Global technology company Zoho has announced a strategic partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to improve access to affordable cloud technology for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, Zoho will make wallet credits with an aggregate value of up to ₦20 billion available to a maximum of 25,000 eligible MSMEs associated with SMEDAN.

The collaboration combines SMEDAN's reach and mandate to promote and facilitate the development of Nigeria's MSME sector with Zoho's portfolio of affordable and scalable cloud-based business applications. SMEDAN is a Federal Government agency charged with promoting and facilitating the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sub-sector in Nigeria.

For many small businesses, the practical barrier is not only getting access to software, but also having the guidance to use it in day-to-day operations. By pairing credits with training and consultations, the programme is designed to move beyond access alone and support adoption inside businesses that may be formalising, digitising or expanding their operations.

The initiative aligns with the agency's GROW Nigerian strategy, which prioritises formalisation, access to finance and markets, productivity and digital adoption. The strategy includes an ongoing partnership with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to facilitate the free registration of 250,000 businesses, bringing more MSMEs into the formal economy and positioning them to access wider growth opportunities.

"Our focus at SMEDAN is to ensure that small businesses can move from survival to growth and prosperity. That means helping entrepreneurs formalise, improve productivity, reach new markets and build businesses that can compete," said Charles Odii, Director-General/CEO of SMEDAN. "Digital capability is now an important part of that journey, and this partnership with Zoho gives thousands of MSMEs within our ecosystem another practical pathway to strengthen how they operate and grow."

"MSMEs are fundamental to Nigeria's economic development, but technology can only deliver its full potential when businesses can access and effectively use it," said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head of Zoho Nigeria. "Through this partnership with SMEDAN, we are reducing the access barrier to adopting world-class business technology while providing businesses with the training, consultation and support they need to leverage cloud technology to streamline their operations, and catapult their growth. The partnership also reflects Zoho's transnational localism strategy, which combines our global technology expertise with efforts to create self-sustaining local economic clusters. Through this approach, we aim to deepen our contribution to Nigeria's entrepreneurial ecosystem and support the development of a more digitally enabled and resilient MSME sector."

Eligible businesses can use the Zoho Wallet Credits to access any of Zoho's 60+ applications that match their operational requirements, including Zoho Workplace, the company's business email and collaboration suite; Bigin by Zoho CRM, a pipeline-centric CRM solution designed for small businesses; and Zoho Books, Zoho's cloud accounting platform.

Beyond technology access, Zoho will provide participating MSMEs with training sessions, workshops and one-on-one business consultations throughout the partnership term, as well as ongoing technical support. These initiatives are intended to help businesses develop the practical digital capabilities required to integrate technology effectively into their operations.

Both organisations will also work together on the implementation of the programme, including outreach to eligible businesses and monitoring of programme adoption and impact.

Zoho Corporation, with over 60 apps across nearly every major business category, is one of the world's most prolific technology companies. The company owns and operates its data centres and is committed to protecting customer data privacy and security.

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