IFC recognises FCMB’s Small and Medium Enterprises interventions

Nigeria’s leading lender, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has received another global commendation for its consistent and outstanding support towards the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

During the global SME Finance Summit and Awards 2021 organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), FCMB was recognized in two award categories – “SME Financier of the Year” and “Best Bank for Women Entrepreneurs”.

According to the IFC, the honourable mention of FCMB in the “SME Financier of the Year” award category is in recognition of the Bank’s outstanding service to businesses operating in International Development Association (IDA) countries and fragile and conflict-affected situations. In addition, in the “Best Bank for Women Entrepreneurs” category, FCMB was commended for offering exceptional services, including funding and capacity building, to women-owned businesses.

Speaking at this year’s summit and awards, the CEO of the Forum, Matthew Gamser, said, “Every year we see more and more impressive institutions doing incredible things to help improve SMEs’ access to finance. We see great innovations, we see new opportunities for redressing past imbalances due to gender, age and other inequities, and we see new ways to put the customer first and ensure that financing is responsible and truly beneficial. The 2021 competition brings us more of the same – bigger innovations, bigger achievements, and bigger potential”.

Commenting on the global recognition, Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, said, “once again, it confirms our commitment to national development through peerless support for the sector driving industrialisation, job and wealth creation.”

Mrs. Edun thanked the IFC and Global SME Finance Forum for considering FCMB worthy of the honourable mentions among the several financial institutions that submitted entries. She gave the assurance that “FCMB will continue to offer the right solutions that would consistently boost the productivity and overall performance of the business of our customers.”

In August, First City Monument Bank was named the “Best SME Bank in Africa” and “Best SME Bank in Nigeria” at the Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Regional Awards – the rigorous, prestigious, and transparent country-level honour programme for consumer financial services and technology in the Middle East and Africa.