FirstBank wins 2024 best SME bank in Nigeria, Africa

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has bagged two awards – Best SME Bank in Africa and Best SME Bank in Nigeria – at the highly converted Asian Banker Global Excellence Retail Awards 2024.

The Excellence in Retail Finance Awards Programme, which includes the Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards and The Annual Digital Bank Awards, is one of the most established awards of its kind, recognising exceptional innovation, leadership, management and performance in the financial sector.

The 130-year-old institution bagged these two awards on account of its full suite of solutions across its franchise to serve the needs of medium and small enterprises (SMEs) regarding core financial needs and offer flexible financing options across the entire lifecycle needs of customers’ businesses.

The Asian Banker’s Strategic Business Intelligence for the Financial Services Community said: “FirstBank demonstrated exceptional performance, notably in its SME sector, by achieving more than 100 per cent revenue growth while maintaining a reduced cost-to-income ratio of 16.5 per cent. SMEs contributed 26 per cent of overall bank revenue. Furthermore, the institution’s SME customer base grew by seven per cent, reaching a total of more than one million. For its significant growth in the SME business, the award for Best SME Bank in Nigeria and in Africa goes to FirstBank”.

Expressing her delight at the recognition, the Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney said: “We thank the Asian Banker Awards for the recognition and dedicate these awards to our esteemed SME customers that have progressively impacted the socio-economic growth of not just Nigeria but also the African continent given their critical role as the engine of any economy.”