Babatunde Olofin Urges Public & Private sector to Invest in SMEs

Saying that Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) form the bulk of the businesses in Nigeria is stating the obvious.

According to data, SMEs contribute 48% of national GDP, account for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment.

Despite this significant contribution, the challenges that hinder the growth and development of the sector persist.

Financial technology expert, Babatunde Olofin, implores the public and private sector to invest heavily by creating an enabling environment and financial infrastructure for the sector to thrive.

Mr Olofin is the Director of Business Expansion at TeamApt Limited, one of Africa’s larger fintechs by transaction value. In his words, “SMEs – Small Medium Enterprises popularly known as small businesses are the pillars of Nigeria economy today.

They are the providers of 80% jobs in the country and we have over 39 million of these businesses employing an average of 5 – 10 staff.

SME are not only structured companies but also individuals with a registered business name or not even registered.

These businesses struggle to secure facilities like loans or banking support such as payment and collections, but with the advent of Fintechs, they are gradually being included financially and beginning to have access to loans, savings, payment and collection services which helps in improving exchange of goods and services.”

He also said “There are obvious problems with SMEs in the country, ability to access facilities / Funds to grow business, lack of business support tools (POS, Inventory, Expense management, Accounting), lack of reliable staff, inflation, access to FX for importation of materials or goods, Power for production, economy instability, security problems, just so much to deal with as a SME business.

I currently work with the strongest SME friendly Fintech in the country today, who has identified these gaps and is working tirelessly in bridging the gap. We have a product called Moniepoint which has all the solutions a small business needs to grow in Nigeria today.

Babatunde Olofin was born on 1st of July 1977 into the family of Mr Mathew and Mrs Yemi Olofin in Lagos State and graduated with a degree in Computer Science before proceeding to Tshwane University of technology South Africa for his masters degree.

He has two decades of experience across the telecommunications, banking and Technology sectors beginning as a software engineer to becoming financial technology expert.