As Access Bank positions to be leading SME lender

Access Bank is now well positioned to be the leading and preferred Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) bank in the country, going by its track record of excellent and consistent delivery on its areas of competitive strength.

The bank last year identified 11 viable sectors of the economy it would like to grow with. It had already engaged with six out of the 11 sectors, which include health, oil and gas, import and travel agency, human resource, among others.

In his remarks at the recent seventh series of capacity initiative of the bank, Herbert Wigwe, group managing director, who was represented by Titi Osuntoki, executive director, business banking, said: “Access Bank recognises the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises to the growth of the Nigerian economy. Therefore, the bank aims to support traders through the provision of innovative products that seek to meet the traders at the point of their needs.”

Having identified the challenges faced by this sector, the bank last week gathered business owners at its corporate head office and engaged them on capacity building as well as creating support platform for their business growth.

“We invite you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to partner with the bank to grow your businesses. Our suites of tailored products and services have been specifically designed and structured to ensure seamless and stress-free access to the much-needed access to finance and capacity development along the identified customer segments,” Adeyemi Odusanya, group head, business banking division, Lagos, said.

He outlined the challenges of SMEs to include huge gaps in infrastructure with attendant high cost of operations, poor financial support and credit environment, high levels of unskilled workforce, and poor incentives and support facilities by government, leading to low investment commitments.

Other challenges are uneven competition arising from import tariffs, which at times favour imported finished products, and weak entrepreneurial skills as well as deficiencies in accounting and business planning.

To address these challenges, the bank has created dedicated SMEs Support Desk to provide qualitative and business-enhancing financial advice and on-the-field business supports, affordable financing through dedicated and structured credit programmes along the identified sectors.

Also, the bank has robust and highly adaptable technology for speed of service delivery to SMEs as well as focused capacity building programmes and business support platforms to cater to the identified capacity deficiencies and support needs of the sector. The bank has built strong alliances and partnerships for strategic and focused interventions in policy initiatives of government relating to the SME sector, among other value propositions.

In his presentation, Oyediji Atoyebi, head of SME support, Access Bank, said “the bank’s proposed solution to traders needs are easy access to finance, provide working capital to finance operational expenses, secured and reliable internet banking solutions, swift and efficient cross-border banking including multi-currency options, corporate internet solution (Primus) for collection and cash management.”

Other solutions include, concessionary COT based on predefined criteria, competitive interest rates, efficient, cheap and simple electronic payment system, first class fund management services offering maximum returns and funds security, industry leading financial and investment management services, overdraft, term loans and leases, import finance facilities, invoice discounting, contract finance, personal loans, staff salary scheme, mortgages, auto lease, among others.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE