First Bank hosts SMEs to its 2020 inaugural business clinic

First Bank of Nigeria Limited hosted SMEs in its 2020 inaugural SME Business Clinic. The event was themed “Positioning your business to thrive in 2020.”

The SME Business Clinic featured Abayomi Adewumi, CEO of the Global Leadership Institute, an industry expert and business growth consultant with vast experience working with Small & Medium Enterprises.

He engaged participants on the First Bank SME diagnostic tool, designed for SMEs to check the health of their businesses, better understand it and drive profitability. In the course of the year, the First Bank SME Clinic will be held across all geopolitical zones in Nigeria, thereby deepening the Bank’s impact at bolstering the efficiency of entrepreneurs in the country.

In 2019, First Bank organised an SME week in which seven strategic pillars were identified and considered essential for the sustainability and growth of SMEs. The seven pillars - connect to infrastructure, connect to talent, capacity building, policy and regulation, connect to resources, connect to market as well as connect to finance and intended to promote a healthy business interaction and adaptability of the SMEs with their immediate environment. The weeklong event which had SMEs mentored across multiple states in the country was the first of its kind in the industry. The latest SME Clinic session was organised 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 contributions to the development of the economy.

Speaking on the event, Gbenga Shobo, the Deputy Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, said “at First Bank, we recognise the impact SMEs have on the economy, and we are excited at the opportunity to continue to enable them prosper by strategically contributing to the sustainability of their business.