Business
When a Bank Puts SMEs First
Last week will go down as one of the most challenging weeks, if not the most challenging, Nigeria has faced in 2020. What started out weeks before as very well-organised peaceful protests by young Nigerians campaigning to #EndSARS, was supplanted by hoodlums engaging in wanton looting, arson and destruction of public and private properties across many states at an unprecedented scale. By the end of the week, many lives had been lost, many properties and businesses completely destroyed and Nigeria has been left reeling from a shock that dwarfs any the country felt even at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In keeping with the Nigerian spirit of being one’s brother’s keeper, equally unprecedented efforts by individuals, groups and corporate organisations to try to provide assistance for people and businesses affected by the crises of the past week, have followed. Individuals and groups have announced donations of cash and materials, set up helplines to offer psychological counselling and support, and started online crowd-funding efforts in support of victims. Among corporate organisations, we have seen banks take a leading role. Some banks, such as Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC, have announced funds or desks they have set up to receive requests from, and process assistance for, affected individuals and businesses. One of these banks’ efforts include pledged interest-free loans and grants that affected businesses and individuals can access.
Another bank has seen thousands of requests for assistance pour in through the online channel it set up for the purpose. The requests have flowed in, not only because of the victims’ desperation for help, but also because of the humane approach to banking that this institution adopts. Always putting the customer at the heart of its business, FirstBank has been showing empathy with all those who have experienced one loss or the other as a result of the crises. Since last week, the bank has been seeking every opportunity to identify with people who are currently grieving and hurting.
Although the largest and most prominent member of Nigeria’s leading financial powerhouse, the FBNHoldings Group that is a one-stop shop for financial services ranging from commercial and investment banking to financial advisory, insurance brokerage and pensions custodianship, FirstBank is neither immune nor removed from the challenges people face. It is a human institution with thousands of humans working as employees to provide bespoke banking products and services to millions of other humans whose pulse the bank feels through its employees. Being part of a group with expertise across the broad spectrum of financial services, makes FirstBank the banking partner with the broadest shoulders to assist SMEs buffeted by the wave of violence witnessed across the nation last week.
Given the interconnectivity between Nigeria and FirstBank’s history, it is no surprise that a tumultuous week in Nigeria is giving way to one with stories of hope and optimism by Nigerians badly affected by the crises of the past week, who are looking to FirstBank for assistance. These Nigerians have been encouraged by the strides FirstBank has made over the years in the SME space as the bank of first choice for small businesses. Built around seven strategic pillars – of connect to infrastructure, connect to talent, capacity building, policy and regulation, connect to resources, connect to market as well as connect to finance – considered essential for the sustainability and growth of SMEs and intended to promote a healthy business interaction and adaptability of the SMEs with their immediate environment, FirstBank’s involvement with SMEs, through SMEConnect (the bank’s branded bouquet of empowerment initiatives, products and services tailor-made for SMEs), has been one that has sought to facilitate their growth into future economic powerhouses playing ever-increasing roles in Nigeria’s economic development.
Since its maiden SME National Conference in 2014, FirstBank has annually engaged small businesses and SME owners in series of empowerment seminars and workshops designed to improve their business capacity. Only this year, FirstBank held its inaugural SME Business Clinic in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja with many SMEs in attendance. The SME Business Clinic featured Abayomi Adewumi, CEO of the Global Leadership Institute and an industry expert and business growth consultant with vast experience working with SMEs. He engaged participants on the FirstBank SME diagnostic tool designed for SMEs to check the health of their business, better understand it and drive profitability.
In 2019, FirstBank organised a weeklong SME event which had owners of SMEs in different sectors mentored across multiple states in the country. It was the first of its kind in the industry. Organised in partnership with SME Traction, a leading business coaching platform, it was aimed at empowering SMEs to make informed choices about their businesses, thereby facilitating growth and bolstering their contribution to the development of the economy. At the event, FirstBank’s Deputy Managing Director, Gbenga Shobo, underlined the importance the bank attaches to SMEs. He said: “At FirstBank, we recognise the impact SMEs have in promoting growth of the economy and are excited at the opportunity to continue to enable them prosper by strategically contributing to the sustainability of their business. We remain the trusted financial partner of SMEs and reiterate our resolve to be known as the brand that enables their success; much the same way that we have for over 125 years enabled Nigerians and the economy at large.”
This same point was elaborated at another FirstBank SME event, “Food Souk”, convened in 2019 in partnership with Eventful Limited, an events management firm, where the bank restated its commitment to the Federal Government’s diversification drive, promising to continue to support the agricultural value chain from production to consumption to create opportunities for SMEs in the food sector so they could in turn create job opportunities. The bank also extended its hand of partnership to all small businesses involved in organising different trade fairs and exhibitions. A food vendor at the event, Ms Ijeoma Ebeneme, the Chief Executive Officer, JEM N Iris, commended FirstBank for putting the event together. Ebeneme said she was at the food fair to make profit, meet new clients as well as create the needed publicity for her brand. It is for people like Ebeneme that FirstBank maintains an SME website (https://smeconnect.
In support of owners of SMEs operating in the education sector, FirstBank, in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), set up a matching fund scheme of ₦5 billion LSETF-FirstEdu Loan. Officially launched in September by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Managing Director/CEO of FirstBank, the scheme aims to cushion the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on low-cost private schools by ensuring lending at an attractive interest rate. Speaking at the launch, Dr Adeduntan said: “At FirstBank we recognise the indelible role played by the education sector in the growth of any economy and this underscores our partnership with Lagos State Government for continuous development of the education services in Lagos State and the nation as a whole. The commitment by the Lagos State Government – including this partnership – to enable schools is quite commendable as this will mitigate the challenges caused by the lockdown on the education sector following the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It is for efforts like all those highlighted above and many more that the 2019 edition of KPMG’s Annual Banking Industry customer Satisfaction Survey named FirstBank as the biggest mover in the SME space. The 2014 edition of the Survey had named the bank as the most popular bank among MSMEs for both deposit transactions and credit/loan facilities with 26 per cent of the SMEs surveyed identifying the bank as one where they had an ongoing loan facility or had obtained one in the recent past. It is also for the same reason that the unfortunate events of the last week have reignited the bond between Nigerians and FirstBank, a partner that they can bank on in times of need. The bank’s track record leaves no one in any doubt of its unwavering commitment to continue to weather all storms with Nigeria and Nigerian SMEs with whom it shares a common destiny.
Culled from BusinessDay
FirstBank, West Africa’s premier financial institution and financial inclusion services provider, is pleased to announce the upcoming edition of the SMEConnect Webinar scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. The event will equip small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the knowledge and tools to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business growth.
This edition is strategically curated to inform and educate SMEs on how AI can be applied to scale their businesses in today’s rapidly evolving digital economy. The chosen theme, “AI for Business Growth: From Adoption to Integration and Scalable Impact,” reflects the growing importance and timeliness of AI as one of the most influential trends shaping the SME business landscape. The session will provide SMEs with actionable insights on how to leverage AI to enhance productivity, streamline operations, strengthen customer engagement, and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
The SMEConnect webinar will feature experts, including Temitope Odude, Senior AI Solutions Architect at Microsoft as a guest speaker. Odude will provide credible and globally relevant perspectives on how SMEs can successfully adopt and integrate AI into their everyday business operations. Other speakers include Abednego Ugwueke, Head of Digital Channels and Ibidun Adedewe, Head of SME Acquisition & Partnerships at FirstBank.
Speaking ahead of the event, Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business and Retail Products at FirstBank, said “SMEs are the backbone of the Nigerian economy, and at FirstBank, we recognise that the economy cannot thrive without them. As a committed growth partner to SMEs, this session reinforces our strong focus on innovation, demonstrated through initiatives such as the use of AI‑enabled credit scoring to deliver fast, instant loans to micro‑SMEs, with over ₦1 trillion disbursed to support customers’ financial needs. Building on this foundation, we are equipping business owners with the right knowledge and practical insights on Artificial Intelligence to help them scale in the short term and drive sustainable growth. I encourage every business owner to participate in this session to gain hands‑on guidance on integrating AI into everyday business operations.”
SME owners and entrepreneurs can register for the webinar at https://firstbanknigeria.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cUr1LhWFQXymTqWtONOOVg
SMEConnect Webinar series is one of FirstBank’s signature platforms for supporting SMEs with practical knowledge and strategic insights. The Bank has consistently won awards for impacting businesses and for providing innovative solutions for customers and other stakeholders, including SMEs.
The Bank was named Best SME Bank in Nigeria and Best SME Bank in Africa by TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards for 2 years as at 2025. The Bank also won the SME Financier of the Year- Nigeria awarded by The Digital Banker.
FirstBank and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) have concluded plans to bridge housing deficit and empower citizens with credit to own their own homes of choice in any of the 36 states of the Federation plus Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This is through the FirstBank’s MREIF mortgage loan product, which has proved to be an opportunity waiting for Nigerians to grab.
This laudable initiative considers the importance of shelter to Nigerian citizens especially low and middle income earners that have to save for years before they can build for themselves. It aims at delivering homes to those who would apply without stress, putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians now, and during retirement.
Through MREIF, FirstBank will provide eligible customers with access to loans of up to N100 million with a repayment period of up to 20 years, at an attractive interest rate of 9.75% per annum. This is less than the usual interest rate on regular loans which sit at about 27% or more today. The repayment duration of 20 years makes the loan attractive for customers without stress.
The mortgage facility is available to salary account holders, business owners, and diaspora customers.
Interested customers are required to visit the Bank’s website: https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/personal/loans/mreif-home-loan/ where they can find detailed information and begin their journey toward homeownership.
Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has concluded plans to host a high-level virtual webinar focused on helping public institutions to strengthen revenue systems, improve fiscal transparency, and build smarter digital structures for collections, oversight, and accountability.
This event, with the theme, Digital Fiscal Transparency: Unlocking Sub-national Opportunities for International Partners, is billed for Tuesday, March 24, 2026,
The programme is expected to bring together a cross-section of public sector leaders, development institutions, heads of parastatals and agencies, as well as financial experts, to explore practical solutions for stronger public finance management.
It is expected to offer timely insights into how modern revenue infrastructure can help institutions improve efficiency, drive accountability, and support better fiscal outcomes.
The webinar will address key issues facing many public institutions today, including revenue leakages, fragmented collection channels, weak visibility into revenue performance, poor reconciliation processes, and the growing need for more transparent and technology-driven systems.
“As public institutions seek ways to improve internally generated revenue and strengthen public trust, there has been a renewed focus on fiscal transparency.
“This is particularly important in the face of recent macro and micro economic developments with many public sector agencies under pressure to do more with limited resources,” the Divisional Head of Public Sector at Fidelity Bank, Mr Richard Madiebo, said.
“It is against this background that we have conceptualised this session with a particular focus on how digital platforms can support structured invoicing, seamless collections, payment automation, contractor disbursement transparency, real-time revenue oversight, amongst other pertinent areas of revenue mobilisation and administration in Nigeria,” he added
“The webinar forms part of our commitment to provide practical solutions that support public sector transformation and stronger sub-national development. This is in line with Fidelity Bank’s mandate to help individuals to grow, businesses to thrive, and economies to prosper,” Mr Madiebo further disclosed.
Interested participants may register at www.fidelitybank.ng/publicsectorwebinar.
