Capital Finance International (CFI.co) has conferred on the Simba Group the 2019 Award for Best Diversified Socio-Economic Creation (Nigeria).
In announcing the award, the judges of CFI.co, a London-based print journal and online resource reporting on business, economics and finance, recognised Simba Group as a diversified corporation comprising five companies across industries crucial to the Nigerian development.
Simba is involved in agriculture, alternative energy, back-up power-supply systems, commercial vehicle sales and servicing, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure development, and networking and data transmission.
The judges commended the quality of the group’s products, highlighting that its commitment to service unite the diversified companies.“With a customer-centric focus, Simba Group fills the role of service provider and problem-solver, tackling two of the most pressing challenges faced by the population: power supply and transport,” the award organisers said.
The judges also dwelled on the philosophy of Simba, which balances social impact with profits.“It’s a formula that the Nigerian conglomerate, Simba Group, has been applying over the past three decades for the prosperity of its clients and the country,” CFI.co stated.Simba’s transport division, which signposts its contribution to the Nigerian economy, tracing its roots to its bicycle business, and now also produces motorcycles and motorised tricycles, was recognised.
Receiving the award, Simba’s Head of Strategy, Mr. Kunal Grover, said: “The recognition is truly humbling and serves to reaffirm the importance of what we are doing.“Socio-economic value creation is not a by-product of our strategy, but fundamental to what we do. Our motorcycles and tricycles touch the lives of millions of Nigerians everyday – taking them to work, to school, to prayer – driving them, and driving the economy in turn. Our inverters and solar solutions bring light into people’s homes, and our agricultural solutions help improve efficiency across the agricultural value-chain, so that that the food they eat is affordable.”
He also spoke on the group’s contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s economy: “Our impact is even more direct in terms of the employment generation our products create, even beyond our factory walls. First and foremost, there are the riders of the motorcycles and tricycles, which are used as taxis, who earn a daily wage for ferrying passengers.
“Then there are our dealers, microfinance partners and fleet owners who play critical parts in our value chain and ensure that the vehicles are made available to potential owners and investors.“Finally, there are the tens of thousands of mechanics and spare parts dealers who repair and service the vehicles and ensure that they are back ‘on the road’ as soon as possible. All of this contributes to both social and socio-economic value creation, and I think that’s what the awarding panel has identified.”
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