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FCMB gets award from small businesses, disburses N3.6b MSMEs’ fund

By Chijioke Nelson
08 December 2016   |   2:16 am
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has been named the Best African Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of the Year by the African Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (AASME).
First City Monument Bank plc, FCMB.

First City Monument Bank plc, FCMB.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has been named the Best African Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of the Year by the African Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (AASME).

The award was conferred on the bank at second edition of African International Small and Medium Enterprises Economic Summit and Award (AFRI-SMEs 2016), in Aba, Abia State.

AASME is a coalition of micro, small, medium businesses, associations, operators, owners and individual manufacturers within Nigeria and some African countries. Meanwhile, the bank has disbursed over N3.6 billion to small businesses and women entrepreneurs out of the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Already, the level of disbursement has been rated as among the largest when compared with other banks in the MSMEs initiative of the apex bank.The President-General of AASME, Amb. Darlington Onuoha Kalu, said FCMB deserves nothing less, considering its pedigree and volume of support to SMEs over the years, speed and positive response in various partnerships leading to the establishment, growth and development of small and medium scale businesses.

“The bank is helping to solve the problem of unemployment, leading to skills acquisition and in turn, the nation’s economic development.“FCMB is the first bank to respond to and cooperate with us, among all other Banks that we called. The bank’s level of commitment towards the economic development of Nigeria through its quality and volume of support to small businesses, starters and growing firms, has not been equaled by any other bank,” he said.

The Regional Director, South-East and South-South, Okey Ezeala; and the Vice President and Zonal Head, Owerri Zone, Okey Ogelle, commended the organisers for their commitment, desire and the level of organisation towards realising their main objective of truly transforming and growing small businesses into mega firms.

“It is very possible to grow every small business to a big one. While initial capital is important, every bank, including FCMB will desire to support, a small business which is already running, not necessarily because it has a collateral to attract a loan, but if it consistently has a permanent place of location, has a credible history, is well organized and with financial activities that can be seen on record, including in-and-out transactions reflected on its bank account.”

Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by the honorable Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Prof. Kabir Isa Dandogo, commended FCMB for its commitment towards economic development through various support to MSMEs.

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