It is no doubt that the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) form an integral part of the Nigerian economy and any nation that wants to progress must pay special attention to this sector.
Last Thursday, Keystone Bank Limited partnered with the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to launch an annual SME Support Centre.
The event was mainly to introduce business consultancy services to boost businesses of entrepreneurs particularly in Lagos State and Nigeria in general.
The free clinic was to ensure that MSMEs get the necessary support through mentorship to stay afloat despite the various challenges, especially at a time when stakeholders are raising concerns about planned increase in taxes and electricity bills.
According to the LCCI, “Partnering Keystone Bank on this project made the job easier because the bank is one of the financial institutions that believes so much in the growth of MSMEs in Nigeria.”
The Group Head, MSME & Value Chain Management of Keystone Bank, Ms Helen Nwelle, applauded the initiative as a welcome development in a bid to enable SME growth.
“Keystone Bank is an SME-centric bank focused on delivering tailored MSME value offerings and that has continually spurred our involvement in programmes like this.
“SMEs are the bedrock of our economy and the LCCI SME Support Centre will provide a platform where SMEs can meet seasoned consultants who will offer advisory services in areas of book keeping, capacity building, branding and digital marketing, to enable them remain competitive in the current business climate,” she said.
“According to SMEDAN’s latest report, 99 percent of SMEs are in the micro sector which means a lot of them are unstructured making it difficult for them to access finance from banks and other funders.
“Therefore, this Initiative will help empower SMEs with the needed skills for book keeping and cash flow analysis to aid finance readiness,” Ms Nwelle submitted.
At the forum, Keystone Bank provided hands-on consultation and support for over 30 participants including bespoke business and financial advisory services, as well as recommendation of business tools and models.
Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale