June 30, (THEWILL) – The FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has reiterated commitment to driving growth and building the capacity of the country’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Noting that SMEs remained the ultimate drivers of the economy, FirstBank says when they are under-utilized and not given the much-needed support to thrive, it has an overriding effect on the overall growth and development of a Nation.
SMEConnect is FirstBank’s value proposition geared towards building the capacity of SMEs to deliver business goals and contribute even more significantly to national development.
It is a digital platform through which SMEs can access the bank’s plethora of services. The portal is designed to help SMEs access the Bank’s unique propositions and identify various gaps that hinder their business growth.
According the bank, SMEConnect was birthed out of the need to bridge the gap and connect SMEs to resources, products and services that will enable them to overcome the challenges of poor business structures, lack of infrastructure, poor market penetration, limited access to information and professional services, inconsistent government policies amongst others, hence the bank has identified seven strategic pillars considered essential for the sustainability and growth of SMEs.
The SMEConnect has special features such as the Business Diagnostic tool which has been specifically developed to evaluate one’s business and give one a business effectiveness score, it goes further to tell one what one has done well and what one needs to improve on. One is also able to request a business coach on the portal and get up to a 34% discount.
SMEs can also have access to free business advisory services through the business diagnostic tool, they can showcase their products and services at no cost at all, interact with their customers and other SMEs alike, Connect to free capacity building workshops, seminars and webinars and get regular updates on policies and regulations impacting SMEs. All these interesting features combine to make FirstBank the first-choice bank amongst SMEs.
Other features of the SMEConnect platform include enlightening blog articles that provide tips on growing businesses, e-newsletters, and useful webinar content.
The portal helps proffer tailored services solutions, whilst creating avenues for business improvement, profitability and sustainability.
Currently, there are 4,225 registered businesses and 20,880 users on the platform.
Individuals and businesses can register to be users of SMEConnect without listing their business. SMEs can join the SMEConnect community by visiting https://smeconnect.firstbanknigeria.com/ to sign up seamlessly for free.
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