First Bank of Nigeria has emphasized that Africa’s economies cannot move forward if the operators of Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSMEs) are starved of the right knowledge and skills set to grow their businesses.
To that end, the bank has announced its collaboration with the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) to host an MSME workshop in Lagos between September 1 and 2, 2016.
FBN’s deputy managing director, Mr. Gbenga Shobo, explained in Lagos that the workshop, with the theme ‘Fundamentals of Building a Sustainable Business’ is designed to boost participant’s capacity and create value for MSMEs given the pivotal role they play in modern economies in areas of job creation and significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP).
“As a nation builder, the Bank is intensifying support for MSMEs through a number of initiatives geared towards raising their level of competitiveness in a challenging business environment,” he said.
Key areas that would dominate discussion include financial windows available to MSMEs and how to access them, strategy development and implementation for small businesses, sustainability opportunities for small businesses, and financial management for growing businesses among others.
The bank would also provide facilitators from senior members of staff who are proficient in the business of MSMEs to proffer practical solutions on business growth and development.
“The SME market segment is one of FBN’s strategic platforms to stimulate economic development and we would continue to support activities geared towards the sustainable development of the segment even as it remains our business to foster the growth and development of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria in sync with our position as the nation’s Number 1 SME Bank in Nigeria,” said Shobo.
