SME.NG has unveiled a new e-marketplace platform with the aim to provide access to finance wider market access, technical and business support to local female entrepreneurs. The new platform was introduced as a solution to the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerian female-owned businesses.
Deemed ‘Ebi Marketplace’, the platform is a one stop shop solution for Nigerian Female Entrepreneurs. It is an all-inclusive platform that will democratize access to finance, financial inclusion and e-commerce for women entrepreneurs. The Ebi Marketplace will improve access to finance, access to wider markets, access to technical and business support, access to a job portal connecting female entrepreneurs to suitable staff. The platform will further allow entrepreneurs connect and partner with other female entrepreneurs across the country, thus helping them transform their economies to become more independent, equitable, and sustainable.
Speaking on the purpose of the Ebi Market Platform, the Managing Director, SME.NG, Ms. Thelma Ekiyor, stated: “With Nigeria’s population increasing exponentially coupled with the global pandemic, economic opportunities are now limited and overstretched especially for the female entrepreneurs. The need to encourage, give access to finance and support these female entrepreneurs cannot be overemphasized. SME.NG, through this platform, aims to provide Nigerian Female Entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their businesses through financial services, trading opportunities, advisory services, mentorship and networking and so much more.
By providing female entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial opportunities to create wealth and support their livelihood, the Ebi Marketplace platform will help keep people in business, generate jobs and income”, She continued.
The Ebi Marketplace platform will be Nigeria’s first all-women’s e-market platform which is safe and user-friendly. The platform will also feature a Nigerian women’s SME directory with sector and location tags to expand the reach of products and services across Nigeria and beyond. The Ebi Marketplace will be all inclusive and will be a one-stop shop information portal of opportunities for female entrepreneurs. The app will provide female entrepreneurs and their customers with a unique and seamless online trading and shopping experience. It also includes features that will help drive sales and boost revenues for women-owned businesses, as well as provide other resources that will enable female-owned businesses to thrive.
To join the Ebi Marketplace Platform, interested female entrepreneurs can register to be vendors on www.ebimarketplace.com. The Ebi marketplace will officially go live on August 1, 2021 and the App will be available for download on Play Store and Apple Store. Successful sign-ups would officially become vendors on the platform and can access all the benefits on the Ebi Marketplace Platform.
SME.NG was established to bridge the gaps in women’s access to finance through “gender lens investing”. It is an impact investment platform that invests in Nigerian SMEs to realize measurable environmental, social, and financial returns. The platform’s approach to SME financing is through a “blended financing” model, which leverages private capital, public sector investments and philanthropic giving. SME.NG has two funds for women and operates an all women accelerator, “She Works Here”.
