First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the premier and leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria, has announced its SME specific accounts designed to reinforce the Bank’s role in putting SMEs at an advantage whilst contributing to national growth and development.
The SME accounts are offered to SMEs, irrespective of industry, and tailored to have SMEs exposed to a wide range of services and opportunities that are essential for their continued growth and role in contributing to national development. They are offered in two variants: FirstSME Classic and FirstSME Deluxe.
The advantages and features of these accounts include:
- Access to Temporary OverDrafts (TODs) and other facilities subject to meeting Risk Adjustment Capital (RAC) of each product.
- Immediate enrollment on all digital platform.
- Free access to FirstBank SME events.
- Free access to extensive business promotional and networking opportunities on the SMEConnect portal.
- Access to a wide range of discounted and promotional offers.
Furthermore, amongst the many opportunities available to holders of FirstSME account is the SMEConnect initiative of FirstBank - a platform where SMEs access the Bank’s unique propositions to equip them with the essential tools needed for the growth of their business. The SMEConnect portal is designed to help SMEs identify various gaps that hinder their business growth. With FirstBank’s over 126 years of impacting the economy, the Bank’s SME innovative Business Diagnostics Tool will help proffer tailored solutions, whilst creating avenues for business improvement, profitability and sustainability.
The bank, having researched extensively, has come up with 7 strategic pillars it considers essential for SMEs sustainability and growth. The 7 pillars are connect to infrastructure, connect to talent, capacity building, connect to policy and regulation, connect to resources, connect to market as well as connect to finance.
Speaking about this announcement, First Bank's CEO, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, said: “FirstBank is delighted to unlock several opportunities for SMEs to thrive. Our FirstSME account is one of the numerous opportunities designed to empower SMEs to continually drive impact as the backbone and contributors to employment and economic growth. Being woven into the fabric of the society for close to 127 years means that we remain at the forefront of providing the desired financial products and services to fit the needs unique to the SMEs as well as facilitating the requisite tools and resources to efficiently and effectively drive business sustainability and expansion strategies essential to taking SMEs to the next level.’’
Nigeria in focus:
Population: 200.9 million (2019)
GDP: $448.12 billion (2019)
GDP Per Capita: $2,229 (2019)