Wednesday 28 March 2012

SAP restates commitment to SMEs’ growth in Nigeria



Culled from: www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81390:sap-restates-commitment-to-smes-growth-in-nigeria-&catid=55:compulife&Itemid=391 
BUSINESS management software, solutions and services provider, SAP has reiterated commitment to the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, stressing that there are solutions that small organisations can leverage on for growth.SAP stressed that with the emerging markets status of Nigeria, there are vast opportunities for business growth in the country.At a forum in Lagos at the weekend, Vice-President of SAP Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Tim Noble said, “this is a very exciting time for SAP in Africa, as well as, globally.  SAP is growing very quickly, last year was the best year in SAP’s 40-year history.“We are working to boost the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria and other markets within the region.  SAP are the developers of enterprise business application software that makes companies more efficient, more productive, and more profitable.” 


He noted that there are five key areas of SAP growth in terms of geography; they are Brazil, Russia, China, Middle East and Africa, stressing that SAP’s overall strategy is premised on five focus areas. He explained that the first is the whole layer of applications and the goal is to make the world run better.  Noble said the second is SAP analytics, where we have a clear understanding of our customers and we provide solutions to businesses. According to him, the third is in the area of mobility, and fourth is database and technology. The fifth area is in the area of cloud. Noble added that Nigeria is one of the most important markets for SAP, stressing that there was need for the company to grow by about a 100 people a year in and build more partners. “Through SAP and appropriate partners, we will have significant growth throughout Africa,” he said. The Managing Director, SAP West Africa, Mr. Richard Edet, said SAP has seen significant growth in terms of revenue, he noted that SAP is not only for big organisations, “we provide solutions that can fit any customer with more than 88 000 small medium enterprises world-wide.  We have a customer of ours who operates from Alaba market. We also have a car dealer, who is our customer.”


Speaking about the company’s young professional scheme to Nigerians, he said, SAP has a scheme that will take graduates from university and train them.  “We have several educational partners who deliver classroom lectures. We are also in talks with big organisations to train people.The Head of the Africa Market Unit, Mr. Pfungwa Serima, spoke further on the growth of SAP in the African continent. He said, “we have been fortunate to have worked with partners and we also partner with a lot of customers and our commitment to Nigeria is very important. “We are also investing in communities where we are doing business because it is not only about us coming in to do business but we have to be indigenous. “The business has been going great. We have seen a lot of investment in terms of revenue. A considerable amount of local people have joined SAP from the Diaspora and this is encouraging for Africans returning home.  We have also been involved in CSR activities in Nigeria aimed at promoting education, economic opportunity and business integrity,” he said.

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