In its commitment to upskill and improve Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), Stanbic IBTC Bank has trained 2000 SMEs in Nigeria, in partnership with the FATE Foundation.
The training is in line with the financial institution’s mandate of driving business growth and building capacities to create successful enterprises in the country.
Head of Enterprise Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Nnaemeka Obasi said that the organisation created the SME capacity building programme to support business owners across Nigeria. SMEs are the engine rooms of economies as well as important catalysts in a nation’s development.
Obasi said: “At Stanbic IBTC, we recognise the importance of SMEs to the nation’s economy. The Stanbic IBTC SME capacity building programme is aimed at equipping SMEs with the skills and competencies to build sound and viable businesses, improve their capacity to access available credit, and enhance their ability for efficient funds utilisation.
“The programme was created to educate various business owners across various sectors. Each course had 10 modules, and each module had video lessons, graded quizzes, and downloadable workbooks”, Nnaemeka added.
The Head, Enterprise Banking (SME) Stanbic IBTC Bank, noted that the capacity-building sessions were designed to enlighten and empower the entrepreneurs.
Nnaemeka Obasi, Head, Enterprise Banking (SME) Stanbic IBTC Bank, stated that the financial institution implemented the capacity building programme for individuals through online training and advisory sessions to enable business growth in the SME sector.
According to him: “SMEs are recognised as the main engine for growth and development because of their significant contributions to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). It is not in doubt that many developed countries who enjoy a growing and booming economy today, attribute most of their achievements to a flourishing SME sector.”
“Due to their numerous numbers, size and nature of operations, the role of SMEs in promoting indigenous sources of growth and creating viable businesses for accelerated economic expansion and development cannot be overlooked. We have demonstrated our commitment to SMEs by training and upskilling them in their various business fields. We are confident that these capacity sessions will give their businesses a significant boost in the years to come,” he explained.
To learn more about our drive to support SMEs, kindly click here.
The bank also hosted the 2022 Stanbic IBTC Africa China Trade Expo, a two-day hybrid conference and exhibition themed: Synergy for Growth. It was conceived promote synergies between the Africa-China trade community with a unique focus on export.
The conference featured seasoned professionals and experts from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the Chinese consulate and Standard Bank. Other exhibitors included Zeenab Export Nigeria Limited and Zhejiang International Trading Supply Chain Company (Guomao).
Another highlight of the event was the display of exporters from Nigeria and China at the virtual exhibition.
Watch a replay of the recently concluded event here.
