Knocks For Banks At SME Conference In Enugu

THE auditorium at the Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu was filled; every seat was taken up by bank executives and stakeholders, policy makers, SME development stakeholders, NGOs, distinguished and successful entrepreneurs, hopeful, up-and-coming entrepreneurs of various ages, students, investors and motivational speakers. The hall buzzed as the air conditioners hummed and wheezed to douse the excitement.

Up on the slightly raised platform, a select group that included, Ichie (Dr.) Nnaeto Orazulike, Group Managing Director, Genesis Group and Director, Fidelity Bank Plc. Chief, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman, Innoson Group of Companies, Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, Chairman, Peace Mass Transit, sat, oozing the confidence of successful entrepreneurs.

They lived the part, dropping one-liners that have made many motivational speakers famous. The massed audience lapped on the words of wisdom, “every business should fulfil a need” or “do what you need to do to make it work,”
 
But it was the chairman of Innoson Group of Companies, Innocent Chukwuma who captured the hearts of the audience at the maiden edition of the Fidelity Bank South East Regional SME Conference held in Enugu State last week.
 
The conference turned out to be what someone described as “more than a small and medium crowd aspiring to be big entrepreneurs.” Why would a conference on small, medium enterprises (SMEs) attract such a varied audience even when it was obvious that there were no loans to be handed out?
  
Chukwuma, whose inspiring tale of “how I became a successful business man” held the audience spellbound and yearning for more, chastised the banks for not encouraging young entrepreneurs.

He said: “When we started, things were better. You didn’t need to bring so much before the banks gave you a loan. But that is not the case today. It is not easy to get loans from the banks anymore. Today, the banks will ask for the bones of your dead parents before they give you loan.
 
“The banks are not doing enough these days to encourage upcoming entrepreneurs. There are many beginners with better ideas than the established people. They should be encouraged. Banks should learn to support beginners, to give them a chance and create opportunities. The economy can only grow if opportunities are given to everyone.”
 
As Chukwuma told his story in his smattering English, enthusiasts scribbled furiously on notepads; others videotaped him on their phones and tablets, straining to catch every word.
  
Confirming Chukwuma’s claims against the banks, the Executive Director (South Bank), Mrs. Aku Odinkemelu admitted that the times have really changed for budding entrepreneurs, “because of many intervening reasons, which have called for stricter controls in the disbursement of loans.”
  
According to her “the banks are ever ready to do whatever is possible to support up and coming entrepreneurs. The South East has a surfeit of them and we will ensure that they get the needed support.”
  
The Managing Director and Chief Executive (CEO) of the bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said of the SME Conference for the top 100 upcoming businesses and strategic business leaders in the East, organised by his bank, “as an additional platform amongst our other running platforms, to help SMEs in all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria build the needed capacity for entrepreneurial success as they optimize economic opportunities, which their immediate environments offer, in furtherance of our long-running support for the growth and development of small businesses in Nigeria.
 
“Whilst we have always supported small businesses, our renewed focus on the SME segment is driven by the increasing role of SMEs as critical agents of economic development and transformation in Nigeria.”
   
Themed “Positioning SMEs in the South East zone for Growth,” the conference according to the MD/CEO, “focuses on providing solutions to the challenges faced by SMEs through a multifaceted approach, one of which is our flagship SME-focused forum, a major component of the business advisory and business management capacity building end of our business.”
 
He explained that the conference series is intended to further democratise the knowledge sharing process to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs.
 
On the choice of the South East, he explained that: “The South East zone being Nigeria’s cradle of commerce and entrepreneurship is very important to us, hence our decision to commence our Regional SME conference series from the zone.
   
“The theme of this maiden edition of the regional conference for the South- East region is at the heart of our passion and commitment to building entrepreneurs in the South-East region.
 
“The conference therefore seeks to specifically help in building the capacities of SMEs operating in the South-East region of the country here present, as well as provide a veritable ground for them to network amongst one another.”
 
Noting the renewed call for the success of SMEs as the driving force, Okonkwo said: “Whilst we have always supported small businesses, our renewed focus on the SME segment is driven by the increasing role of SMEs as critical agents of economic development and transformation in Nigeria.