continued support for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs)
sector whose activities were disrupted in the heat of the COVID-19
pandemic. The Bank made the disclosure recently at the 13th edition of
the Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of
Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
Speaking at one of the panel sessions, Divisional Head, SME Banking
Division, Osaigbovo Omorogbe said that the Bank’s commitment is borne
out of the realization that SMEs are the engine room of any economy.
“The ability of MSMEs to stay on sustainably at this time, and even
become more attractive for various types of funding support will
undoubtedly be strengthened with deepened capacity-building support,
both on the back and front office ends”.
He explained that there is a compelling need for relevant stakeholders
to deepen capacity-building support for MSMEs in various areas, ahead of
funding support, to enable them to position more strongly to stay afloat
and even grow in the new normal.
While insisting that a one-size-fits-all capacity-building
model/approach for MSMEs would no longer help, Omorogbe stressed the
need for more tailored capacity-building support that will take into
account the peculiarities and challenges MSMEs are facing; first on
account of the pandemic and secondly because of the respective economic
sectors they play in, their supply and distribution chains, the
geographical locations they operate from and cover, etc.
He advocated stronger collaboration amongst all stakeholders who have
roles to play in ensuring MSMEs get and enjoy the much-needed support
they require at this time, in various areas, to further ensure the MSME
segment not only survives the times but also gets set firmly, on the
path of sustainable growth.
Over the years, Fidelity Bank has leveraged the myriad
intervention/development funding schemes typically offered at
single-digit interest rates by local and international Development
Finance Institution (DFIs), for the benefit of its SME customers.
Specifically, the Bank has through the efforts of its SME Banking
Division, continued to build structures and systems to channel low-cost
intervention/development funding to MSMEs including women entrepreneurs,
to tame the ‘high-cost-of-funds’ challenge small businesses face in this
market.
As at mid-September 2020, the Bank in its capacity as a participating
financial institution (PFI) in the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) on
the lending scheme for SMEs and small corporates, has disbursed a total
of N21.9 billion to a large number of SMEs and small corporates playing
in diverse sectors.
Similarly, the Bank has also disbursed about N2.1billion to qualified
SMEs from the on-lending line for SMEs it obtained from the Bank of
Industry (BOI) in 2018. In addition, the bank has continued to support
SMEs with low-cost funding from the $50 million lines of credit for on
lending to SMEs that it got from the African Development Bank (AfDB), in
2019.
In recent times, the bank has continued to sensitize customers and
prospects through its various communication channels, about the Central
Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) COVID -19 Intervention Funding Schemes,
particularly the N100 billion CBN Credit Support for the Healthcare
Sector and the CBN N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility for households
and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Fidelity Bank is amongst the participating financial institutions in the
N100 billion CBN Credit Support for the Healthcare Sector and the Bank
continues to avail facilities to its esteemed customers operating in the
health care sector under the scheme.
Additionally, Fidelity Bank has continued to use the Fidelity SME Forum
on Radio and Instagram as a platform to provide advisory support to SMEs
on how they can ameliorate the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses.
The bank’s long-running and widely acclaimed support for the growth of
small businesses stems from its recognition of MSMEs as critical agents
of economic development and transformation in Nigeria and the world at
large.