A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Wema Bank and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) was signed to empower 800,000 Nigerian businesses as part of Wema Bank’s commitment to SMEs.
To enable MSMEs to create successful enterprises, increase their visibility, and grow sustainably, the partnership concentrated on providing them with business, technical, and soft skills training. Wema Bank will supply the training and tools for the 800,000 enterprises that SMEDAN will curate to carry out the program, which will run for the next 12 to 18 months.
Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, spoke about the relationship and reaffirmed the Bank’s enduring dedication to enabling Nigerians to prosper.
According to the Wema Bank’s CEO: “At Wema Bank, we don’t pay lip service to SME matters. From inception in 1945, Wema Bank was built with the purpose of providing financing for the indigenous people of Nigeria. It wasn’t because banks didn’t exist during those years, it was because we identified the gaps in access to finance for our people. This is why Wema Bank came to life; to provide tailored financial services and empower Nigerians to thrive on both individual and business levels.
“Over the past 8 decades, Wema Bank has been driving this lifelong mission of empowering Nigerians with access to finance, constantly reinventing to develop more efficient ways of delivering value to the people. One cardinal thing that we haven’t deviated from is that we are fully committed to empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses in Nigeria.
“The petty traders we provided for in the 1900s are the entrepreneurs and MSMEs that we continue to empower in the 2000s, and we will never relent in fulfilling this promise.
“So, MSME empowerment for us is not just a buzzword. It is what we have always done, what we are doing through this partnership with SMEDAN and what we will continue to do beyond 80 years,” he added.
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Charles Odili, the Director General of SMEDAN, praised Wema Bank’s clear dedication and crucial role in empowering companies and fostering growth in the MSME Sector. He expressed confidence in the partnership’s ability to help Nigerian MSMEs create a sustainable future, saying: “I want to again, thank Wema Bank. This is a prime example of how collaboration and determination to create impact can make a positive difference. I thank you for their constant support to MSMEs and for not paying lip service to MSME Empowerment in Nigeria.”
Continuing, qs Nigeria’s SME Bank, Wema Bank has established a stellar reputation by going above and beyond to provide businesses with access to capital, market access, visibility, customised training, mentorship, and other forms of assistance. By establishing strong Nigerian companies and strengthening its standing as the bank dedicated to enabling MSMEs, Wema Bank hopes to develop the country’s MSME sector through this collaboration with SMEDAN.
However, SMEDAN is a national organisation that was founded in 2003 to advance the growth of the Nigerian economy’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
