Firstbank SMEConnect Seeks Resilience For SMES To Improve Business Climate in Diverse Sectors

…says SMEs must build resilience to address external shocks

Ugo Aliogo

FirstBank has emphasized the need for Small Medium Enterprises, (SMEs) to build resilience in the diverse sectors of the economy to address additional shocks that may eventually undermine SMEs inventories, supply chain networks and financing models to boost their impact of the economy.

This is even as FirstBank SMEConnect stated that despite the constant level of environmental uncertainties, SMEs develop strong survival instincts and engage in behavioural patterns that enable them to thrive even in difficult business climates.

Speakers at a virtual meeting recently with the theme; The power of Resilience, Building A Strong Business in Times of Uncertainty argued that SMEs are the bedrocks of the nation’s economy, contributing 50 per cent to the nation’s gross domestic product, GDP through the creation of employment among indigenous entrepreneurs and 73 per cent of industrial jobs.

Group Head, Retail Banking, South, FirstBank, Mrs.Dolapo Adigun, explained that businesses need to improve their resilience in times of crisis to build sustainable development in infrastructure delivery for SMEs, enterpreneurs and micro managers.

Adigun advised Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to see opportunities in adversity and make good use of it to stay strong in business.

She also said: “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 is 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.”

Adigun named some of the challenges SMEs faced to include infrastructure, regulatory environment, informal economy like those that are not exposed to education, rising inflation, petrol subsidy removal, currency devaluation, foreign exchange rate, among others.

The bank’s representative said these challenges, like uncertainties, would always happen in business as they are norms in the business world and in everyday life.

According to her, the readiness of SMEs operators to handle businesses is very important, adding that the strategies for businesses to adapt to economic condition and seize market opportunities, they need to navigate through regulatory framework to address infrastructural challenges and harness the entrepreneurial skill.’

Adigun said: “Businesses’ to plan and maintain a long-term loan, financial management, prioritise strategic partnership, strengthen customer relationship, adjust business model and enhance operational efficiency, among others. Most of the challenges and uncertainties that businesses in Nigeria go through, FirstBank had gone through it and yet still standing for over 129 years.”

The Group Head, Retail Banking said that the bank had carried out a dynamic adjustment of its operations, structure and system.

Continuing, she said: “Some of the additional shocks affecting the SMEs in the country which she stated are economic crises, Fx unavailability, faulty business structures, multiple taxation, lack of business development plan, debt overhang, insecurity, inflation, hike in fuel price, political upheavals, absence of adequate infrastructure, societal disturbance amongst others have been projected to increase the uncertainty of SME businesses in 21st century.

“The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are at higher risk of failure than large firms because of their limited resources and capabilities to handle external shocks. Moreover, with its pedigree of supporting businesses through over 129 years, and the viability of FirstBank to impact businesses towards sustenance.

“The widespread failures amongst SMEs could generate into unemployment and lead to disruptions of large firms relying on them and this could have a ripple effect on the economy given their roles and prevalence in diverse sectors of the economy.

Also speaking, Chief Growth Officer, WhoGohost, Mr. Damilola Aransiola, urged the participants to find unique ways to solve the challenges that the hard times had thrown on their businesses.

According to him, “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, therefore, urged business owners to build resilience by innovating and pivoting.

He advised that if a particular business strategy was not working, they could look for other ways to create products that would allow them to earn quick money as revenue was the lifeline of every business.

Aransiola said, “Revenue is the lifeline of your business, you don’t want to lose that, so you have to think of creative ways to make money. And don’t have the mindset that Nigerians don’t have money, though there are some people that might not be able to afford your product but don’t have that mentality that you cannot earn money.”

SMEConnect webinar is one of the ways through which FirstBank delivers its capacity-building pillar of its value propositions to SMEs.

The initiative focuses on impacting SMEs in areas that affect their business growth and development.