By Merit Ibe
The Rotary club of Lagos has promised to partner the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), to sustain businesses.
To foster this relationship, to the benefit of SMEs and Nigeria, President of the club, Dare Ayodele, said since the LCCI stands for Connecting businesses creating value and Rotary club is about creating value for the society through good works by business people and leaders who came together, he noted that there is a synergy for a collaborative value.
Noting that business cannot thrive at the expense of the society and the environment, he pointed out that by collaboration with LCCi, “we can ensure that business is done in a way that benefits humanity and the environment. To foster that by collaboration, he said the club will ensure there is peace, because business cannot thrive in an envelope of chaos. “we live in a world characterised by conflicts, tension, we need to bring peace because business can only happen in an environment of peace, so the first we do is in the area of promoting peace.
He also added that it is only the healthy that can run a business “When people are sick they can’t run business. We fight diseases by preventing and by treatment. Also water is essential in this period of COVID. “So we try to provide water. ”
He emphasised that the clubs support for education will provide competence and skills to do business.
Directly it has been and will continue to empower businesses by giving loans to SMEs
“As we do business, the environment is polluted, so we support the environment by tree planting, clearing of waterways, ensuring that we use energy sustainably..
All of these are ways of collaborating with the chamber because that makes the business environment conducive.
For her part, President of the LCCi, Toki Mabogunje, noted that Rotary is passionate about micro enterprises, adding that for many years, they have been providing financial empowerment for markets around Lagos and for small businesses.
“On that level, we will be able to scale, that is reaching more people.
“On the level of the corporates from large to medium and then small, the idea of giving back to the society ,there is not enough of us that do it.
“So we encourage that type of thinking among our corporates. If we do that, you will find out that within every community, there will be bussines contribution to the betterment of the society.
“Government cannot do everything. As individuals, where ever we live, we owe those communities something.
“The more we help the community, the more we prosper. So I see it as a profitable enterprises to engage, with regard to life and sustainability.”
