Wema Bank has charged stakeholders to prioritise digital empowerment for MSMEs as a measure for championing a sustainable MSME ecosystem in Nigeria.

The pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, gave the charge at the International MSMEs Day and MSME Awards Night 2024; a twofold event organised by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Office of the Vice President in commemoration of World MSME Day 2024.

The International MSMEs Day and MSME Awards Night 2024 which held in Abuja is a celebration targeted at not only acknowledging the successes in the Nigerian MSME Sector but also developing sustainable solutions for the continuous growth and development of the sector, to ultimately boost the Nigerian economy.

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Tagged “Call to Action: Provision of Sustainable Single-Digit Loans for MSME”, the daytime event convened top reputable institutions and entities including Wema Bank, to brainstorm and proffer sustainable financial solutions to not only provide affordable loans and funding for MSMEs, but to also ensure that these financial solutions are easily accessible and available to MSMEs.

Representing Moruf Oseni, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Tunde Mabawonku, the Bank’s Executive Director of Retail and Digital Business, further emphasised the pressing need to prioritise technology and digital empowerment in complement to capacity development, financial empowerment and collaborative efforts, towards building a supportive ecosystem for MSMEs to thrive.

“At Wema Bank, our approach embodies the saying ‘Give a man fish, he will come back but teach a man to fish, he will learn to fend for himself and others’. Technology and digital are the future, and intelligence is here to stay. What we are doing for these MSMEs is beyond providing the finances they need. We are also focusing on empowering them with relevant and transferrable digital skills to ensure they are not left behind in this digital evolution. What are the skills they need to sell in this fast-growing digital world? To operate effectively? To compete? To maximise the resources at their disposal? These are the questions that drive us at Wema Bank”, he said.

“The goal is digital empowerment for scale and to maximise our impact, we continue to partner with several esteemed bodies and institutions across the world, from Banks to Agencies, Regulatory organisations, etc. Collaboration for us is continuous so from small alliances that allow us to empower smaller businesses through significant platforms within their ecosystem to the bigger partnerships like the FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme, we will continue to combine efforts and pool resources where ideal to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, provide financial support and other resources that these businesses need and empower them to skillfully utilise the resources available to them for maximum impact and growth. Conversations like this are very important so we are more than glad to be part of it and to every business out there, we say Happy World MSME Day to you”, Mabawonku concluded.

Wema Bank continues to prove its mettle not just as an enabler for MSMEs but also as the partner of choice for all. At the event, the Bank also awarded a brand-new car to the female winner of the “Outstanding MSME Clinic” award category, in addition to the N2,000,000 prize slated for this category.

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