Stakeholders, producers hail Osun governor, Oyetola for backing Ajemart platform
The Osun State governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, has received commendation from stakeholders and local producers for its commitment in supporting the development of a marketplace, Ajemart platform, that has offered tremendous opportunity and visibility to produce from the state to the world, Saying the platform provides sellers and producers of made in Osun products the opportunities to showcase their products and services to millions of online shoppers.
Speaking on behalf of some of the beneficiaries at a special programme in the state recently, a verified businesswoman and seller on Ajemart who specialises in the training and production of skincare products, especially coconut oil, Mrs Victoria Oluwaseun, commended the government and management of Ajemart, noting that Ajemart has given her business a boost and so many others like her have equally benefitted.
For Oluwaseun, Ajemart is a boost to the economic growth of the state because the ability to sell beyond Osun has significantly impacted her business positively and in turn, she has also been able to increase her production capacity and also recruited more people.
In addition, one of the enlisted producers who is the Managing Director of Agrikk Matas and is also the President of all Farmers Association of Nigeria, Osun State chapter, Mr Kayode Afolabi, said “product exposure, innovations and collaborations are the keys to the growth of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector and through Ajemart, we have been able to connect with buyers outside the state in no distant time.”
Speaking on behalf of the government and the management, the Project Manager, Clement Adebayo, noted that one of the key benefits of the initiative is to create demand, product exposure and also generate employment by assisting local producers and sellers from the state to increase the demand for their products through adequate market visibility and access which we believe will lead to the economic growth of the state.
He added that: “As part of the agenda of Governor Oyetola-led administration to position Osun as a business and investment-friendly state, the project through is state-wide productivity assessment has mapped all local governments according to their product competitiveness and then produce a comprehensive state-wide list of products that are produced per local government and is using this extensive work to create access for the local producers and sellers.
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“This mapping is perhaps the first of its kind in Nigeria and arguably an unprecedented feat in the State of Osun or any other state in Nigeria.”
In addition to the extensive mapping that has been done to establish per Local Government Area competitiveness, the programme has also been able to enumerate over 6,000 Osun producers and sellers and aggregated these verified MSME in a marketplace that is now offering them global visibility and access to market beyond Osun. It will be recalled that the programme was launched barely one year ago.
Adebayo said, “with the success we have achieved in the one year of the establishment of the programme, we are committed to create more opportunities into the future. We have trained a lot of people on marketing, sales fulfillment, customer service and provided relevant information about entrepreneurship. There are presently over 2,000 producers that have listed their products and services on the platform through the efforts of employed agents across local governments and LCDA offices in Osun.
“We are confident that with the Ajemart digital platform ably supported by the governor of the State of Osun, buyers from all over the world can easily shop for agricultural products such as coconut oil, palm oil, fresh potatoes, fruits, etc as well as artifacts, building materials, textile materials, office and home furniture all produced from the Osun State to the world and by people from the State of Osun.”
Speaking further, he highlighted that one of the significant discoveries and innovations that has the programme has been able to bring to the global scene is the locally made clay water dispenser from Atamora. This clay water dispenser is one of its kind and a complete eco-friendly innovation that stand the chance of receiving global acclaims, and Ajemart is poised to give the requisite support through the marketplace platform to create access for the innovative product and also project same in all its communication campaigns.
