African Enterprise Institute (AfEI) launches its edtech platform

The African Enterprise Institute (AfEI) has launched its ultramodern edtech platform, www.africanenterprise.institute, which provides strategic capacity building and enterprise development interventions for Nation states, sub-nationals, conglomerates with extensive SME distributor networks and entrepreneurs. The innovative AfEI edtech platform, africanenterprise.institute, is designed as a 21^st century solution for extensive capacity building for entrepreneurs as well as for professionals at the executive level of small and medium enterprises operating in Africa, the Caribbean and including professionals as well as entrepreneurs of African descent living and working in North America (USA and Canada), Latin America, Europe and Asia. The African Enterprise Institute is also leveraging its edtech platform to implement its mandate to support Nigeria’s small business ecosystem as provided under the recently unveiled African Enterprise Initiative developed by the Nicky Okoye Foundation and implemented in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment.

The African Enterprise Institute’s (AfEI) most unique value proposition is that it creates and manages a value chain of intelligent opportunities which are directly tied to its interventions, trainings, accreditations and certifications. Business students, entrepreneurs and professionals that get certified in one of the AfEI’s 21^st century skills’ certificates, are subsequently guided by a “smart” matchmaking process to global opportunities offered by a growing network of conglomerates, global businesses and even local projects that are seeking competent reliable skilled enterprise executives, professionals, distributors or partners with strong African knowledge and experience. In addition to online edtech certifications, the African Enterprise Institute’s Nigeria subsidiary is working with strategic partners to establish over five hundred enterprise development community centers which will support Nigeria’s grassroot enterprise business development ecosystem and startup business community. Other hard core investments that complement the AfEI edtech platform include the planned enterprise innovation accelerator campus which is positioned to support the next generation of entrepreneurs of African descent to develop World-class 21^st century business models that will reposition Africa in the global market place.

The current interventions on offer today at AfEI’s edtech platform, www.africanenterprise.institute, are already redefining the African innovative capacity building space and these include certifications in business advisory services which automatically gives the candidate strategic partnership with the institute. Others include the African “micro” merchant certification, which certified merchants get linked directly into the supply chains of global manufacturers and global commodity aggregators. African Enterprise Institute also offers strategic training and support for digital content creators, digital marketers, global speakers as well as global developers & coders etc. all of whom get smartly linked to global opportunities in their space of expertise after their accreditation and certification is complete.

The Founder and President of the African Enterprise Institute, Dr Nicky Okoye, had this to say when journalists asked him for the inspiration behind the establishment of the African Enterprise Institute…

“We decided to do something about Africa’s poor showing in the global market place, currently Africa is responsible for less than 2% of global trade and less than 5% of investment capital flows, and none of the top one hundred most capitalized companies, or most valuable companies operating in Africa’s economy are owned or operated by people of African descent. This is unacceptable to me. The struggling economies of Africa are loosing most of our jobs to global enterprises with foreign professionals, primarily because our own people do not have the skills, the networks or wherewithal to participate in the opportunities of global market place. This is particularly painful when you learn that even those global companies that depend almost exclusively on Africa for their entire supply lines or for their entire market place do not . Our strategic intervention with this African Enterprise Institute, will expand the capacity of all our business people of African descent across the World and this will stimulate strategic global market access, on a sustainable level, to our own African enterprises in terms of global capital, global talent, global technologies, global services and global commerce. Our intervention is coming at a very unique time in Africa’s evolution, only recently the African Union launched the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, this is expected to boost intra Africa trade significantly from its current state of 14% to over 60% or even 70%, the resultant impact on job creation, wealth creation and commercial opportunities for African businesses is monumental. We expect that our African Enterprise Institute will play a very significant role in guiding Africa’s entrepreneurs through this transition of continental and global opportunities.”

About African Enterprise Institute and its Founder

The African Enterprise Institute is a United States incorporated institution with a subsidiary focused on Nigeria and other subsidiaries planned for other African countries. The institution is founded by Dr Nicky Okoye, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Transcorp Plc, an enterprise which grew to a billion dollar valuation, under Dr Nicky Okoye’s executive leadership, in less than twenty four months. Dr Okoye has extensive experience in global capital markets, financial industry regulation and enterprise development advisory. He has supported national development by advising on small business expansion, supporting two separate Heads of State, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the a host of National and State Institutions, Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Dr Nicky Okoye has demonstrated expertise over the years in National Development by supporting some emerging market Nations of Africa and the Caribbean with strategies to reposition their populations for the benefits of global market focused entrepreneurship, resulting in increased economic activity and the monumental creation of new jobs. Dr Okoye gained his vast global experience working on three separate continents including Europe, North America and Africa, and his in-depth expertise in global market penetration and  technical strategic execution has given him a unique prospective on complex problem solving and leadership which is enriching and rear.

The African Enterprise Institute engages over five hundred technical instructors, facilitators and tutors who, in addition to their outstanding qualifications, have extensive industry experience and in many cases are considered industry leaders in their own right.

What’s the Best Ecommerce Platform For Your Business? Here’s How To Evaluate Your Options

Launching an e-commerce business in Nigeria is an exciting venture for most entrepreneurs. This is due to the established fact that businesses which go digital have a better chance of succeeding and growing exponentially, as it employs tools provided by digital technology to amplify all aspects of business activities.

By establishing an e-commerce business, entrepreneurs can determine almost anything about the business, ranging from business name, logo, branding, to business set up. Though it feels like an early stage where entrepreneurs only consider current business needs, determining the direction which the business should go and tools needed are important.

In our technological world today, choosing a top online store is not the only factor that guarantees success for entrepreneurs. Business owners choose the top ecommerce platform which possess all necessary tools to facilitate easy integration. As a result, they have absolute control over every detail of the business, as well scaling ability to achieve growth.

Through this piece, we will have a look at the best ecommerce platform for your business, and how you can do a thorough evaluation of the platform that best support your business needs.

What are E-Commerce Platforms?

E-Commerce platform is a means through which entrepreneurs create a digital presence for their business. Through these platforms, companies can make sales and fulfill orders from wherever their customers are located. The range which an e-commerce platform operates depend on the target market of businesses located on the platform. It could be international, continental, national, or domestic level.

Although we have entrepreneurs who feel e-commerce platforms is merely a tool that allow them take orders and accept payments online, the scope of e-commerce has expanded to be more than that. E-commerce platforms today comes with all features to help it function as a command center where total control of the business from the inventory to making sales.

Good e-commerce platforms should help your business process payments in a secure manner, while also allowing you easy access to all the tools required to help you sell through your store.

What types of ecommerce platforms are there?

There are different types of e-commerce platforms in present day. These platforms offer different services and features that make them unique. To make your digital store available for access to the public, especially your target market, a hosting solution is required. Through hosting, data and information about your store are stored on a secure server. The server allows users (buyers) visit your store, view your products and services, and eventually make purchase.

Some e-commerce platforms have in-built hosting, while others use  open source hosting.

• Hosted E-Commerce Platform

There are e-commerce websites which offer a hosted platform. In this type, entrepreneurs do not have to deal with the self or third party hosting which usually attracts a charge. A prime example of this kind of store is Kusnap, which offer website hosting in every plan. Updates on Kusnap are automatic and seamless to help your site keep up with changes. Having a store on a hosted ecommerce platform provides entrepreneurs with greater liberty to concentrate on the business aspects of your store rather than spending precious time on fixing bugs and issues related to downtime.

• Self-hosted

As opposed to hosted e-commerce platforms, Self-hosted platforms require entrepreneurs to engage in the technical aspects of website building. This includes coding, fixing bugs, downtime and other technical aspects of digital platforms. In these types of platforms, running website management is pretty intertwined and convoluted. Entrepreneurs will have to personally maintain, update, and diagnose the website within intervals.

These types of platforms are usually open source, since third parties help host the data of your platform. Fees are charged for these services, and it usually interrupt merchant’s focus on the business aspect of their store.

Types of ecommerce

There are four types of ecommerce: B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B (business-to-business), C2B (consumer-to-business), and C2C (consumer-to-consumer).

• B2C – This involves selling products from a business to an individual consumer. It is also popularly referred to as DTC, or direct-to-consumer.
• B2B – Here, transactions are executed from business to business. It involve wholesale purchase, when the purchasing business intends to resell at a profit, as well as for business use— as in products such as office supplies and equipment.
• C2B – Roles are reversed in this type of business. Consumers also have selling power, in cases where they sell to businesses. Typically, these transactions are less traditional. A consumer might sell their influence in the form of a featured social post, or they might offer a five-star review in exchange for money.
• C2C – Consumers can also sell to one another, a trend that has emerged with the popularity of the sharing economy. Platforms like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay offer a place to facilitate C2C ecommerce.

All things being equal, the type of ecommerce business entrepreneurs intend to start determines the ideal ecommerce platform that best suit your business needs.

What does a great ecommerce experience mean to you?

In cases where entrepreneurs have complete focus on checking the ideal e-commerce platform, it is easy to get lost. Reasons why you are looking for the best platform for your business can easily be forgotten over time. One simple truth which most entrepreneurs would not like to hear is that there is nothing like the best ecommerce platform.

You can only get the right platform for your business. This kind of platform allow you offer your services to customers in the best possible way. We all want an awesome shopping experience. Your e-commerce platform should offer that to customers.

Today, the most effective e-commerce platform should offer an easily integrated ecosystem which have tools such as a store, payment processor, POS, and so on. Kusnap as an example, comes with series of tools that help entrepreneurs manage business efficiently. Kusnap also features an app with tools to help merchants customize shopping experience for their customers.

The best ecommerce platforms for 2021

As expressed earlier, your business model and projections determines the ideal e-commerce solution for your business.  There is a wide variety of e-commerce platforms which entrepreneurs could use in Nigeria. In recent times, the platform which has displayed efficiency in operations, ease of use, and facilitates business growth is Kusnap.

Features:

Price: Available on Request

Free trial length: 14 days

Customer support options: callback phone support; email support; support provided in major languages in Nigeria; community forum; support content.

Integrated sales channels: Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Twitter.

Mobile app features: suite of mobile tools to fully manage your online business

POS: Yes

Payment processor: Yes

Kusnap is easily the most efficient platform to set up e-commerce. Our robust platform features numerous tools that facilitate multi-channel transactions. This way, merchants can sell products through their website, physical stores, social media, and so on.

Additionally, Kusnap help take care of different aspects of your business. Designated payment methods process payments, Kusnap logistics ensure customers receive purchased products, and so on. The numerous tools on offer by Kusnap online marketplace work towards a common goal as part of an ecosystem.

Through all State-of-the-art features of Kusnap, entrepreneurs can create their business digitally with minimal technical experience and budget. This helps merchants grow their online brand without any need to switch platforms along the way.

How Can We Help Businesses Affected by the COVID-19 crisis

The occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected so much. From being a health crisis to an economic one, it is definitely one hard challenge for companies and entrepreneurs to scale through. Having identified the huge role and importance which MSMEs play in the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, it is imperative that these kinds of businesses are offered help and bailouts in different ways.

In the commercial industry today, most  companies are still struggling to shake off the negative effects of the lockdown. As the lockdown was lifted, most businesses had no idea of the scale of damage which it had done to their business. Post-lockdown, Business owners are finally getting a full grasp of the scale of damage that has been done. After identifying numerous problems, lots of entrepreneurs have no real idea of how to recover from the terrible effects on their business, most especially on MSMEs.

Through this piece, we will have a bold look at how MSMEs can get help in recovering from the hellish business conditions created by the pandemic. Also, we will see how business can integrate strategies that will help them recover quicker than anticipated.

Adapting technical assistance to meet the challenge

With the way the pandemic slowly transformed from a health crisis to an economic one, no one could have imagined the extent of damage the pandemic will have over businesses. More importantly, how businesses stay above water to weather the storm and recover is where all efforts and strategies need to focus on.

The government in the past has worked with MSMEs in various industries across the Nigerian economy with the aim of monitoring the condition of business and how well most are performing. It is easy to recognize that other than being a driver for the Nigerian economy, MSMEs are also the biggest employer of LABOR. Atypical MSME in Nigeria operates optimally with employees ranging from 10-20. Statistically, it means MSMEs provides up to 65% of jobs which is a big deal for a developing cou try like Nigeria. Additionally, MSMEs attracts the younger population, as well as women.

Till date, a lot of businesses still find it difficult to identify the full effects which the pandemic has wrought of them. Most enterprise are already in the middle of turmoil in terms of liquidity which could potentially clear out a whole segment of the economy. Today, they all face challenges which vary in impact rates. The degree of challenges businesses face will then determine how policy makers respond.

Challenges facing MSMEs

Businesses have seen it all, the full wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The economy of all countries around the world nearly entered into a recession if we are to go by the data presented by the International Monetary Funds (IMF).

Through the data produced, we can clearly identify how some sectors were paralyzed more than others. Sectors of the industry such as Food, Travels, accommodation, tourism have bore the full brunt of the heat of Covid-19. In a bid to revive the business to its former glory, businesses have to go through four phases; from Lockdown, supply chain disruption, demand depression to recovery. The degree of issues which businesses run into during these phases had a lot to do with government policies

As they transition form lockdown to recovery, MSMEs encounter a series of threats to their survival:

• Collapsing demand and access to liquidity – Demand has plunged for the businesses and entrepreneurs we support – even in commodity sectors – and some buyers are slowing payments for orders already received. MSMEs have small cash reserves, and therefore go out of business first in a liquidity shock. Businesses who trade internationally are especially vulnerable, as they depend on access to increasingly depreciating Naira to fund a variety of their costs.
• Accessing inputs and managing inventory – MSMEs frequently source inputs from abroad, increasingly so as supply chains have become longer and more complex.
• Managing the work environment – For manufacturing MSMEs in severe situations, remaining open is challenging as factory floors are not designed for social distancing. Massive outmigration from cities has meant workers have disappeared and they may be difficult to remobilize. Many countries have suspended support to farmers even as the agricultural calendar continues.
• Policy uncertainty and disrupted supply chains – Policies are evolving fast. MSME managers often work alone and cannot create crisis teams to track changes. Supply chain disruptions such as restricted movements create huge liabilities.
• Accessing emergency support: Many of the small businesses that need support are on the edge of the formal economy or trade informally. They rarely draw on government support and relatively few participate in networks of government support institutions. As governments put together emergency support, reaching these companies and finding ways to help may be difficult.

Reactivating business linkages

As already established, the Nigerian government are the most capable players that can help businesses survive the negative effects of something as huge as a pandemic. As the crisis is steadily regressing, beneficiaries of government funding are to be ready to reconnect with buyers, re-hire staff and re-launch production. It is too early to draw lessons but these are our suggestions, based on early advice from the field:

• Transform the playbook (and listen) – Like other technical assistance providers, many of the Federal government projects helping MSMEs have rigid targets and work plans that did not anticipate something of this scale. Businesses should modify their plans, listen closely to MSME managers and governments on what they need – and find ways to get it done. For instance, the government is already working with numerous industries in Nigeria to develop a recovery plan, with the active support of the funder.
• Be ready with data – International value chains account for a huge proportion of trade and connect to millions of MSMEs. The Nigerian Government is using networks within these chains to measure the impacts of the crisis and is making the analysis available to decision makers and companies. The key is to time surveys so they do not disrupt partners while they address immediate issues.
• Build (re-build) the ecosystem – MSMEs need business support organizations now more than ever. Governments also need an ecosystem that can deliver much needed aid to their MSMEs.
• Think value chains and alliances – Actors across entire value chains have to work together to restore trade. Entrepreneurs can start by working to maintain the dialogue between buyers and suppliers.
• Focus on finance – Because few of private beneficiary companies receive formal financing, they may be left out when governments and public lenders offer emergency liquidity. The Government is working with trade finance providers, regulators, guarantors, buyers, and suppliers to integrate MSMEs into affordable financing networks.

Summary

Considering the really terrible condition which the pandemic has left the Nigerian economy, especially in the MSME sector, a lot of businesses are struggling to keep up. The most effective and credible opportunity and bailout which MSMEs can use is Government intervention. Having recognized the importance of MSMEs to the growth of Nigerian economy, it is expected that the Government rise to the occasion to help businesses thrive through funding and loans.

Fortunately, there are numerous government programs that are already established to help businesses scale through the economic effects of coronavirus pandemic. MSMEs can easily use the opportunity to seek bailout funds to help improve their business, until the market recover fully.