Firstbank Through Its Webinar Encourages SMEs to Diversify When Solving Problems

FirstBank in a meeting encouraged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to build in different areas of the economy to manage external shocks that may damage supply chain networks, corporate inventories, and financing models, affecting SMEs in terms of growth.

Speaking at a webinar session titled 'The Power of Resilience: Building a Strong Business in Times of Uncertainty,' stakeholders stated that SMEs are the foundation of the nation's economy, thereby contributing 50% of the nation's GDP through the creation of employment among indigenous entrepreneurs and affecting 73% of industrial jobs.

Mrs. Dolapo Adigun, Group Head of Retail Banking, South Africa, First Bank, explained at the SME Connect Webinar session that businesses must improve their resilience in times of crisis to build sustainable development in infrastructure delivery for SMEs, entrepreneurs, and micromanagers.

Adigun encouraged Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to identify opportunities in misfortune and capitalize on them to remain competitive.

Adigun emphasized the importance of SMEs delivering the capacity-building pillar of its value propositions, noting that the program focuses on SMEs in areas that influence their company growth and development.

“Nigeria is a blessed land. We have the potential, we have over 200 million people, we are said to be the most populous and in population, we have the market and it’s a growing large consumer base.

“So, there is immense opportunity for SMEs; and with the growing middle class and increasing opportunity, we need to tap into it as an SME,’’ She Stated.

Adigun cited infrastructure, regulatory environment, increasing inflation, withdrawal of fuel subsidies, currency depreciation, and foreign exchange rates as some of the issues encountered by SMEs.

She said that certain obstacles, including uncertainties, will always occur in business since they are commonplace in both the commercial world and in daily life.

Adigun advised firms to plan and sustain long-term loans, prioritize strategic partnerships, establish customer relationships, adapt company models, and improve operational efficiency, among other things.

She also said that Firstbank has faced most of the obstacles and uncertainties that companies in Nigeria face and was still standing.

She said that the bank's operations, structure, and system had been dynamically adjusted and that it was currently assessing its procedures.

She said that SMEs are more prone to endure catastrophic sales declines, store closures, a lack of skills, and a lack of continuity, all of which represent their intrinsic fragility.

Adigun specifically said that small and medium-sized organizations (SMEs) are more likely to collapse than giant corporations due to their limited resources and ability to deal with external shocks.

She confirmed that frequent failures among SMEs might produce unemployment and upset major enterprises that depend on them, with a ripple effect on the economy given their responsibilities and ubiquity in several sectors of the economy.

She tasked telecommunications firms with improving non-bank retail channels for SMEs to function smoothly and complete business agreements, while also addressing the need for the financial services industry to provide financial services for individuals who are excluded from the conventional banking system.

While emphasizing the need for SMEs to build resilience in times of uncertainty, she advised firms to make use of digital learning possibilities to tackle inherent weaknesses that may bring disruptive challenges to the SME sector.

Also speaking, WhoGohost's chief growth officer challenged attendees to find creative solutions to the issues that the recession had placed at their firms.

“Resilience is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties and toughness. For us (WhoGohost) to be stable, we built a product that will allow us to earn in dollars and that was what we did with Muzu.co, a website builder, that allows people to create websites quickly for themselves,’’ he said.

As a result, he recommended company owners establish resilience via innovation and pivoting.

He counseled that if a certain company plan was not working, they should search for new methods to manufacture items that would enable them to gain rapid money since income was the lifeblood of any organization.