The First Pan-African MSME Academy Webinar in Nigeria to hold on September 03, 2020

Thursday, August 27, 2020 / 11:00AM / Ecobank Nigeria / Header Image Credit: AUDA-NEPAD & Ecobank

All is set the first Panafrican MSME Academyinformational webinar in Nigeria slated for 3^rd of September, 2020at 10am and open to Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises across the 36 statesand federal capital territory. The MSMEs are invited to join this webinartailored specifically for MSME operating in Nigeria. The webinar provides tipson access to finance and building a digital presence.

Spearheaded under the AUDA-NEPAD "100,000 MSMEs by2021" (100K MSMEs) programme launched by the African Union Development Agency - AUDA-NEPAD in partnership with the Ecobank Group, the MSME Academyprovides easy access to practical training and resources on financingopportunities in various countries, how to build a digital presence forbusinesses and how to adapt business operations in the era of the COVID-19pandemic.

The Panafrican MSME Academy offers free access tomarket intelligence, a host of mentors with a diverse experience whileassisting with access to funding opportunities. The programme provide supportto African MSMEs and is structured in three pillars, namely: the MSME Academy,MSME Marketplace, and MSME Financing Support Programme to be delivered throughan MSME Digital Platform.

The MSME Academy aims to build the capacities of MSMEsacross Africa through a combination of relevant content library, a network ofinstitutions specialized in MSME support such as incubators and accelerators,and a community of peers, mentors, and advisors; the MSME Marketplace is aconsolidated marketplace of marketplaces, enabling MSMEs to access e-commerce,procurement and alternative financing opportunities across the continent; whilethe MSME Financing Support Program is a scheme that will bring togetherfinancial institutions, guarantee funds, and other institutions to reduce thecost of risk for lenders to deliver capital to MSMEs at scale.

The objective is to radically expand access to financeby aggregating smaller financial institutions such as micro-credit institutionsand credit unions that have access to micro-enterprises, standardising theirprocesses, and building trust in their capabilities. The MSME Digital Platformis a one-stop-shop for all MSMEs across Africa to access all these threeprogrammes which jointly address MSMEs' challenges with access to capacitybuilding, markets, and capital.