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Diamond Bank restates commitment to SME growth

By on March 4, 2014

The Head, Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Proposition, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Chima Nnandozie, has called on banks to relax the conditions under which they gave out loans to small and medium enterprise businesses.

He made the call at the 41st edition of the bank’s monthly business seminar held in Lagos.

Nnandozie said, “There are lots of small businesses that need (credit) facilities but they can not access because they do not have collateral. Diamond Bank has been supporting small and medium enterprise since 2009 and we want other banks to do the same. We are a focused bank and we are here today because we want to build capacity. We provide platform for our customers to network.”

Diamond Bank’s Head, Retail Banking, Mr. Uzo Nwadozie, noted that the seminar was a way of investing in the customers.

He said, “There are 17 million small businesses in Nigeria which is a lot in any economy of the world; it is the small businesses that contribute to the GDP but here in Nigeria because of lack of access to finance and lack of access to non-financial services, small businesses are not doing well as they should do. For us to be successful as a financial institution, we have to help our customers to be successful.”

He said small businesses were suppliers of corporate organisations, saying “they are the consumers of the corporate.”

Nwadozie added, “Like in the Nigeria Breweries, their suppliers are small businesses. Our objective is how we can help them to be successful. The questions are:  ‘How do they manage their money and keep their books?’ ‘Who do they involve?’ So, they tell us their stories in financial terms and we also help them. It goes beyond the finance.”

The event, which drew participants from the bank’s customers, had about 400 people in attendance.

 

 

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