Sterling Bank’s scheme to support import substitution strategy

Sterling Bank Plc has assured of its readiness to support initiatives that would encourage production and consumption of locally manufactured goods and services to support the growth of the nation’s economy.

The bank’s Executive Director, Abubakar Suleiman, who gave the assurance while briefing journalists at the weekend, in Lagos, said the lender would leverage on the forthcoming yearly Interior Designers Excellence Awards (IDEA) to sustain its campaign for support of local initiatives.

According to him, it had become obvious that the country could no longer sustain its huge dependence on imported goods and services and that more attention needed to be focused on encouraging local production.

He pointed out that by encouraging local production, the bank was also promoting the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) thereby contributing to national economic growth.

He disclosed that Sterling Bank decided to support IDEA because the promoters of the conference share “our commitment and passion to promote local production and consumption especially as we come up with other initiatives to promote SMEs in the country”.

The event, scheduled to hold on October 30, in Lagos, with the theme: “Design and the Economy: Position Your Brand for Success,” is also aimed at focusing on the roles design plays in the growth of the economy and how designers can best position their businesses for brand optimization.

Suleiman reiterated that over the years, the bank has consistently patronised local works, explained that the country at the moment does not have the resources to continue to import all the things that we need. “So from supporting SMEs to backing national economic growth, we have many reasons for supporting IDEA 2015”.

But the Founder and Director of IDEA, Titi Ogufere, noted that one of the major challenges facing the country today is over-dependence on imported goods and services that could be produced locally.
“Instead of conserving our scarce foreign exchange and spending it on developmental programmes to enhance the local economy, we spend so much on importation and in the process stifle the local industry,” she said.

She described IDEA, an annual independent design award programme, as a foremost significant event in the year for practitioners in the architecture, interior design, real estate and construction fields and would attract over 2000 delegates from Nigeria, Italy, United States and Hong Kong.