Sterling Bank Launches Platform for ₦5,000,000,000 SMEDAN Loan

Sterling Bank Plc and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have launched a platform called SMEDAN Databanc platform.

The SMEDAN databanc platform will serve as a single source of data on businesses in Nigeria to guide personalized interventions and support from decision-makers who serve the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem. The databanc platform by SMEDAN will provide insights that will be utilised by SMEDAN to deliver its mandate on policy formulation, delivery of intervention programmes and other initiatives, including financing that will support the growth of small businesses in Nigeria.

This SMEDAN databanc platform will also provide unique identification for small businesses and their promoters as well as their business areas/sectors. This platform and the Sterling/SMEDAN ₦5,000,000,000 single-digit loan programme is some of the avenues through which Sterling Bank is working with SMEDAN to jointly grow the Nigerian economy by supporting the growth and expansion of small businesses.

Speaking at the launch of the SMEDAN databanc platform, the Executive Director of Commercial and Institutional Banking at Sterling Bank, Tunde Adeola, announced the SMEDAN databanc platform and fund was a materialisation of Sterling Bank’s commitment and dedication towards growing the real sector of the nation’s economy.

Tunde Adeola, said: “We are delighted to bolster the backbone of our economy with SMEDAN. This initial fund of ₦5,000,000,000 marks just the beginning of what has been and will continue to be a mainstay of our approach to funding businesses to grow at scale, and become the preferred financial partner for businesses, no matter their scale.”

The Executive Director of Commercial and Institutional Banking at Sterling Bank, Tunde Adeola said that over twenty thousand Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have enrolled on the SMEDAN Databanc platform with over eighty beneficiaries of the single-digit loan program and further disbursements of the loans are ongoing. Tunde Adeola encouraged all Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria to enrol on the SMEDAN databanc platform.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, represented by the Director of Agribusiness Development and Access to Finance, Levi Anyikwa, highlighted the programme’s alignment with SMEDAN’s mission to democratize credit access and loan facility for nano and micro-enterprises.

Levi Anyikwa affirmed: “Access to finance remains a significant hurdle for SMEs, and we are committed to removing that barrier.”

Source: https://guardian.ng/sterling-bank-unveils-platform-for-n5-billion-smedan-fund/