Leadway backs SME’s growth with support for Lagos Leather Fair -

In alignment with its ethos of engendering talent diversification, promoting creativity and enabling growth for the Small and Medium Enterprise sector in Nigeria, Leadway, the foremost financial services provider, will be sponsoring the fifth edition of the Lagos Leather Fair 2022, the biggest event dedicated to promoting leather in West Africa.

The Lagos Leather Fair 5 (LLF5), which holds in Lagos, from June 11 to 12, 2022, will feature fashion experts, manufacturers, designers, leather enthusiasts, creatives, and leading leather industry experts in Nigeria and Africa.

Speaking ahead of the Fair, Olusakin Labeodan, group chief Marketing Officer, Leadway Holdings stated that the creative industry, especially the fashion space, has been gaining relevance, unleashing creativity and enabling budding young enterprises to build brands and a sustainable economic future for themselves.

Their global impact has made it shared responsibility for critical stakeholders, both in the public and private sectors, to participate in sustaining this evolution.

“Over the years, we have seen phenomenal growth in the creative space as more creative minds and enterprises showcase their innovative works beyond the shores of Africa, thereby placing a premium on our collective innovativeness and elevating our capacity for value creation.

Therefore, it is a shared responsibility for individuals and corporates alike to facilitate and encourage platforms primed for showcasing talents and expanding their know-how and reach, hence our decision to support the Lagos Leather Fair.

According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Nigeria has over 37 million micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSME), accounting for more than 84 per cent of total jobs creation in the country, 48.5 per cent of the gross domestic product, GDP, as well as about 7.27 percent of goods and services exported out of the country.

This remarkable data demonstrates the MSMEs’ superior contribution to economic development and why they need support. The Leather industry is consistently propelled by the energies and creativities of the MSMEs, and we are pleased to be a part of this journey as active supporters”.

Commenting on the sponsorship, founder, Lagos Leather Fair, Femi Olayebi, said, “We’re excited to be back for our fifth edition, and in partnership with proud sponsors and forward-leaning corporates like Leadway, to continue to create massive visibility for both starting and established designers.

Modestus Anaesoronye

Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd. A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia. Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.