Access Bank to commit $1bn to support African MSMES

ACCESS Bank Plc has said it is looking to impact 10 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMES) across Africa by committing $1 billion over the next five years to support them.

This was announced at the Access Bank African SME Immersion roundtable discussion, themed ‘Enhancing the capabilities of MSMES across Africa’ in Lagos on Wednesday.

Seyi Kumupayi, executive director at Access Bank, said MSMES are known to be the drivers of many African economies.

Kumupayi said Africa, which is home to over 1.4 billion people and over 90 million MSMES across Africa, only contributes 2.5 percent to the world GDP.

“For me, this means that we are not producing enough and this is why we are looking into the underdeveloped SME space,” he said.

He said the workshop’s aim was to come up with strategies on how to address issues of funding, affordability, and capacity to manage the business by partnering with development finance institutions and other institutions.

At the event, several African entrepreneurs across different sectors such as education and agriculture spoke about the different challenges.

Zainab Oduniyi, founder of Tosho Woods Bridal, a bridal fashion house, said that despite getting a zero-interest rate loan from Access Bank to start afresh after she lost the business during the ENDSARS protest, she was still faced with a lot of issues.

“To grow at an accelerated pace in two years, I’ve faced a lot of issues. The first is human capital; getting the right people to make world-class products, not to mention distribution and sales,” she said.

Oduniyi said the banks, together with development finance institutions, could create a value chain structure that can support every bit of the process like production, marketing, and distribution for micro businesses.

Lindiwe Modise, founder of Green Loop, a biodegradable packaging firm in Botswana, said her business currently imports biodegradable packaging products from neighbouring countries but intends to set up its own plant.

Modise said the business is faced with cash flow problems and looks to banks to get funding.

Amaka Nwaokolo, head of Fate Institute, a non-profit organisation that harnesses strong entrepreneurship, said banks like Access should champion courses for entrepreneurship policies through advocacy.