The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in collaboration with Sterling Bank Ltd., on Monday, unveiled five billion naira initiative-Databanc loan to address financial gaps for small businesses.
Recall that the initiative was launched in Lagos with the
theme: “Building with Data: Promoting Economic Growth through Data Driven
Insights.”
Databanc is a five billion single digit loan to engender
easier access to funds by Nano, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ( NMSMEs).
Mr Bunmi Kole-Dawodu, the Lagos State Manager, SMEDAN, said
the funding tool would be geared towards providing local and tailored made
support for business at the smallest levels.
Kole-Dawodu added that the funding tool would provide access
to markets and all factors to drive entrepreneurship.
He said the initiative would aid Nigeria’s export potential
and provide accurate data information about nano enterprises to drive their
growth and sustainability.
Kole-Dawodu noted that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) had hitherto complained about not having easy access to financial
interventions.
“Now this platform would provide accurate data on nano,
micro and small businesses in Nigeria while facilitating the requisite business
support for these businesses.
“It is important to have the support of business membership
organisations to help encourage members to go on the platform and register to
foster data driven insights,” he said.
Kole-Dawodu restated SMEDAN’s commitment to the development
of small businesses across the country and urged SMEs to trust in the agency
for all round support.
He pledged to collaborate with partners, stakeholders and
business organisations to further advance the cause of small businesses in the
country.
The Director General, SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said that
data was critical to the agency to help it make more informed economic
decisions to build small businesses ecosystem.
Odii said the agency as the vanguard for livelihood
enhancement would continue to bridge the gap between the government and small
businesses.
“One thing we have observed is that businesses are not
responding or taking advantage of the various interventions out there for them.
“Databanc as a platform would help build products’ knowledge
about small businesses and it is very important for entrepreneurs to be aware
of this to help grow their businesses,” he said.
Mrs Bolanle Tyson, Head, SME Products, Sterling Bank Ltd.,
said Databanc was a five billion single digit loan to engender easier access to
funds by nano and micro businesses.
Tyson said the Databanc, a formalised portal to access
funding without human interface for businesses with tax identification number,
registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, provided funding from
N250,000 to N2,500,000 for one year.
She said that with the “SMEDAN Databanc Platform,” NMSMEs
would be appropriately captured with unique identifiers for business data
integrity.
“The platform has a unique promoter ID, unique business ID
generated for each business owner with seamless onboarding experience to
provide exclusive business development and support initiatives generated
through SMEDAN.
“It makes it easier to track businesses and provide creative
solutions to foster business growth and sustainability by unlocking businesses’
potential with the SMEDAN N5bn loan program for success,” she said.