By Alex C
Fast growing Africa-focused ICT firm, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) has launched an online platform, CWG 2.0, built to help millions of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) extend market reach by owning online stores.
According to CWG CEO, Austin Okere, the CWG 2.0 is a subscription business model with Openshopen, a website that allows small business owners to own their own online stores and visibility influence.
“If a buyer searches for a shop that sells spare parts in your location online, for example, he can get to see your store address and get to buy from you without any stress, if you have registered your presence online,” he explained.
The solution also comes with SMERP, an enterprise resource planning solution that allows entrepreneurs keep personal records which can be tendered to financial service institution while seeking funds.
“If they are able to expand their businesses, each of them can employ one more person. If each of them employs one more person, we will end up creating 17.7 million more jobs,” Okere said.
CWG hopes the new platform will also have a social impact on combating unemployment challenges, greatly present in this part of the world.
Meanwhile CWG Chairman, Willie Belonwu at the company’s Annual general meeting in Lagos, Nigeria said the company achieved a strong financial profits in the past year despite the challenges of “increments in commodity prices, tariffs and a steady depreciation of the local currency (at the interbank market), coupled with steady decrease in the margins of products and services.”
The company’s revenue grew by 10 percent in last year, with an 81 percent increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT).
With offices in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon, CWG said it plans to expand its network to more African markets as part of its quest to be the number one source for cloud based information technology solutions on the continent.