ATCON seeks broadband access for SMEs

A strong case has been made for broadband penetration to the hinterlands in Nigeria to serve the needs of growing the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME's) in the internet resale and content development sectors of the ICT industry.President of Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, said that the need to give assistance to SMES in the ICT sector is predicated on their relevance to the growth of the economy.Omo-Ettu who made the remark in an invited speech to a group of US-based Nigerians in New York, urged them to take advantage of the emerging business opportunities.He said that the Association was refocusing its advocacy in several ways saying that 'we are shifting emphasis of our advocacy from how many telephone lines we produce to how many people we empower with the telephone lines. We are also going to work with government on the realisation that the indicators of our success will be manifested in the growth of small-scale businesses which will extend services and content to the last man at the end of the service provision chain'. According him, 'it is SMEs that provide jobs, not the big players. It is therefore imperative that we create an environment that is conducive for all of us including the big players to operate' saying that 'we shall consult and collaborate with the government in bringing it home that it is small-scale players who are engines of growth and who retain their profit within the industry'. He also said that SMEs are not out to take away the role of big and foreign investors stressing that they are in business for altruistic reasons and the preservation of every dollar the foreign investor brings into the country.He explained that while the big investors moves its profit and provides very few jobs in the process, the small scale players on the other hand abound in larger number, employ more hands and keep a bulk of their profit within the system for internal re-use. The ATCON boss further said that 'our Broadband Expansion Participation Program will therefore be in the form of advocacy to create awareness on the businesses that are available to do, empower the small players with the wherewithal of access to funding and working with government to protect their investments'.
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