain flexible.
“You can’t be stone-headed and say ‘it’s my way or it’s no way’. Maybe not in the key areas, but be willing to be flexible,” she said.
Casting some attention to the economic landscape in Nigeria, the speakers also shared advice for businesses to help them remain viable despite prevalent circumstances.
“Don’t just be a Lone Ranger. Network. There are things you will not know are possible until you get into a space that shows you a niche or an opportunity you can explore. Ask questions. You don’t know it all,” he said.
Mrs. Ekwegh shared that “letting other people in” is also important to scale a business and its operations.
“Most businesses in Nigeria are borne out of a place of pain. A lot of the time you’re the everything for your business. You’re the CEO, the customer service, everything. And doing it alone can break your back. If you really want to go far you have to let other people in,” she said.
Kuda Business continues to empower business owners and SMEs to help them achieve profitability and scale their operations.
The platform’s webinar series, hosted monthly, helps businesses access knowledge from entrepreneurs and experts, providing a community for experienced voices to share practical knowledge.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has awarded the country’s second Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) license to Unified Payments, Nigeria’s premier financial technology company, following a rigorous and transparent process,
The move is targeted at enforcing existing requirement that all transactions from point-of-sale channels in Nigeria must go through a licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA).
The CBN is enforcing the laws to clamp down on financial crimes and other market misconducts and it aligns with the CBN’s objectives to fully track all electronic transactions in Nigeria, given the propensity of using such transactions to fund insecurity, violent crimes, banditry, kidnapping as well as other vices.
According to one analyst, “By awarding a second PTSA license, the apex bank has proactively responded to industry operators who had expressed serious concerns about channelling all transactions through a single aggregator, the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System PLC (NIBBS), as has been the case for some years.
“With the new policy direction, payments service providers would henceforth route all transactions through either of the two licensed Companies.”
Other financial analysts and industry players have commended the Central Bank, affirming that “the move can be a massive step in the right direction. They also commended the open, transparent, and inclusive manner via which the selection process was managed, and the license awarded.
“The selection process, which lasted for months, began with an invitation for qualified organisations within the payment industry to submit an Expression of Interest document, alongside other requisite documentation and additional capital requirement of N1 billion.”
The new management of CBN decided not to give the license out without going through an open process – and for the first time in licensing a payment service provider – the apex bank went through a public bid process outlined in its publication of Friday, January 5, 2024, in different national newspapers. At the end of the process, Unified Payments emerged as the most preferred service provider.
Unified Payment Services Limited, also called Unified Payments or UP, is a shared service provider within Nigeria’s financial technology sector owned by a consortium of Nigerian banks. For over 26 years, the firm has provided payment technology to banks and other industry operators. The first and only non-bank entity that is a principal member and licensed acquirer of all of American Express, Mastercard, Visa, UnionPay and Payattitude. Unified Payments facilitates both local and international transactions.
Formerly known as ValuCard Nigeria Plc, Unified Payments led the way to introduce POS payments in Nigeria under its card scheme known as ValuCard which is the first payment card to be issued in Nigeria. The company later transformed into a scheme-neutral and option-neutral service provider enabling transactions under different schemes.
The company has continued to provide leading payment technologies and services, enabling different operators to leverage its capabilities and licenses, enabling prompt and seamless transactions.
Among the shareholders of Unified Payments are First Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Zenith Bank and Fidelity Bank. Other shareholders are Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank of Nigeria Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Ltd, Polaris Bank Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Wema Bank Plc.
Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, has expressed support for the ongoing banking recapitalization exercise saying it will empower banks to lend more to the economy.
CIBN President, Dr. Ken Opara stated this yesterday while speaking at the annual lecture of the institute in Lagos, with the theme “Improving Availability of Credit in the Nigerian Real Economy: The Critical Importance of Liquidity.”
Okpara noted that the volume of credit to the real sector activities namely agriculture, manufacturing and services is low compared to their critical role in driving economic growth.
Consequently, he called for more credit to the real sector, saying, “I propose that we consider offering more credit to these key sectors and particularly the agriculture sector. It is for this reason that the Recapitalization exercise is a welcome development.
“The recently announced upward review of the Minimum Capital Requirements of Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria would further empower banks to extend more credit to the economy’s productive sectors.”
To address these factors impeding credit to the real sector, Okpara suggested that, “The government needs to improve further the ease of doing business and infrastructural development, such as power, roads, rail networks, etc.
“Setting up industrial centres where these companies can co-habit and share common infrastructure. Harmonize and reduce the various taxes and levies, including locating them in a single hub.
“Banks need to be deliberate in de-risking these companies via Capacity building programmes, and Advisory services.
Specialised Financial Institutions can be created in addition to the Bank of Industry (BOI), especially credit guarantee agencies and risk-sharing institutions, to further facilitate the deepening of credit as practiced in countries such as China which significantly transformed its economy.
A new report claims that 20 per cent of Nigerians are using Bitcoin to carry out financial transactions every day.
According to the open-source blockchain website, Elastos, the research was compiled from online interviews conducted with 1,407 self-defined ‘tech savvy’ respondents in Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, South Korea, UAE, the UK, and the US.
The interviews were completed by a third party, a registered market research company and completed between 30 March and 04 April ’24.
The report further revealed that 67 per cent of Nigerians would have more trust in Bitcoin to put their life savings than banks and local governments.
The report reads; “The inaugural BIT Index (Bitcoin; Innovation & Trust) – compiled from over 1,400 self-defined ‘tech savvy’ respondents from 7 countries across the globe – sheds light on the actual perception and use of Bitcoin in people’s daily lives, irrespective of its current valuation. Elastos’ BIT Index is part of ongoing research to better track the ‘real world’ use of Bitcoin together with users’ motivations, expectations and barriers around the same.
“In particular, the data reveals the role being played by emerging markets in terms of understanding, usage and confidence around Bitcoin. Nigerian respondents’ levels of usage and trust compare starkly with those expressed from so-called ‘established’ markets such as Germany and the UK and Germany where daily usage levels are just 8% (for German respondents) and (9% for their UK counterparts).
“In terms of the trust – in addition to Nigeria – significant proportions of respondents from Brazil (35 per cent) and the UAE (32 per cent) would have more confidence in Bitcoin-based services to protect their life savings compared to those from markets such as the UK (20 per cent) and Germany (22 per cent).
“When it comes to ensuring the integrity of online transactions, emerging market respondents also revealed their relative confidence in Bitcoin, compared to alternatives. According to the data, 66 per cent of Nigerian respondents and 35 per cent from Brazil have more confidence in Bitcoin-based systems than alternatives such as banks, or national Governments, compared to figures of just 16 per cent (Germany) and 21 per cent (UK) who feel the same.
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