Leverage technology for business growth, FG tasks traders

The Federal Government has urged traders to explore new ways of doing things by making maximum use of technology in a bid to grow and expand their businesses.

The Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, advised that “marketplaces should not only be spaces of traditional commerce, but hubs of innovation where traders can leverage technology to grow their businesses”.

Onyejeocha, represented by the State Controller of Labour, Mrs Grace Adeyeye, spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Saturday at the formal inauguration of State and Local Government chapter executives of the National Union of Market Traders Employers of Nigeria.

She said, “In this era of economic transformation, where innovation and technology are shaping new ways of doing business, traders are encouraged to embrace these changes.”

The minister of state reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to enhance security benefits for traders across the country through the trade union superintending over them.

She said, “The government recognised the challenges faced by the informal sector, especially market traders. It will, therefore, create more policies that will improve the ease of doing business for them. It is also the intention of the government to enhance the working conditions of the informal sector.”

Onyejeocha said her ministry would collaborate with NUMTEN to ensure that its members received the necessary support, skills development and financial empowerment that would make them contribute more significantly to the nation’s economy.

While promising the Federal Government’s support for the union in activities, the minister charged NUMTEN to always follow the laid down grievance procedure in resolving their issues in order to entrench peace and harmony in all matters and ensure transparency, inclusivity and commitment to improving the livelihoods of market traders.

NUMTEN National president, Ogu Chukwuma, who said the union has the goal to alleviate, if not completely eradicate the sufferings of Nigerian traders and employers, said it would abide by the rules of its engagement, in addition to helping the government bring down, high cost of items in the nation’s markets.

NUMTEN Chairman in Ekiti, Morakinyo Akintayo, who said activities by the union had started with the conclusion of work on comprehensive data of all markets in the state, said that loans and grant schemes would be made available to all traders across markets in the state.