SMEs: Fidelity Bank building requisite capacity to create Aliko Dangotes of tomorrow

… supporting SMEs is in our DNA–CEO

Fidelity Bank Plc can confidently pride itself as a leading lender bank  and wealth creator in the country because of the Bank’s persistent effort to ensure that small businesses contribute significantly to the nation’s gross domestic products(GDP). The Bank  is one of the few financial institutions that  have, as a matter of policy, devoted its times and resources to building  up the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in the country to an enduring prosperity. This effort is anchored on the Bank’s belief that the MSME sector is the growth engine of any economy, contributing to its development, job creation and export amongst others.

According to the World Bank, MSMEs represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide. Formal MSMEs contribute up to 40% of GDP  in emerging economies. The latest SMEDAN/NBS MSME Survey indicates Nigeria’s MSMEs contribute nearly 50% of the country’s GDP and account for over 80% of employment in the country. No doubt, the sector is pivotal to Nigeria’s growth including reducing poverty levels. However, the sector continues to be weighed down with challenges which ultimately impact the nation’s growth. But , the good news is that  Fidelity Bank  is  working assiduously to fill this gap because of it unflinching belief that the sector can be empowered to make meaningful contributions to the economy of Nigeria  as has been exemplified in other regions of the world. The Bank is doing this with glee not minding the risks associated with doing so.

 As a senior official of the Bank once remarked regarding this endevour , “a lot of people are of the view that banking MSMEs is a risky business. Of course, banks are in business to take risks, but Fidelity Bank has taken a different approach to supporting MSMEs. It set up the Managed SME Division to provide one-on-one advisory, access to market for its customers, and to guide aspiring entrepreneurs that are just clueless about how to run a business.”

 The overarching goal, according to the Bank,  is to build requisite capacity in order to create the Aliko Dangotes of tomorrow. Quite a number of established entrepreneurs have been on this programme to share their unique experiences of doing business in Nigeria. Now, the Bank is embarking on a number of activities to make sure that aspiring MSMEs get a handhold from people who are highly experienced in this area.

 So, buoyed by the huge  potentials of small businesses  to the economic development and growth of any economy and string of progresses that have been achieved so far , Fidelity Bank has been working hard   to double the contribution of MSMEs to GDP by helping them to access much needed funding and capacity development initiatives. In 2022 alone, Fidelity Bank Plc disbursed over N120 billion loans to MSMEs in the real sector in the first half of the year. The Bank  is making  concerted efforts to assist entrepreneurs across all sectors of the Nigerian economy develop requisite capacity to unlock their full potentials and take their businesses to the next level of growth.

Part of the strategy is  the creation of the Fidelity SME Academy through which the Bank builds capacity support services for MSME operatives who are either prospective or existing customers of the Bank. Through this process the Bank provides tailored business advisory services in various forms dependent on what works best for the target eligible MSME customers/ group of MSME customers. Some of the advisory models are: One-on-one business advisory sessions, scheduled training sessions/ seminars on identified areas of business management, virtual advisory sessions, among others.

There is also  the  Fidelity SME Forum ,  a weekly radio programme designed  by the Bank  to educate, inform, advise and inspire budding entrepreneurs in Nigeria with knowledge and expertise that will enable them build sustainable and successful businesses. The interactive radio programme features subject matter experts and model entrepreneurs as guests on a weekly basis to share their insight and unique success stories. 

These unique individuals share their experience, inspire young people and upcoming MSMEs for future purpose. If one  listens to the life stories of some of these people, how many failures they had, before they came up, it actually helps people to begin to put the MSME business in proper perspective. The programme has been extended to other regions of the country and significant progress has been made.

Recently, the Bank’s  Managing Director/CEO,  Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,  reaffirmed  the Bank’s  commitment to enhancing the productivity and prosperity of MSMEs in the country by providing capacity building and advisory services, innovative funding options and other forms of relevant support that would significantly improve their overall contributions to national development and growth.

“We have a dedicated SME Desk with innovative products and services to assist your business. Fidelity Bank, in partnership with various private and public institutions provides funding, business advisory services for all our customers. This webinar is an excellent opportunity to network, share information and deepen the SME sector in Enugu State”, she explained.

 Also, in what has been termed a major move to bridge the gap in helping small businesses access much needed funding and capacity development initiatives, last year, the Bank   announced a strategic partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN). At a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony held in Lagos  to this effect, Onyeali-Ikpe said the partnership reinforces the fact that the Bank is a leading supporter of SMEs in Nigeria.

“For us at Fidelity Bank, supporting SMEs is in our DNA and for more than two decades we have been creating multiple platforms to help them thrive. These include the numerous products we have pioneered for the sector, our collaboration with the Lagos Business School to host the Export Management Programme, the Fidelity SME Academy and our weekly SME Forum radio programme where we have had successful business owners and even SMEDAN share tips on running thriving ventures with listeners.”

“This partnership is therefore another step in our journey of helping entrepreneurs grow and compete favourably in any market they operate and we are very happy to have SMEDAN join us”, commented Onyeali-Ikpe who was represented by the Executive Director, Lagos and South-West, Fidelity Bank, Dr Ken Opara.

On his part, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, SMEDAN, Olawale Fasanya thanked Fidelity Bank for facilitating the partnership emphasizing that the MOU was particularly significant not just to the Agency but to the MSMEs ecosystem.

“Fidelity Bank is one of the few commercial banks in Nigeria that have shown immense interest in providing support to 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”, commented Fasanya.

Fidelity Bank  is aggressively leveraging cutting-edge digital solutions to improve customer experience in risk asset products to deepen its penetration in the SME segment and boost market share in the industry. It also is currently building SME advisory hubs across the country where existing and aspiring entrepreneurs (both its SME customers and non-customers) can come in and receive business management knowledge and advice free of charge.

Group Head, SME Banking, Fidelity Bank Plc, Esther Obiekwe ,who represented  the CEO in an occasion said there are challenges confronting the SMEs sector in Nigeria, despite the fact  that it potentially constitutes the most dynamic firms in emerging economies, limiting their expansion capacity and impeding development.  She said the issue of lack of funding in SMEs should not even exist given the attractiveness of the sector especially the technology firms. The sector contributes 50 per cent of GDP and generates up to 90 per cent of employment.

Obiekwe said “Once the government gets power right, SMEs can save cost and other unnecessary wastage, improve efficiency, grow production capacity and overall output. From our experience over the years, there are two broad categories of challenges SMEs face in Nigeria, and they are Funding Issues and Non-Funding Issues.

“Critical amongst the non-funding issues are the dearth of infrastructure such as roads, power, ICT etc. as well as government policies which are required to encourage the growth of SMEs in Nigeria.

“For the bank, its long-running support for the growth and development of small businesses in Nigeria stems from its recognition of their strong roles, as critical agents of economic development and transformation in Nigeria,” she said.

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 10 million customers serviced across its over 250 business offices and digital banking channels. The bank was recently recognised as the Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking & Finance Awards. The bank has also won awards for the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

The Bank has also leveraged its lending framework to partner with several Development Finance Institutions (DFI) such as, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Bank of Industry (BOI), African Development Bank AfDB) to make low interest prices credits available to SMEs in Nigeria. The Bank was named best SME supportive institution by the DBN, having disbursed over N50billion  under the DBN on-lending scheme.

 As one of the Premium Members of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Fidelity Bank Plc  was named ‘Outstanding SME Supporting Bank of the Year’ in recognition of its support for MSMEs in the country. It has  clinched the award at the 2020 Marketing & Advertising Award for Excellence.

According to the organisers, Marketing Edge, the bank’s nomination, and subsequent emergence as an award recipient were a product of a review and assessment of its intervention and provision of long-term financing support for MSMEs across the country.