First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc and Nigeria’s most valuable bank brand, has unveiled its new SME Campaign which is specially designed to help SMEs grow their business with diverse product and service offerings. With a heritage of over 120 years of banking experience, FirstBank started small and having grown through various stages, the Bank understands the business journey for SMEs and is passionate about supporting them to ensure continuous business growth.
Over the years, FirstBank has displayed an unwavering commitment to the business success of SMEs in Nigeria with its cocktail of products and bespoke solutions, specifically designed to help grow and sustain SMEs. Given that SMEs are pivotal to national development, FirstBank is committed to ensure sustained business growth as well as provide the necessary services to grow businesses and Nigeria’s economy at large. The SME sector is replete with various industries and business models; FirstBank’s package provides the right mix of products and services with professional staff designated to work with the business owner to provide flexible and dependable services, helping SMEs achieve consistent growth and success in every area of business.
From the Education Sector to Services, Trading, Manufacturing and Distributorship, FirstBank support services will ensure you have access to the right financial tools. The Bank has been a consistent promoter and supporter of the SMEs and some of the Bank’s interventions for SMEs include Overdraft for working capital, Operational Vehicles Loans; e.g. School Bus, Delivery vans, Equipment Finance, Commercial Building Loan, Education Management Portal, Contract & LPO Finance, Invoice Discounting Finance, Import Finance, Bonds & Guarantees, Bill & Tax Payments, Bulk Payment & Collections Solutions, e-Commerce Platforms, Non-Oil Export Financing, Domestic Money Transfers, Zero COT Accounts, Non-Oil Export Financing, Import Finance Facility, Key Distributorship Finance (Cement, Telco, FMCGs) among several other products.
According to the FirstBank’s spokesperson, Folake Ani-Mumuney, businesses require more than loans, and the Bank makes available non- financial services to its customers such as access to administrative assistance, translation services, conferences, seminars, forums and other business support services. “We are determined to partner with businesses and pass on our own expertise and knowledge to small businesses across several sectors in Nigeria. Our experience in business spans several industries and segments. We understand the position most of our SME’s are in because we used to be in their situation and can provide valuable solutions for their business needs. We care about the path to success for our customers, we have walked this path and have developed solutions to ensure that the road to success is as stable as can be for our customers”, she further enthused.
Because each business and sector is unique, SME customers are assigned Retail Managers that have good knowledge of their sector and business environment, providing them the best advice, industry specific knowledge and expertise to help guide their business through the expansion vision whilst empowering them to leverage other opportunities within the Bank. FirstBank is committed to the success of SMEs and has through many years groomed SMEs into large corporations. Some of the Bank’s support programmes for SMEs include African Start-Up on CNN, a sponsored TV documentary on CNN showcasing SME success stories across Africa; Ignite (an afterschool graduate employability and enterprise training initiative); Sponsorship of SME Radio Programme, The Economy & You, SME conferences and seminars across various states in Nigeria as well as the SMEConnect website which is at the heart of FirstBank’s SME activities. The website www.firstbanknigeria.com/smeconnect provides resource materials and serves as a channel to obtain feedback from customers as well as communicate the Bank’s products and services targeted at SMEs.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited has proved its commitment to the development of the SME sector in Nigeria. Customers are therefore encouraged to walk into any FirstBank branch to enjoy the Bank’s extensive package dedicated to ensuring that their business success follows the script they have written.
Signed
Folake Ani-Mumuney
Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications
Imagecredit:africanbusinesscentral
