Gtext Group harps on digital marketing, introduces new online hubs

TO ensure that more people utilize the digital space in promoting their Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Gtext group, an IT and digital marketing firm has introduced new hubs.

The online hubs are targeted at empowering people to start their own businesses as well as train people in digital online marketing, information marketing, and online brand management among others.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Gtext Group, Stephen Akintayo, “one of the online hubs, smehouse.com.ng, is targeted at empowering small businesses. It is a known fact that developed economies have a larger percentage of their GDP from SMEs. dms.com.ng, which focuses on digital marketing services, is a fully fledged school to where most of its facilitators are professionals internationally. We have seen over the years that reasons why our SMEs die in few years of existences lack of marketing, hence this school.”

He further noted that gstore.com.ng gives opportunity for people to buy products from various international and local online stores and offers an avenue to buy through bidding. Trendevents.com.ng caters for events management; trendingbooks.com.ng allows for people to access books online for reviews; trendproducts.com.ng allows for upload of products and generates vast visibility while tradefair.com.ng gives vendors an online platform to sell their products at massive discounted prices.

Akintayo further noted that although these hubs have been in existence, they have just been introduced as standalone products to push up businesses adding that the tech industry uniqueness is in its ability to start up with little or no capital but knowledge of the IT world.

“That is why we have courses on social media marketing, email marketing and online campaigns taught with minimal fees. Our goal is to ensure that more people understand digital marketing to stay independent.”

On the contribution of the government in supporting SMEs, he said, “government’s policies are not friendly; we see the Central Bank give banks about eight per cent interest rate, so we are giving about 12 per cent interest rate which is not encouraging. If government is serious about helping SMEs then interest rate should drop to one per cent. In other African markets like Kenya, they are leading in the digital marketing sector and this is because of their regulations and funding. Facebook just recently opened their office in Nigeria but when they wanted to come to Africa, their first call was Kenya and that is due to the friendly nature of their laws.”