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Sterling Bank seeks improved support for SMEs

By on May 13, 2014

Sterling Bank Plc has stressed that an improvement in the quality of infrastructure in the country will boost the operations of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

Executive Director, Sterling Bank, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman said this in an interview with journalists at a seminar organised by the banks for SME operators that was held in Lagos recently.

Suleiman noted that the process for transforming SMEs into bigger organisations to enable them contribute significantly to the growth of the economy.
He also said there is need to improve on the quality of education in the country in order to build capacity entrepreneurs in the country.

“The type of education that we provide for SMEs today needs to be improved. The legal environment, the process of getting approvals, setting up a business and today when it comes to competitiveness, Nigeria still has a lot to do and a long way to go and it moves from there to the infrastructure that supports businesses.

“For example, you have to worry about power, training all the people you get and many other things. So, it is a lot more complicated running an SME in a developing economy,” he added.

However, he pointed out that the objective of the seminar was to improve the business and management practice for SMEs.

According to Suleiman, it is the view of Sterling Bank that for it to be able to support SMEs their reporting standard as well as their day-to-day management of their organisations needs to improve.

He said: “So the idea is that we have a role to play, we would help in developing managerial quality within SMEs, but we cannot do everything.”

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Africa Star Limited, Mr. Bawor Benjamin said participant at the programme would benefit immensely, adding that it would expose them to new ideas to develop their businesses.

“It is a way of trying to encourage the small and medium scale businesses and give them an idea of how to grow their business, give it proper structure, so that they can be able to access funds to make their business grow,” he added.

 

[This Day]