United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. CEO, Phillips Oduoza has identified ongoing reforms in various key sectors of the Nigerian economy as one of the driving force of the growth in Nigeria’s retail sector.
According to him, socio-economic developmental reforms aimed at bridging infrastructural gap, reducing unemployment levels, and improving access to funding by SMEs have helped to move the country’s retail sector to a greater height in the past few years.
While pointing out the enormous opportunity and benefits which the country’s retail sector holds, Oduoza who was represented by UBA’s Director of Consumer Banking, Mr. Ilesanmi Owoeye at the 2014 “Retail Leaders Conference” in Lagos said the reforms are significantly impacting the level of disposable income and effective demand in the near future; presenting the sector unprecedented growth opportunity.
Other growth factors identified by the banker include the increasing technology penetration which he says has driven the growth of e-commerce in the country as well as the growing penetration of the informal sector by retailers.
Oduoza in his keynote stated that the continuous rise in mobile technology will continue to drive retail market development and significantly increase the ease of doing business.
“This prospect is already becoming evident in the rising trend of online retailers are increasingly gaining traction and matching the emerging sophistication of Nigerian consumers’ changing demand and payment patterns,” he said.
The banker however called on banks to initiate collaborative financing mechanisms and innovative partnerships among retailers to aid retail-based infrastructure development and product distribution projects. (VENTURES AFRICA)
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