9mobile in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University will host Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Abuja and environs at the 17th edition of its quarterly business networking and empowerment session, Market Access Forum on July 27, 2017.

Market Access Forum provides a platform for start-up entrepreneurs and SMEs to meet, learn, collaborate and network with large corporations with the objective of boosting the capacity of growing businesses and keying them into the value chain of larger organisations.

Speaking about the forum, Director, Enterprise Segment, 9mobile, Eric Uwaoma, said Market Access Forum is one of 9mobile’s numerous ways of supporting start-ups and SMEs across the country till they are able to stand on their own because SMEs are critical drivers of national economic development.

“SMEs are very crucial to the economic development of any nation; they are the engine through which countries thrive by promoting wealth and job creation. SMEs are quick solutions to poverty alleviation, and 9mobile believes that a well-developed SME sector has positive impact on graduate employment rate and overall economic growth of Nigeria”, he said.

Uwaoma added that, “9mobile is passionate about supporting the growth of SMEs in Nigeria as a critical driver of national economic development. This is why we create and support initiatives like Market Access that offer entrepreneurs the platform to network, learn and share knowledge on the secrets of running a business efficiently.”

Market Access initiative is a collaboration of the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University, 9mobile and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).Since its inception in 2011, the platform has seen tremendous success while it has aided thousands of SMEs across Nigeria in networking and developing beneficial relationships with larger organisations.

Since its launch into the Nigerian market in 2008, 9mobile has been at the forefront of promoting SMEs through grants, cash prizes and various initiatives including Market Access and 9mobile Prize for Innovation.