Maiden Assembly Set To Reshape Future Of African SME’s
March 18, 2024
Lagos, Nigeria - The Africa SME Assembly is set to convene the most impactful gathering of SMEs, investors, and policymakers on the continent. Scheduled for the 29th & 30th of March 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria.
This event is poised to unite SMEs, entrepreneurs, visionaries, startups, tech experts, investors, and industry leaders, all driven by a shared commitment to growth and collaborative innovation across Africa.
The assembly’s theme Unlocking Growth Opportunities for SMEs aims to spotlight avenues for SMEs to access and leverage opportunities, including funding, grants, supportive policies, networking, digital business infrastructures and more. The focus is on addressing key challenges faced by SMEs, such as restrictive policies, limited utilization of modern technology for business growth, poor cross-regional collaborations, funding constraints, and the absence of managerial expertise in various industries including Manufacturing, Agriculture, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, Transportation, Logistics, and Information Technology.
The Role of Africa SME Council and Africa SME Capital
The Africa SME Assembly is proud to announce the establishment of the Africa SME Council and the launch of the Africa SME Capital. The mission of the Africa SME Capital is to facilitate Foreign Direct Investment into the African SME Sector, leveraging the Continent's Diaspora Network. The Africa SME Council and Africa SME Capital are committed to supporting SMEs across the continent by providing access to capital and fostering an environment conducive to entrepreneurial growth and success.
The Conveners behind the Africa SME Assembly believe that If SMEs can be fixed, Africa's economy will be fixed and primed to compete with other economies globally.
Speaking about this event, Mr. Treasure Enyinnaya, Convener of the Africa SME Assembly highlighted that:
“It is not to be over-emphasized that SME accounts for 80% of job creation in Africa and this makes SMEs a significant mechanism for socio-economic growth which has the potential to reduce the level of poverty, build an inclusive economy for all to benefit from and foster the growth of the Economy.“
According to Abaz Ibekwe, Co-founder & CEO Techfield, Co-convener Africa SME Assembly
“Working on this project has been of immense importance to me. Being a global business facilitator, I have heavily admired the European SME Assembly for its achievements promoting entrepreneurship in Europe, aiding access to support, informing about resources, and encouraging new business ventures.”
Monalisa Agbata - Co-convener & Head of Marketing at the Africa SME Assembly also stressed that “In the last six years the decline of SMEs due to the economic downturn in Nigeria from COVID-19, internal government policies affecting ease of doing business, multiple taxation, and insecurity has led to vast unemployment and holistically a reduction in GDP.”
The Africa SME Assembly will be featuring high-profile speakers from across the continent
to share their wealth of knowledge and experience, providing thought-provoking insights around the current status of the SME ecosystem in Africa, and initiating the key players to rethink the way forward to foster collaboration among SMEs while building an inclusive economy that contributes to economic growth.
Some of the confirmed distinguished speakers include:
Mr. Peter Obi, Former Governor, Anambra State
SSA to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, Mr. Tola Adekunle-Johnson (MFR)
CEO/ Founder of the Global Policy House and Senior Government Advisor of the AFCFTA on Digital Trade , Michelle Chivunga N.
Mr. John Bosco Kalisa: Facilitator-Africa SME Assembly Executive Director/CEO, East Africa Business Council (EABC) (Rwanda),
Prof. Sunday ADEBISI
1st Occupier Professor, Dr Mike Adenuga (Jnr) Professorial Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies
Director Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre
Dr Faith Nwaobia; Founder & President, Youthup Global & Utidia (Nigeria),
Mr Victor Olatunde President, Salesplat (Nigeria)
Chidi Nwaogu - Founder, Savvy Fellowship
Emmanuel Nduka, Chief Evangelist, Scholarly
Highlights of the Assembly will include: Keynotes and Panel Discussions to Investors liaison, Networking, Exhibition, Trade Fair & Awards.
Also Inclusive of what the Assembly is doing, it aims to provide Networking and Bilateral Trade Opportunities for Young Africans & Women, knowledge sharing, and Policy Awareness and Policy Advocacy.
