Providus Bank has announced the commencement of the Training to Transaction (T2T) Programme, a flagship initiative designed to accelerate African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from export readiness into active participation in international trade.

The programme which is in partnership with Borderless Trade and Investment, Duchess NL, and the Global African Business Association, under the ECOWAS Parliament at 25 Program, is positioned as a strategic intervention in Africa’s trade ecosystem, the T2T Programme addresses a persistent gap: the disconnect between training and actual transaction execution. Through a structured blend of practical capacity building, compliance alignment, and direct market access, the programme enables SMEs to move beyond preparation and into measurable trade outcomes across global markets.

Speaking on the launch, Biodun Ariyo, head of Global Trade and Structured Finance at Providus Bank, said financial institutions also have a crucial role in supporting regional trade growth, and banks are now partnering with regional institutions to expand trade financing and facilitate cross-border transactions among businesses.

Backing him up, Ernest Elue, head of Strategy & Innovation at Providus Bank said “At Providus Bank, we believe that sustainable economic growth is driven not just by preparing businesses, but by enabling them to perform. The T2T Programme reflects our commitment to transforming potential into productivity, by equipping African SMEs with the tools, standards, and access required to compete and transact globally.”

The programme offers participating businesses:

Hands-on export readiness and transaction execution support guidance on international regulatory and compliance requirements structured access pathways into markets across Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The T2T Programme is targeted at high-growth sectors with strong export potential, including Agro & Agro-processing, Cosmetics, Beverages, Garment Making & Textiles, and Leather & Tanning.

This initiative underscores Providus Bank’s broader strategy to catalyse trade-led economic expansion by empowering indigenous enterprises to scale beyond local markets and integrate into global value chains. It also reflects the Bank’s continued role as a facilitator of enterprise growth, cross-border trade, and sustainable economic development.

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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