COVID-19: How We’re Supporting SMEs With Pop Central Ad Grant— Obebe, CEO, DSTV Pop Central
The SME Ad Grant is for small and medium businesses across Nigeria. As businesses started opening and coming out of COVID-19 lockdowns, the economic downturn that followed, as a result, prompted us to find a way to support these businesses. So, in partnership with FAYA, an adtech company, we decided to offer SMEs ad grants.
The idea is to support them by giving them visibility, and most importantly a level of verifiability. When that converts, they make more sales, hire more people, scale-up their business and the cycle continues.
Advertising attracts customers to a business and increases sales. When consumers see strong and positive advertisements they are more willing to buy and ready to choose the business. On the other hand, this initiative also allows us to play our part in contributing to building the nation’s economy. We believe that an economic ripple effect is guaranteed whenever advertising increases.
What are the criteria that make SMEs eligible for the ad grant and how can SMEs apply?
The first and most important thing for us is to ensure the businesses that take advantage of the grant are real businesses that offer the services they advertise. One of the ways to do this is our request for as much information about them, including registration with the CAC.
To apply, simply go to the website. SMEs register and they get an email confirming their approval. They will then be prompted to create their campaign. This includes picking their interests, the spots, dates, and uploading their video promo material. It is essential to put some thoughts into making the promotional video, it’s only 30seconds.
