Empowering Local Businesses: Ecobank Nigeria takes SMEs global

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Ecobank Nigeria is eyeing global opportunities and growth for the small and medium scale enterprises exhibiting at its annual ‘Oja Oge’ marketplace. The Head of SME and Partnership at Ecobank Nigeria, Omoboye Odu, disclosed this on Friday at the press conference on the opening day of the fashion marketplace.

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Oja Oge by Ecobank Pop-Up Marketplace, now in its second year, is a three-day fashion, beauty, wellness, and lifestyle exhibition scheduled to take place from April 18 to 20, 2025. The event will feature top-tier exhibitors, including Adidas, House of Tara, Winston Leather, Ava and George Children’s Clothing, Chenche Clothing, Lush Hair, and many others.

Describing Ecobank Nigeria as the “SME-solution Bank”, Odu said, “It’s a platform for creatives in the fashion space; be it apparel, lingerie, jewellery, accessories, you name it. Everything is extremely tight, so we give them a platform where they can bring their things and show them to a larger market.

She added, “More importantly, we want these SMEs to succeed because when they succeed, we succeed. So our solution is to get that local SME to a global level, to a global impact, and then change our narrative as a country.”

Beyond providing the SMEs with a platform to sell their goods, Odu said the bank was also getting involved at the level of putting in structures that ensure business survival. “What we’re doing is teaching them to separate business from self. Teach them to put in the right governance structures. We have made all of them set up separate accounts for the business and themselves. So they separate the two entities. Then we can actually measure how the business is doing,” she stated.

Odu noted that a deliberate effort was made at this year’s ‘Oja Oge’ to focus on showcasing ethnic designs and local artistry. “We’re seeing a deliberate effort to make it less contemporary and more ethnic this year. Even the setup of the hall was done by some artisans from Kano. Just to show you how we can use our local materials, bamboo and raffia, to make something beautiful,” she affirmed.

The Head of Corporate Communication, Ecobank, Austen Asokpor, also highlighted the benefits of the exhibition for the SMEs. “Those SMEs you see here, they are getting calls from everywhere. The after-sales are usually even greater than the sales at the exhibition, and that’s a good thing for them. We are encouraging them to come, and let’s make them into an international brand.”

He added, “We have what we call the Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub, where businesses across the continent can connect and reach more customers.

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