Fintech boom is making small businesses thrive. Here’s how to tap into it – Tomiwa Aladekomo
The boom in Financial Technology (Fintech) platforms in Nigeria has opened more channels for small and medium businesses to thrive, Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media, says, and he believes it has opened the door for the next generation of business owners to succeed.
Aladekomo is the CEO of Big Cabal Media (BCM), a Nigerian digital media company that owns Zikoko, a blog that prides itself on creating super-engaging content that African youth audiences love.
According to the 2019 African Tech Startups Funding Report, ‘Disrupt Africa’, Nigeria is home to over 200 fintech standalone companies. The report said between 2014 and 2019, Nigeria’s bustling fintech scene raised more than $600 million in funding, attracting 25 per cent ($122 million) of the $491.6 million raised by African tech startups in 2019 alone—second only to Kenya, which attracted $149 million.
With Fintech platforms like ALAT by Wema, Nigerian MSME owners can carry on doing their businesses, secure in the knowledge that their fintech applications are taking care of much of the underlying complexities of financial management.
Aladekomo, who has built one of Nigeria’s biggest digital media startup companies, said the boom in Fintech has opened more opportunities for young Nigerian startups to thrive.
“Across Africa, a lot is happening in the area of logistics and food service. We saw the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, and there’s still a lot of wide up spaces for young startups to thrive,” he said. “There’s a lot more possibilities for startups now made possible by the boom in Fintech.”
He spoke at the second edition of a virtual Talk Series hosted by ALAT by Wema on Thursday, August 27, 2021.
The Talk Series tagged ‘Developing and Sustaining the Startups of the Future (What Startups Need to Survive, the Tools, Experience and Positioning)’ attracted about 100 participants, including SME owners.
It aimed to equip young Nigerians with the right information and skillset to prepare them for how to explore business opportunities.
Aladekomo also advised that as entrepreneurs devise means to penetrate the market, it is ‘super important’ to be committed to a vision and not start a business in a space they don’t understand.
“In building your business, a wide range of expertise comes into play. For those building their startups, they need to get a mastery of skills and understand the ecosystem in which they play,” he advised. “Another important thing as a startup owner is to identify the problem you want to solve and provide a scalable platform for you to thrive.”
