NACC partners Facebook, train 50 SMEs in Lagos

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The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), in collaboration with Facebook and Digivate 360 have trained over 50 SMEs on leveraging digital media to grow their businesses.

Ebuka Ugochukwu, Communications Executive, NACC, in a statement on Monday in Lagos, said the training attracted participants from various sectors of the SME value chain.

The statement said it had become imperative that the chamber should include SMEs in its business model.

“We have come to understand that SMEs are the backbone of any economy.

“We do expect that as these businesses grow, they will be able to contribute more to the economy and leverage the connections and opportunities that we provide them to scale up,’’ the statement said.

It recalled that when the Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria in 2016, one of his objectives was to see how Facebook could empower SMEs in the country.

The statement added that the objective resonated with the chamber’s commitment to empower businesses with digital skills to grow, manage their brands and increase revenue, amongst others.

“As a Chamber which stands as a pillar of the relationship between the U.S. and Nigeria, and also serving as an important catalyst in bringing together people and ideals to bolster bilateral commercial relations between the two countries, it is very important that people know how we are changing the business landscape, so they can reach out to us on how we can help them scale up,’’ it said.

The statement added that the training was still ongoing; that its first phase had just been concluded, and the advanced stages of the training would continue soon.

The NACC is the first and oldest bilateral chamber of commerce in Nigeria. It was established in 1960 to enhance business relations between the United States and Nigeria.

The chamber has grown into a dynamic organisation. It stands as a pillar of the relationship between the United States and Nigeria, serving as an important catalyst in bringing together people and ideals to bolster bilateral commercial relations between Nigeria and the United States.

It has close to 1000 members spanning different sectors of the economy in eight chapters across the country and in Houston, Texas, in the US.