Foremost provider of globally-recognized marketing qualifications, Simon Page, has announced its relaunch in Nigeria while spreading its tentacles into other African countries. The development, which took place at The Sojourner in GRA Ikeja, Lagos on 22 August, also saw the transformation of the brand from ‘Business School’ to ‘College of Marketing’. This position was disclosed by the institute’s Chief Executive Officer, Princewill Omorogiuwa.
, who recounted Simon Page’s journey in Africa, said the institute has come a long way since it established the Ghana operations in 2008. “It has been an uphill journey towards helping African business professionals succeed in what they do; we are extremely excited about the fact that since establishing our operations in Ghana in 2008 and Nigeria in 2010, we have consistently raised the bar for professional qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH), all of UK origin,” he remarked.
According to Omorogiuwa, Simon Page has trained well over 3000 professionals in Africa, even as the institute has now extended its offering to East Africa where it is catering for the needs of the professionals in Kenya and neighbouring markets. He also disclosed that part of the relaunch initiative was born out of the need to move away from the broad professional qualifications, and focusing only on marketing qualifications. This has necessitated the rebranding from Simon Page Business School to Simon Page College of Marketing. “While it hurts to drop other offerings, we have taken a bold step to consolidate on our strength, which is the marketing profession, despite being the first accredited ACCA provider in Ghana,” Omorogiuwa disclosed. He said the CIM UK has, on several occasions, commended Simon Page Ghana and Nigeria for “excellent standard of results achieved for assessments submitted” by their students, adding that the institute will continue to strive for excellence.
In response to some of the challenges that have been identified by students and the management, Omorogiuwa informed that students will now be able to provide feedback both offline and online while each class will have a student representation to work with management for better study experience. Also unveiling the institute’s revamped and upgraded online learning portal, equipped with text, audio, video and chat to enhance study experience and provide additional support to distant learning students, Omorogiuwa informed that there will be higher motivation for students and stronger commitment for faculty.
Part of the plans for the Nigeria operation includes the establishment of a Lekki Study Centre in 2016 as well as the introduction of Simon Page branded study books. For Simon Page as a whole, part of the plan involves establishing its presence in at least one country in Africa for the next five years. Omorogiuwa said: “Our commitment to professionalism in Africa is huge and we will continue to strive towards helping African professionals succeed.”
