Nigeria Has A Cashless Night Market And This Is How It Is Helping SMEs
Recently, a multinational health wellness organisation by the name EDMARK International Group of Companies launched what is the first cashless night market in Nigeria, with a keen focus on the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), network marketing, information technology and real estate among other sectors.
While speaking at the first-ever Faaji Night Cashless Market in Nigeria under the auspices of the ED2E arm of the company, the Founder and Chairman of EDMARK, Sam Low, revealed that his company currently has more than 50,000 Nigerians on its payroll through full-time employment and network marketing. He also said that the firm plans to create 10,000 jobs per year in Nigeria as from 2019.
According to him, since EDMARK’s entry into Nigeria nine years ago, the company has created more than 200,000 jobs, and over 50,000 Nigerians are in payroll through direct and indirect jobs. “We are providing jobs and platforms for young and enterprising Nigerians to excel by means of network marketing, real estate, and info tech.
About the motive behind the Cashless Night Market being launched by the company, Low revealed that the plan is to encourage Nigerians to imbibe the cashless policy culture that current trends all across the globe. In this way, the Nigerian economy will be stimulated, and the circulation of money will be natural.
This launch brings merchants and buyers together to provide them with a suitable platform on which they can interface and make secure payments without having to carry cash around. Currently, there is free Wi-Fi for these SMEs to access the EDPoints mobile application easily.
One narrative has it that a merchant who came to sell furniture at the Cashless Night Market, going by the name Chidi Okeke, showed excitement at the rate which his products were bought at the event. After very successful sales that night, he comically reported that he was on his way home to pay his rent which has expired since August. Also, other merchants were able to sell food, drinks, hair accessories, pieces of jewellery, provisions, books, cakes, electronics and lots more with impressive turnovers.
This first-ever idea, emerging from the stables of EDMARK – the cashless night market – is adding to the existing initiatives in place for SMEs to embrace the cashless culture. But EDMARK’s, in particular, is taking it to a whole new level, bringing a night avenue for traders to successfully sell and acquire profits in business while embracing the cashless policy. More of this is needed in the Nigerian ecosystem for SMEs of different natures to thrive, expand and even globalise.
Featured Image Courtesy: thenationonline.ng.net
