The deputy managing director (DMD) of ProvidusBank, Kingsley Aigbokhaevbo, has restated the bank’s commitment to sustaining its Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Programme for the foreseeable future as part of its efforts to boost entrepreneurship in the country.
Celebrating the fifth year anniversary of the launch of the SME programme in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Aigbokhaevbo said that the management of Providus Bank was pleased with the positive impact that the programme has had on Nigeria’s SME space, since it was initiated in five years ago.
Whilst assuring that the programme would be sustained as it was the Bank’s key SME programme, which is designed to empower SME owners in Nigeria, he said, “being an entrepreneur is not a joke; we know that within the first five years, most of the SMEs struggle to stay afloat. When we set up Providus Bank, we asked ourselves what we wanted to do differently. This is one of the things we did differently. The driving force behind the initiative is that the founders of the bank really wanted to give back to the society.
“So apart from creating employment, what else could we do? The SME idea came to mind and we said how can we help these businesses that have almost 95 per cent of them going down within the first five years of their existence? Because they face challenges such as, lack of funding, poor infrastructure, among other things we said let us see how we can come into this space and help to build businesses and give back to the society. This is the main reason to provide that support as we also pursue one of our strategic pillars for Providus Bank to be, if not the number one, at least one of the top three banks for SMEs support and entrepreneurship growth.”
Thanking the EDC for partnering effectively with Providus Bank on the initiative, Aigbokhaevbo urged the graduates to help spread the word about the benefits of the programme. He disclosed that there are ongoing discussions between Providus Bank and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to see how SMEs can be able to access credit at a rate cheaper than the current double digits interest rate loans which hinder the sub-sector.
Head, Strategy and Business Development at ProvidusBank, Ernest Elue, also appreciated staff of the EDC and the graduates for partnering with the bank to help achieve its goal of positively impacting the country’s SME ecosystem.
In his remarks, programmes and partnerships director at the EDC, Dr. Olawale Anifowose, said the success of the initiative was a “testament to the true support that Providus Bank has for SMEs.” Noting that no fees are charged for the programme and all the other support that come from it, he said he was particularly pleased that the initiative produced other smaller SME programmes created by the bank.
“For me, it is becoming clear that Providus Bank is making a statement in the SME ecosystem in Nigeria. My prayer is that the bank will be able to extend it all over Africa.” Echoing Anifowose’s sentiments, Director at the EDC, Dr. Nneka Okekearu, thanked Providus Bank for giving the Centre the opportunity to partner with it on the programme.
She stated that the EDC has received almost 20,000 applications from entrepreneurs from every state in Nigeria.
