Access Bank, SME.NG set to launch Ebi Marketplace

A new innovation – Ebi Marketplace – for female entrepreneurs in Nigeria to grow and digitize their businesses is set for launch.
SME.NG in partnership with Access bank Plc. and other leading institutions, including the Bank of Industry (BOI), LAPO Microfinance Bank, Chapel Hill Denham, and the Impact Investment Foundation Nigeria are the promoters of the innovation.

The Ebi Marketplace consists of an access to capital market, an e-commerce mall and a knowledge market for female entrepreneurs in Nigeria seeking to digitize their businesses.
The innovation aims to close the gender digital divide in Nigeria by supporting women’s digital literacy and financial inclusion, while providing access to capital and markets.
The Ebi Marketplace is conceptualised and developed by SME.NG as a tangible solution to the impact of COVID-19 on female entrepreneurs.
Thelma Ekiyor, the brain behind the Ebi Marketplace, stated that SME.NG is committed to investing in facilitating female entrepreneurs’ profitability, so that they are positioned for infusion of capital.
According to her, this innovation is supported by Nigerian investors for the Nigerian market.
“We at SME.NG see ourselves as an indigenous solutions provider in Nigeria’s SME ecosystem. Women in Nigeria establish businesses more than men, but struggle to grow beyond a certain point. We believe we have a strategic role to play in breaking that financial and growth ceiling,” she noted.