DHL Will Boost Its Investment In Nigeria And Assist SMEs
DHL stated that it would keep making investments in the Nigerian market and support growth in order to provide accessibility for the nation’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
In a conversation with media, Hennie Heymans, Chief Executive Officer of DHL Express in Sub-Saharan Africa, stated that DHL would continue to be at the forefront of economic investment and aid SMEs in maximizing their growth through its numerous programs.
He emphasized the need of the company moving ahead with its investments in the nation so that it can keep growing its network and increase accessibility for SMEs.
Heymans stated that; “We play an important role from a thought leadership point of view which means that we use our international expertise to sit down and talk to governments about how we can make trade, most importantly, international trade easier. Now we can use some of those best-demonstrated practices from around the world and bring that knowledge to local markets and help ease the administrative burden, make trade a lot easier, and make the market more accessible.”
According to Heymans, who defined Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa as essential components of the firm’s network, the market in the country is distinct due to the phenomenal macroeconomic growth being observed, particularly in the SME sector.
“Nigeria is an important market for us and we will continue to invest in this market. We have invested heavily in the facilities such as the acquisition of two model boats for navigation. We will continue that investment. So, the focus right now from a macro point of view as well as SMEs, is that we see growth in the SME market here and believe it is our role and part of our purpose to make sure that we help and stimulate that growth,” he said.
Heymans stated that SMEs continue to be a significant driver of economic growth, social inclusion, and job creation as the population increases. SMEs account for about 48 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, 96 percent of businesses, and about 84 percent of job opportunities in the local market.
He claimed that the company will assist in bringing the world to Nigeria’s SMEs as well as transporting the latter from the nation to the latter.
“And we do that through our cross-border network. There are a couple of ways to interpret the concept of networks, the first one is bringing international trade in and taking international trade out.”
“Whatever gets produced by the SMEs can be transported across borders within Africa, or internationally. We are particularly proud of the fact that we connect the world through our aviation network. As it were, we have our aviation hub located here in Lagos, and we also have an extensive, independent retail outlet network which gives accessibility to the SMEs,” he added.
Heymans stated that DHL has started some programs like “Power Up Your Potential,” which is a training program specifically created to educate SMEs about expanding their businesses internationally, in response to the challenges that SMEs face, especially in the area of skills, training, and understanding international trade.
Additionally, the corporation leverages ‘GO Trade’ and other trade facilitation programs, as well as its global knowledge to ensure that cross-border trade is understood.
“The Go Trade programme is one that we use to stimulate the SMEs and their growth and to help bridge that knowledge gap. We have partnered with international organisations such as the GIZ, to offer this training to SMEs so that they can understand the value of cross-border trade.”
