Leading telecommunication giant, Vodafone, as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), has partnered with the Makola Foundation and MicroEnsure to provide a wide range of tools and services to help small local businesses in the month of September.
Speaking at a media briefing to launch Vodafone Ghana’s SME Month, Tawa Bolarin, Director, Enterprise Business Unit & Wholesale at Vodafone Ghana, noted that the initiative, which is in its third year, has taken on added significance this year due to the disruptions caused by the ongoing pandemic to the operations of all businesses, particularly SMEs.
“Over the years, we have supported many businesses to achieve tremendous success in their spheres of influence,” she said, as she pointed Vodafone’s track record in supporting SMEs, whilst reiterating the company’s further commitment in this regard.
As part of this year’s SME Month celebration, Vodafone has outlined a host of initiatives purposely aimed at helping SMEs transform from surviving to thriving businesses.
These include free digital advertising opportunities, free website presence for six months, free use of Vodafone’s Bulk SMS platform for promotional campaigns, twelve months free insurance cover, Red Trader, removed interoperability charges on Vodafone Cash payments, and many other unique products.
Furthermore, every business on the network can create and send a unique Caller RingBack Tone (CRBT) and Vodafone will ensure that the CRBT can be heard by callers to the business.
“Additionally, we have once again partnered with the Makola Foundation to train market traders and business owners on digital skills. This forms part of our drive to accelerate SMEs’ adoption of digital solutions. The virtual capacity-building programme will also educate participants on how digital solutions such as Vodafone’s Red Trader, Mobility Solutions, and Vodafone Cash enhance productivity.
“We have two products that we think would actually benefit every business. Red Trader is an inventory management tool that allows you record sales and manage stock and also takes money, that’s very useful for traders and it’s actually on your phone.
“The second is Your Business Online, with which we are helping businesses build websites, maintain it and use the website to promote their businesses. These two tools, we’ll be training businesses on how to use it. Together with MicroEnsure and the United Nations Capital Development Fund, we will also provide free insurance cover for over 200 SMEs across the country,” she added.
She urged owners of SMEs, which make up 25% of Vodafone’s Enterprise revenue portfolio, to be aware of and understand the pressing demands of today’s hyper-connected workforce, and be prepared to adapt to new and more dynamic ways of working.
“At the end of this month, what would be very rewarding for us at Vodafone business would be to see the number of businesses that have grown their revenue and customer base because we helped them to promote their businesses, I think that would be fantastic,” she concluded.
