BusinessDay, Nigeria’s foremost business newspaper known as ‘The Voice of Business’, has received award for its impactful contributions to the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
The SME Media Partner Award was presented to BusinessDay Media Limited on June 19, 2025, as part of activities marking the 10th Anniversary of WPL Annual SME Conference in Port Harcourt.
Other award winners include: Bank of Industry (BOl), Akwa lbom Investment Corporation (AKICORP), Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND), Bayelsa State Investment Promotion Agency (BIPA), Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (ACCIMA), Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (PHCIMA) and Boff & Company Insurance Brokers.
Awards to individuals went to Warmate Jones ldikio, Eradiri Jasper Ebiekure, Ndubuisi Okwosa JajaWachuku and Onyekachi Udensi.
Kalada Apiafi, chairman, Wider Perspectives Limited (WPL), said the award is in recognition of BusinessDay’s outstanding contributions to the SMEs in the South-South and Nigeria as a whole.
Apiafi, who is described a visioner in SMEs sector, emphasized the role of advocacy in the growth of SMEs. He said advocacy works, adding that it had led to many transformations in the SME ecosystem, such as the tax reform.
Ignatius Chukwu, BusinessDay’s Regional Editor, said: “BusinessDay, especially in the South-South and East, has been consistent in its focus on startups, SMEs, funding, and pushing for Ease of Doing Business in the regions.
“We have continued to seek out organisations such as Wider Perspectives that work genuinely to promote SMEs. We commend WPL for their consistent efforts,” he said.
Edugham Hanson, Managing Director of Wider Perspectives Limited, earlier said her organisation hosts the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Conference, which rotates across Bayelsa, Akwa lbom, Abia, and Rivers (BAAR) states, and the Post Harvest Loss Prevention Forum annually.
She went on: “These events equip SMEs to thrive in domestic and international markets by facilitating engagement, networking, brand promotion, product exhibitions, and connections with major buyers.
“Our focus is on driving economic development in the BAAR states- Bayelsa, Abia, Akwa lbom, and Rivers – and beyond, by creating collaboration opportunities that leverage each state’s unique strengths,” she said.
Hanson, who has huge doctoral research work on business management, noted the need for economic integration in the region, adding that creating value and scale are the best ways to create hubs for SMEs including attracting finance, labour, conducive tax environment, among others.
The chartered management consultant (CMC) said there is a lot each region can do together, noting that each state standing alone in creating business environment and in promoting businesses is not the best.
Wider Perspectives Limited is a leading Management Consulting firm, incorporated on March 5, 1984, and began operation in August 1985.
Its footprints in over a decade of impacting the SME ecosystem includes: 4,983 SMEs trained and empowered; A224 million in funding facilitated for 187 MSMEs; 293 MSMEs connected to viable markets; Over 493 jobs created and 30+ flagship initiatives launched.
Hanson further said Wilder Perspectives delivers top-tier services to clients across the public, private, and non-profit sectors with expertise spanning five Strategic Business Units: Economic Analysis, Special Projects and Conferences, Strategy and Business Development, Sustainable Development and Talent Management.
