FirstBank to host 2020 SME Business Clinic in Port-Harcourt, Abuja
EHIME ALEX, Lagos
Nigeria’s premier and leading financial services provider, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has announced to host the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at its 2020 SME Business Clinic second edition.
According to the bank, this is coming in recognition of the significant role SMEs play in achieving sustainable growth and development in the economy of the country.
In a statement on Friday, the bank said the event on the theme, “Building a sustainable Business” will hold on 25th and 27th February 2020 in Port-Harcourt and Abuja respectively.
The bank stated that interested SMEs can take the SME diagnostic tool by visiting https://smeconnect.firstbanknigeria.com/ in order to stand a chance to be amongst the participants that would be at the event in Port-Harcourt and Abuja.
It said, “The FirstBank SME diagnostic tool is designed for SMEs to check the health of their business, better understand it and drive profitability. The SME Clinic will feature one-on-one business advisory services, mentoring, networking opportunities and participants will also be acquainted with the requisite knowledge and business tools needed to drive efficiency in the day-to-day operations of their business.”
Speaking on the event, Gbenga Shobo, the Deputy Managing Director, FirstBank, said “at FirstBank, we are proud of the giant strides we have taken over the years towards enhancing the SMEs for their businesses to thrive, have a fair play in the market and contribute to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. 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 enabling Nigerians and the economy at large”.
The coaches expected at the event include Seye Olurotimi, Lead Consult at Cedar Tribe Limited, an SME branding expert and business growth consultant with vast experience helping SMEs grow effective brands, and Robert Yakubu, founder of the Instabiz Academy and the Business Mastery Program, a digital entrepreneur and business strategist empowering entrepreneurs, marketers and business professionals in Port-Harcourt and Abuja respectively.
The SME Clinic session is being organized in partnership with SME Traction, a leading business coaching platform aimed at empowering SMEs to make informed choices about their businesses, thereby facilitating growth and bolstering their contribution to the development of the economy.
Expressing delight on the impact the inaugural SME Clinic has had on her business, the CEO, Nibbles Plus More Ventures, Owoeye, Oluyomi, said, “the first step I took after the SME business clinic was do a strategic road map for my business. Riding on the information I got from the business trend session on consumer landscape, I had a clearer understanding of who my target audience are and have included that in my business plan. The feedback we believe will help us identify untapped markets and problems in our industry, how to reach them and what value we can offer them”.
She noted that like they were told at the clinic, progressing into the counter intuitive zone of the business model reinventing box is what brings about Innovation, adding that something must trigger innovation and not just their intuition, hence their choice on research.