SMEFACTORY
Brand Guidelines — 2026
Africa's Business Community Platform
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SEOFLOW • BRAND • STRATEGY • PLATFORM •
01 of 10 — Mission
The smartest business community in Africa. Full stop.
SME Factory exists because African entrepreneurs are tired of doing business in WhatsApp groups where the last 200 messages are someone's cousin selling unverified Ankara fabric at 2am. You deserve better infrastructure. We built it.
50,000 businesses. One platform. Every deal, supplier connection and market insight that used to get buried in chaotic chats, now searchable, organised and actually useful.
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Businesses
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Core Values
Serious Business
We are here for the hustlers who file their CAC and pay their taxes. No pyramid schemes, no "investment opportunities" that require you to bring 5 friends.
Pan-African by Default
Nigeria built it but the vision is the whole continent. Lagos energy, Accra vibes, Nairobi tech, Cape Town polish. All welcome here.
Equal Visibility
No algorithm deciding whose post blows up. No pay-to-play. The small enterprise in Kano gets the same stage as the one in Victoria Island.
Actually Useful
Every feature must pass one test: does it help someone close a deal or run their business better? If not, we do not build it.
02 of 10 — Logo System
SMEFACTORY
Light variant — on white / documents
SMEFACTORY
Dark variant — on screens / platform UI
✔️
Minimum Size
120px wide on screen, 30mm in print. Below this, Orbitron's details start to lose clarity.
📌
Clear Space
Keep the height of the letter "S" as breathing room on all sides. The logo reads better when it has a little room.
🚫
Avoid Distortion
The wordmark works best as intended. Stretching, skewing or rotating it changes the feel in ways that are hard to reverse.
🌟
The Green Dot
The separator dot is always Nigerian Green. It anchors the identity and ties the mark back to the brand's roots.
03 of 10 — Colours
Click to copy #008751
Nigeria Green
#008751
Primary brand colour. Every CTA, every accent. It says Nigerian flag without saying it out loud.
Green Glow
#00b86e
Hover states, active elements, button glow. The colour that tells users "yes, click here."
Space Black
#0d1117
Digital backgrounds. The darkness that makes everything else pop. Not #000000, never #000000.
Orbit Cyan
#00c8e0
Secondary interactive elements. Links, tags, progress indicators. The "tech" colour in the system.
Signal Blue
#1a6ef5
Informational elements, category badges in the forum. Calm contrast to the green energy.
Market Gold
#f0a500
Highlights, warnings, premium indicators. The colour of opportunity and of Jollof rice at the right heat.
Document White
#ffffff
Brand documents, proposals, print. Light mode only. Never use as a screen background in the platform.
Body Ink
#374151
Body text on light backgrounds. Softer than black, easier on the eyes for long reads.
Click any swatch to copy the hex code. You're welcome.
04 of 10 — Typography
SME FACTORY
Orbitron 900 — Display / Brand / Headlines
The typeface that says "we mean business" without raising its voice. Every headline, every CTA, every logo lockup. It looks like Tesla, it feels like the future, and it was free. Win.
Click to cycle through all three typefaces →
Orbitron
Display
Headings, CTAs, Logo, Slides
Weights 400 to 900. Use 700 or 900 for headlines and CTAs. Body text in Orbitron can become tiring to read, so it is best kept to display contexts.
Exo 2
Body
Paragraphs, UI labels, descriptions
Weights 300 to 600. Reads comfortably at any size. The typeface carrying most of the content while Orbitron handles the spotlight.
Mono
Utility
Dates, hex codes, metadata, labels
Share Tech Mono. Small technical text that still needs to feel considered. Timestamps, account numbers, forum metadata, eyebrow labels.
05 of 10 — Platform
Because the community needed infrastructure that could grow to a million members without falling apart. Discourse is the backbone. SME Factory is the brand on top of it.
📴
WhatsApp GroupsChaotic. Unsearchable. That admin who removes people for no reason. Messages you cannot find. 2am notifications from someone called "Bro King Enterprise Ltd." We have all been there.
📚
SME Factory on DiscourseOrganised threads. Every conversation searchable. Equal visibility for every member. Real businesses only. Nobody gets muted for asking a legitimate question.
Latest
Categories
Top
🏭
Import duty optimisation in 2025 Finance
This thread covers Section 57 exemptions for raw materials and the updated CISS levy structure. Very useful for manufacturers importing machinery components.
📦
Best logistics partners Lagos to Abuja Logistics
Reviews of GIG, ABC Transport and several smaller carriers. Includes transit times, damage rates and how each handles claims.
🤝
Bulk cocoa buyers needed, Ondo State B2B
Looking for verified buyers for 20-tonne monthly supply. Fermented Grade A. Open to long-term offtake agreements. DM or reply here.
📈
How we grew 3x using this community Growth
Case study from a Kano-based textile exporter. Three supplier connections made in two weeks. Two converted to recurring orders.
💡
Naira devaluation thread, discuss Economy
Running discussion on FX hedging strategies, dollar invoicing and how members are protecting margins in export-facing businesses.
06 of 10 — Visual Language
⭐
Star Fields
Animated particles on dark backgrounds. Each one represents a business somewhere on the continent. A little poetic, but it also just looks great.
🌏
3D Planets
Orbiting spheres with ring systems. Best used in hero sections, where they add real depth and a sense of scale to the platform story.
🌈
Nebula Glows
Soft radial gradients in brand colours. They create depth and atmosphere. Think of them as the mood lighting of the design system.
📊
Grid Lines
Fine perspective grids that drift slowly across backgrounds. They signal structure, technology and infrastructure in a subtle, elegant way.
🔥
Glow Effects
Box shadows in brand colours. Buttons glow warmly on hover. The interface feels alive and responsive to the user's touch.
📸
Dark Digital
Digital interfaces use the dark palette. Brand documents and proposals use white. Both serve a clear purpose within the system.
Photography: Real African entrepreneurs in professional settings. Dark or neutral backgrounds work best. Authentic imagery that reflects the actual community always lands better than generic stock.
07 of 10 — Tone and Voice
Click a card to see an example
Authoritative
We know African business. We earned the right to speak with conviction.
Example: "The platform 50,000 businesses chose" not "We hope you enjoy our service."
Direct
Say what you mean and respect the reader's time.
Example: "Find your next supplier today" not "Discover endless opportunities for connection."
Inclusive
Pan-African at heart. Warm to every sector, country and type of hustle.
Example: Reference cities across the continent, not just Lagos. Accra, Nairobi, Dakar, Kigali all belong here.
Optimistic
African business is a growth story we are writing together.
Example: "Chapter one of something big" captures the energy better than cautious, hedged language.
Message Examples
❌ Corporate Speak — worth avoiding
We are pleased to inform you of our comprehensive suite of business networking solutions designed to facilitate synergistic value creation for enterprise stakeholders across the African subcontinent.
✓ SME Factory Voice — warm and direct
Join 50,000 other businesses in this community. Find your next supplier, close your next deal, learn from people who have already done what you are trying to do. Straightforward, useful, real.
✓ CTA Standard
The primary CTA is "Join The Platform." It is specific, inviting and fits the community context. The platform is the destination, and the language should reflect that.
08 of 10 — CTA Standards
Green is preferred. Ghost is a solid secondary. The grey strikethrough is best avoided.
✓ These work well
→ "Join The Platform"
→ "Get Started"
→ "Join Free"
→ "See How It Works"
❌ Worth reconsidering
✕ "Sign Up" (a bit cold)
✕ "Register" (feels formal)
✕ "Click Here" (not specific enough)
✕ "Submit" (sounds like a form)
Recommended padding: 14px top/bottom · 28px left/right. Font: Orbitron Bold. Uppercase. Letter-spacing: 2px. Border-radius: 4 to 6px. A slightly square corner reads as confident and intentional for primary actions.
09 of 10 — Spacing and Grid
Everything in the SME Factory design system is built on a base-8 spacing grid. 8, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96. Hover the blocks below to feel it.
8
XS
16
SM
24
MD
32
LG
48
XL
64
2XL
96
3XL
12-Column Grid — hover columns to highlight layout zones
🚫
Avoid Odd Spacing
Stick to multiples of 8. Values like 7px, 13px or 17px create visual inconsistency that is hard to track down later.
🚫
Stick to Three Fonts
Orbitron, Exo 2 and Share Tech Mono. Introducing additional typefaces tends to dilute the system's coherence over time.
🚫
Stay On-Brand
Coral, lavender and pastel tones sit outside the palette. SME Factory has a distinct colour language worth protecting.
🚫
Protect the Logo
Please avoid stretching, skewing or recolouring the wordmark. A little clear space and the right colours go a long way.
10 of 10 — The Vision
Built for
Africa
Africa
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Businesses
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African Countries
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Topics Daily
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Platform
The SME Factory Promise
"Every business on this platform deserves a fair shot. Whether you are a startup in Kano or a growing enterprise on Lagos Island, this community belongs to you. We are just here to make the space as useful as possible."
smefactory.org • Discourse-powered • Africa-focused