Phone bills still a big challenge for small businesses
Nigerian operators of Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) are struggling with what they call the high bills on telecommunication processes.
This is despite the acclaimed offer made by major telecommunication companies (TelCos), specifically to encourage SMEs.
Daily Trust found out that some of the major TelCos have special tariff for SMEs and businesses. It was also observed that many MSMEs owners did not have adequate information about these products and therefore, continued to spend hugely on communication bills.
Tunde Amunega, CEO of Tunde Exterior Works, an interlocking company in Lugbe, Abuja says he spends an average of one thousand naira on calls every day. “I spend nothing less than one thousand naira on phone calls because my phone is my office. I give instruction to the people working for me and manage the business from wherever I am. And when you are calling clients on phone, you don’t have to rush it so you have to load enough airtime so you don’t run out of it.”
Those who spoke to our reporters admitted that the high bills had taken a toll on their capital but that the alternative social media, BBM and WhatsApp had been quite helpful.
Special Business rates for SMEs/
MTN, a South African telecommunication firm, has the MTN Biz Plus. It is a prepaid service that provides customers with better pricing which introduces lower costs for GSM Voice, Data and SMS bundles targeted primarily for the SMEs.
It said customers could subscribe by migrating from their existing tariff plans to the Biz Plus service by dialling *460#. The advantages of this package, its website stated, included having business tips, MTN smart number, sharing of data to employees, among others.
Globacom, Nigeria’s topmost TelCo has the ‘Glo Mobile SME’ tariff plan too. “Small, Medium and Micro sized enterprises are the veritable growth engine of the Nigerian economy and because of the importance of this segment, we provide support to small and medium scale businesses,” it stated on its website.
One of these bundles is ‘The Maximizer’, a contract package for corporate organisations with staff that use less than N5, 000 a month. Its benefits include reduced monthly access fees based on the number of Glo Mobile lines maintained by the user. The more lines the company has the lower the monthly access fee; Closed User Group (CUG) facility is available; 20 percent discount on four Glo numbers or so.
Another is the ‘GloInfinitizer’ that charges same rate for day and night calls. One can register 26 million Glo subscribers as friends and family and get 100 percent discount, it said.
Etisalat, another firm, has ‘Easylife 4.0’. It said customers could call for 11 kobo per second after paying a N5 daily access fee. International call is pegged from 20 kobo per second.
Airtel also has the ‘SMESolutions’. These products are SME Basic, SME Plus and SME Pro. Their basic feature includes monthly access fees from N1, 000, or monthly commitment fees from N4, 500. Calls to Airtel networks are pegged at 17 kobo per second.
Daily Trust spoke with some business operators about their awareness of business call rates among the major telecommunication service providers.
Mr Mike Ajefu of Perfectway Ventures Limited, an aluminium installation business in Kaduna, said he hardly got any bonus or offer from GlobaCom and MTN, his two major lines.
“I recharge over N5, 000 daily to call clients and other contractors. The continuous rise in my call bills made me to subscribe to Airtel and Etisalat which has proved a bit soothing for me recently,” he said.
Malam Sule Gangara operates a cold room and a fishery firm in Nasarawa State. He said he subscribed to Etisalat recently as he was told he would enjoy the business package. Gangara said, “However, I still have challenges at times with it and MTN. They deduct from my account at will even when I haven’t made any call, and that has been frustrating.”
Another SME operator, who operates a chain of pharmacies in Mararaba area of Nasarawa State, said there was also the issue of ignorance among operators. Mr Okoli Maduchi said he tried many packages in the major service providers before he finally stuck with the MTN Biz Plus this year.
“There needs to be more marketing strategies by the service providers to reach out to the many SMEs operators if they really mean to support this sector. It is not just by spending heavily on newspaper, radio and television advertisement or taking established artistes as ambassadors.
“They have to get more marketers to meet entrepreneurs and sell these products to them just as banks do. The SMEs will be better informed and make business decision on this,” Okoli noted.
Mr Bukola Ajayi, who operates a water packaging factory in Abuja, shares similar views. He said the service providers had made huge profit that they no longer cared about what was important to develop the country.
Ajayi said, “They hardly use the right channels to sell these SMEs products to the target customers. All I think they do now is to inflict more pains by hiking call rates, deducting at will, and flaunting fluctuating networks to their existing customers. Many SMEs are at the mercy of Glo, MTN and other TelCos giants.”
However, Amunega says the telecommunication companies should give package that will benefit the small businesses. “They should give SMEs packages that will reduce our call rates. It will help our businesses to thrive.” Amunega said.