From Access to Ecosystem: How GTCO’s Festival Is Shaping Small Business Growth
By Arikawe Femi, The People’s Voice Nigeria News
The afternoon sun beats down on the GTCO Food & Drink Festival grounds, and the energy is palpable. Families drift between vibrant stalls, children chase bubbles near play zones, and young people cluster with cameras, capturing every moment. Amid the buzz, it becomes clear that this is more than a food event, it’s a living ecosystem where small businesses, culture, and lifestyle collide.
Seeing Access in Action
Walking past rows of food and craft vendors, it hits you: for many entrepreneurs, this is their first opportunity to reach thousands of paying customers without paying a dime for space. At a small bakery stall run by a young woman from Surulere, her eyes light up as she explains how participating allowed her to gauge which pastries sell fastest, interact directly with customers, and test pricing strategies—insights no bank loan could ever provide.
Across the festival, similar stories unfold. Vendors track foot traffic, adjust menus on the fly, and engage with curious attendees. This real-time market feedback is priceless, highlighting that while access to capital is important, access to customers and expmatterften matters more.
From Food Gathering to Enterprise Ecosystem
The evolution is tangible. Gone are the days when the festival was purely instructional. Today, it’s immersive: the scent of spicy jollof rice drifts toward a corner where a youth-led craft business showcases hand-painted ceramics. Music floats over the crowd, punctuated by announcements about cooking demos and product highlights. The event is designed to make visitors linger, turning them into active participants rather than passive consumers.
Yet the SME-first philosophy remains. By providing infrastructure, cashless payment systems, and operational support, GTCO ensures small vendors aren’t just present—they are empowered. Walking the grounds, it’s evident that the bank’s investment transforms stalls into mini-business incubators, where networking, branding, and consumer engagement happen organically.
Lessons for Policy and Brand
The festival is a case study in practical economic strategy:
- Policy Insight: Market access—like a high-traffic, well-organized festival—can be as vital as financial support. Entrepreneurs gain insights, build networks, and experiment with products in ways that loans alone cannot facilitate.
- Brand Insight: GTCO’s consistent investment turns a seasonal event into a long-term enterprise ecosystem, reinforcing the brand as a facilitator of growth, culture, and lifestyle experiences.
Near a cashless payment point, a vendor proudly shows how sales data helps her plan inventory for future events. Across the aisle, a youth-led tech start-up demonstrates an app that helps customers navigate stalls. The scene is a microcosm of how access, insight, and infrastructure converge to accelerate small business growth.
The Broader Impact
As evening approaches, the festival hums like a city within a city. Children run through play zones, music keeps the energy alive, and vendors tally sales and engage with repeat customers. The takeaway is unmistakable: success is rarely about capital alone. It’s about creating spaces where businesses can thrive, learn, and scale.
The GTCO Food & Drink Festival is more than an event—it’s a model for inclusive urban enterprise, a stage for innovation, and a glimpse of how private-sector initiatives can drive cultural and economic impact simultaneously. Being here, amidst the sights, smells, and sounds of Lagos’ entrepreneurial spirit, it’s impossible not to feel the pulse of a new ecosystem taking shape.
