How Leadway Group’s Free Lifestyle Fair Opened Market Access for 100 Nigerian SMEs

By LOVETH-AZODO CHIJIOKE, Lagos

More than 100 indigenous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are counting significant commercial dividends, customer acquisition gains, and expanded digital footprints following an enterprise-support intervention hosted by Leadway Group.

The initiative, rolled out under the banner of the Leadway Lifestyle Fair, provided fully funded, free exhibition booths to 100 select micro and small business owners, eliminating the steep overheads and participation fees that routinely lock emerging entrepreneurs out of high-traffic consumer retail expos.

Anchored on the theme “For the Love of the Naija Lifestyle,” the enterprise intervention marks a quadrupling of the financial services group’s merchant support cohort, surging from 25 participating vendors in its inaugural edition to 100 small business operators this year.

Beneficiary entrepreneurs across fashion, lifestyle, retail, and tech services reported that the platform unlocked direct access to high-net-worth consumers, institutional partners, content creators, and retail shoppers, yielding immediate sales pipelines and valuable post-event client networks. For several first-time exhibitors, the exposure offered a cost-free testbed to validate retail pricing models and scale direct-to-consumer (D2C) marketing channels.

Speaking on the strategic intent of the intervention, the Head of Corporate Services at Leadway Group, Mr. Niyi Abiola, explained that the group conceptualized the platform as a practical launchpad to de-risk market access for small enterprises operating under challenging macroeconomic conditions.

“Lifestyle is an important part of how people live, connect, and engage with the world around them,” Abiola said. “With the Leadway Lifestyle Fair, we wanted to create more room for businesses to showcase what they do and reach more people. Having grown from about 25 vendors in our first edition to 100 this year, we are encouraged by the response and look forward to making the experience even bigger in the years ahead.”

Reinforcing this perspective, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Leadway PFA, Mr. Olusakin Labeodan, representing the Leadway Group, noted that corporate sustainability in modern financial services requires institutions to actively nurture the local business ecosystem that sustains the wider economy.

“The growth of the fair from its first edition shows the value of creating platforms that bring businesses and consumers together,” Labeodan stated. “At Leadway, our relationship with customers goes beyond the financial solutions we offer across insurance, pensions, wealth management, trusteeship, health, and hospitality. We also recognise the importance of being part of their everyday experiences, and supporting enterprise through lifestyle is a significant part of that.”

With small businesses constituting the backbone of domestic employment and non-oil output, the group reaffirmed its commitment to scaling the non-financial intervention, ensuring more domestic operators access the commercial visibility necessary to sustain long-term business growth.