Fidelity Bank plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) to fund, empower and promote the growth of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
Speaking at the SMEDAN partnership MOU signing ceremony held in Lagos, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc., Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said the MOU reinforces the fact that the lender is an SME-friendly bank.
Represented by the Executive Director, Lagos and South-West, Fidelity Bank, Dr Ken Opara, Onyeali-Ikpe disclosed that the Fidelity SME Academy, a radio program, the bank’s funding program, and market access facilitation are just a few of the many institutions that Fidelity Bank has developed to promote the sector.
She said through the SME Academy, “We provide tailored business advisory services in various forms depending on what works best for the target eligible MSME customers/group of MSME customers.”
Small business owners frequently believe that acquiring funding is a major challenge, but according to Onyeali-Ikpe, the bank has discovered that in addition to money, companies also need to establish the proper structures, gain knowledge, and comprehend their businesses.
“We have signed this MOU today to build up capacity which involves training programme, certification and collaboration in some other key areas that will help them improve on the areas that they have been having issues as it relates to their structure.
“Already, we have positioned ourselves to support these SMEs. We have a training programme through the SME academy that supports them as much as possible.
“More importantly is that even though they are large, they are in clusters. You have those operating along one geographical region. You also have those that have similar businesses.
“So, we understand those clusters, create products that address those people. We are not going to be dealing with them one-on-one, but they are going to have SMEs that grew up in clusters and that way, we attend to their needs, understand what their issues are and provide those solutions and the system,” she added.
Some of the structures put in place by the bank to empower SMEs include; one-on-one business advisory sessions; scheduled training sessions/seminars on identified areas of business management; virtual advisory sessions; among others.
Also speaking, Olawale Fasanya, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), commended Fidelity Bank for facilitating the partnership, saying that overtime, “we now know where the shoe pinches more in growing businesses.”
According to him, the MOU was particularly crucial not just to the agency but to the MSMEs ecosystem.
Fasanya specifically mentioned that Fidelity Bank is without a doubt one of the few commercial banks in Nigeria that has demonstrated a great deal of interest in supporting the large MSME community.
“I am very aware of some of your products purposely designed to serve the MSMEs. This explains why the Agency is very excited entering into this relationship that we believe will help change the narratives of the sub-sector.
“The Agency is confident that the Memorandum of Understanding will be kept active providing opportunities for reviews at intervals,” he stated.
The number one challenge, according to him, that the MSMEs have complained about over time as a major constraint is the access to funds to either start or grow their enterprises.
Fasanya made reference to the 2020 survey on MSMEs, jointly conducted by SMEDAN and the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed that limited access to funds was the biggest challenge at 27.9 per cent, far ahead of other challenges such as weak infrastructure, inconsistent policies, among others.
The study also revealed that a large number of the MSMEs (59 per cent) relied heavily on personal savings to start and grow their businesses.
Fasanya further said that the day was therefore very memorable not just to SMEDAN but also to the entire MSME community and other enablers as the expectations are high that the narrative would soon change especially as it concerns MSME funding.
“I am confident that the support by Fidelity Bank to MSMEs will allow other funding institutions to follow your trail,” he concluded.
