Sterling Bank Partners Group for SMEs’ Devt

Sterling Bank Plc has revealed that its motivation for collaborating with the Interior Design Association of Nigeria (IDAN) to host the fourth edition of the Interior Designers Excellence Awards (IDEA) and conference, was borne out of its commitment to promoting small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country. This, according to the bank would also encourage innovation in the country.

The bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, said this during media briefing to unveil the fourth edition of IDEA in Lagos yesterday.

“Before we do something, we always ask ourselves ‘why are we doing this’?” Suleiman said.

“One of the biggest problems we have in the country today is importation. Most of the quality things we have are usually imported,” he added. But importation, Suleiman pointed out, “cannot meet all our needs.”

“We cannot export everything,” he said.

“At Sterling, we’ve been patronising local companies for years. All of our interior design needs are outsourced to local companies. We see value in local businesses.”

IDEA is an annual architects and interior design awards and conference. According to the organisers, it is the most significant event in the year for practitioners in the architecture, interior design, real estate and construction fields.

This year’s event, which will hold in Lagos, on October 30, is expected to attract over 2,000 delegates, two keynote speakers, and 10 panelists from Nigeria, Hong Kong, the United States, and Italy.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Design and the Economy: Postion Your Brand for Success”, and it will attempt to “address the role design plays in the growth of the economy, and how designers can best position their businesses for brand optimisation.”