Single-Digit Loan: Sterling Bank to Share N5 Billion to Businesses, Launches Platform

• Sterling Bank and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have unveiled Databanc
• The portal would serve as the exclusive source of data regarding Nigerian businesses, allowing policymakers to make customised interventions
• According to the bank, the fund and platform demonstrated the bank's dedication to growing the nation's real sector of the economy

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), in partnership with Sterling Bank, has introduced Databanc, a revolutionary new platform.

The portal would act as the exclusive source of information about Nigerian enterprises, enabling decision-makers to provide tailored interventions and assistance to the MSME ecosystem.

More benefit of Databanc

The platform is expected to furnish SMEDAN with valuable insights that it may employ in carrying out its purpose about policy formation, intervention program implementation, and other activities, such as finance, that facilitate the expansion of small enterprises in Nigeria.

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Additionally, The Nation reported that the platform will offer a distinct identity for small businesses, their advocates, and the industries in which they operate.

Through this platform and the N5 billion single-digit loan program, for example, Sterling Bank and SMEDAN are collaborating to encourage the development and expansion of small enterprises and collectively grow the Nigerian economy.

What the bank said

Speaking during the platform's debut, Sterling Bank's executive director of commercial and institutional banking, Tunde Adeola, stated that the fund and platform represented the bank's commitment to expanding the country's real sector of the economy.

Adeola said:

“We are delighted to bolster the backbone of our economy with SMEDAN. This initial fund of N5 billion marks just the beginning of what has been and will continue to be a mainstay of our approach to funding businesses to grow at scale and becoming the preferred financial partner for businesses, no matter their scale.”

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Similarly, SMEDAN's director-general, Charles Odii, emphasised how the initiative aligns with agency's goal of democratising credit access for nano and microenterprises.

Odii was represented at the event by Levi Anyikwa, the director of Agribusiness Development and Access to Finance.

He confirmed that SMEs continue to have a major obstacle in getting access to financing, and scheme is dedicated to removing that obstacle.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in November 2022 between SMEDAN and Sterling Bank was highlighted by Odii as a crucial step in the direction of digitizing and streamlining lending procedures.

Also speaking, Bolanle Tyson, the head of SME digital products at Sterling Bank, stressed the importance of the bank's strategic focus on the HEART of Sterling forward strategy, which stands for health, education, agriculture, renewable energy, and transportation.

Tyson outlined the innovative support package, including access to capital at single-digit interest rates, alongside essential resources such as capacity building, marketing support, and infrastructure development.

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Tyson said:

“We are leveraging data to empower SMEs like never before.”

Sterling Bank secures $75m deal

Legit.ng earlier reported that Sterling Bank Plc secured a $75 million deal with the African Export-Import Bank to foster non-oil exports in Nigeria.

The bank said the funding secured during the just concluded Intra-Africa Trade Fair in Cairo, Egypt, would help address forex issues.

According to the bank, the deal would boost trade financing in the country through facilitating intra-Africa trade, Punch reports.

Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng