Diamond Bank Empowers SMEs

Nume Ekeghe

Diamond Bank recently organised a seminar for operators of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country, as part of its capacity building programme.

The bank’s 51st ‘Business Xpress Enterprise series,’ was held in Lagos. Participants were lectured on human resource management, building smart sustainable enterprise, good governance, persistence amongst others.

Speaking on the importance of these seminars, the Head, Retail Banking, Diamond Bank, Ms. Aishah Ahmad said: “We are always using every opportunity we have to improve what businesses are doing which are the operational, legal governance are very critical to us and that is what drives some of the topics we discus.

“For us at Diamond Bank, we are very committed to small businesses. Every day we do something to that effect. Asides from this, we also have an online portal were people can get information. We also do smaller clinics across different branches to ensure that all businesses around benefit from this.”

According to her, since its inception, Diamond Bank has been training about 15,000 people yearly and has done so for five years.

In terms of financing SMEs, she said: “It is well known that Diamond Bank is an MSMEs bank and for us it is not only in financing. It is about making those businesses viable to be able to approach financing. Financing is for a purpose and the only way a business can be sustainable to be able to pay back that financing is for it to sell so we also try to create access to market by connecting companies, Building that ecosystem that drives a business forward that is what we are focused on.”

Also speaking on the sidelines of the event, the keynote Speaker, Mrs Audrey Joe-Ezigbo said:“I am very committed to trying to help business see that we can build the kind of companies we admire in other countries small and medium doesn’t mean you can become large. I’m also trying to preach especially that we can do it by doing the right things.”

To SMEs operators, she advised saying: “We should think big, think synergy, think impact and think excellence because we can transform this country.”

The President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr. Mark Dike has stressed the need to ensure an inclusive economic growth and development.

Dike stated this during a press briefing in Lagos to announce the forthcoming Annual Tax Conference, of CITN, which will hold in Abuja.

The event, which commences from May 13 to 16, 2015, he said would have as