About 15,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s) in Nigeria stand to gain from a boot camp being organized by Paylink in partnership with Google. This is in recognition of the vital role and contributions of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and their contributions to the national economy. Moreso, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on MSMEs is such that one report reveals that many small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to go out of business post-COVID-19.

Paylink.NG, a Nigerian firm that provides safe and easy-to-use solutions that enables individuals, MSMEs, religious groups, not-for-profit, social media vendors, crowd funders, event planners, freelancers, and others to obtain payments through multiple channels by sharing a personalized link. It is a payment, and ecommerce solution, and Google, a world-renowned tech giant has partnered up to help MSMEs to recover quickly from the effects of COVID-19 and reposition them to take full advantage of the opportunities of the post-COVID future. The partnership is particularly aimed to empower MSMEs with the digital skills and expertise needed to thrive, through the Paylink MSME Digital Bootcamp.

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The organizer of the boot camp, SystemSpecs, providers of Paylink, disclosed this recently during the formal announcement of the call for participation of MSMEs across Nigeria for the free seminar supported by Google. MSMEs in Nigeria will be equipped with the appropriate digital skills needed to drive and scale their businesses in the digital age, recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and maintain their business on a long-term basis through a series of online training.

Commenting on the partnership, SystemSpecs’ Executive Director, Corporate Strategy, ‘Deremi Atanda, said, “With more than 41 million MSMEs spread across the length and breadth of the country, it is clear that if these enterprises are empowered to attain their true potentials, they would significantly impact all strata of our economy and society at large.  

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“This is one of the reasons we have partnered with Google, a reputable organization that deals with businesses across various segments of the Nigerian marketplace, to equip enterprises in the micro, small and medium-scale cadre with key requirements to thrive in a post-COVID economy. It is our conviction that MSMEs are an essential stakeholder group in the Nigerian project and we are committed to advancing their causes.”

Areas that will be covered include brand building, business growth, and tools for business management which will be held on selected days in March, April, and May 2021, the training leverages Google’s Digital Skills Africa program for existing and prospective Paylink subscribers.

“COVID-19 forced many businesses to re-think their strategies and challenged long-standing entrepreneurial approaches. Among others, it brought forth the need to adopt a digital-first strategy in order to reach an extensive and largely unexplored market and ultimately grow bottom-line.

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While a number of MSMEs are aware of this progressive direction, many are not. As with our other training, partnering with SystemSpecs to train current and prospective Paylink customers will go a long way in empowering more stakeholders in Nigeria’s MSMEs space,” said Google Nigeria’s Country Director, Juliet Ehimuan.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry