Yemisi Dada
The Lagos State government has reiterated its commitment to supporting Micro, Small and Medium entrepreneurs and creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive in the state.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Idris Aregbe, reaffirmed this while speaking with newsmen at the three days ongoing second edition of the Naija Brand Chicks, NBC, Tradefair held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island.
While hinting the event will be rotational in the six IBILE divisions of the state, Mr Aregbe said that the NBC tradefair attracted over two hundred vendors and over seventy seven thousand attendees which he believed would foster stronger connections between vendors and customers as well as attract more investors to Lagos to create job opportunities for residents.
“Lagos provides the perfect landscape for business growth, and this fair is proof that dreams can be actualised with the right support.
“We are excited to create another groundbreaking event that empowers SMEs and transforms lives. Thanks to the visionary Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu for his intentional commitment to the growth and development of small businesses” Aregbe said.
“It is also not all about selling and buying but also using entertainment to drive visibility which you are all seeing here today, Lagos has a large market and will continue to drive its GDP growth for the benefit of all residents”
Speaking on the huge investment potential of the NBC tradefair, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Olanrewaju Bajulaiye, said the tradefair is a combination of commerce and entertainment to boost visibility for participating brands, with the innovation of the Sanwo-Naira as the means of exchange at the tradefair, while a five billion naira revenue is expected to be made during the three days.
“What we are doing is to showcase the small business owners to the world and this is to boost their sales and overall improve the economy of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole”.
“We have many vendors who came in from other states into Lagos for the NBC tradefair and they are so happy as some of them said they made sales of one month in a day, that alone attest to the success story of the exhibition and it will keep getting bigger and stronger”
The CEO of Naija Brand Chick, Nelly Agbogu, said she was thrilled by this year’s edition with the many new innovations and thanked the Lagos State government for partnering with her to drive her commerce prowess which is evident in the many testimonies of the vendors with increased sales at the exhibition.
One of the vendors who is a Realtor, Mrs Anthonia Boluwaji-Abayomi, commended the Lagos State government for the initiative which she noted brought a lot of entrepreneurs together for increased connectivity and sales opportunities, urging residents to take advantage of the fair for discounted prices.
The Lagos Cultural troupes, comedians and A-list Musicians such as Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde, KWAM1 were on standby to entertain vendors and customers as the NBC tradefair is expected to end on Sunday April 13.