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Lender trains SMEs on digital technology

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usiness owners in Nigeria have been advised to leverage on the opportunities provided by digital technology to boost productivity, service delivery and overall performance of their organisations despite the challenges posed by the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

 

 

This was the submission of guest speakers at the second edition of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) organised virtual capacity building programme for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) with the theme, “Leveraging Digital Technology & Logistics to Grow Your Business”.

 

In a press release, the lender said that the initiative, which is part of its free comprehensive capacity building programme, tagged, ‘’Business Empowerment and Sustainability Training (BEST)’’ Masterclass, put together by FCMB’s Training Academy and SME Advisory Unit, is “one of the value-added offerings of FCMB to complement its efforts in the areas of lending and advisory services to SMEs with the objective of stimulating their growth and contributions to overall national development.”

 

The online seminar, which recorded over 2,016 registered participants, focused on various topics, ranging from innovation, digital technology solutions, business model opportunities and adapting to the new normal.

 

 

In his presentation on the topic, “Digital Technology Solutions for SMEs: Charting the Path to the Next Normal”, an Associate Partner with Mckinsey & Company, Mr. Chika Ekeji, said, though, COVID-19 is disrupting the structure of businesses across Africa, the continent can respond to disruptions with four actions. These are, a shift in business model, sustaining business and restoring operation, shaping a whole new business and restructuring company or industry, depending on the extent of business model disruption and extent of negative demand disruption.

 

According to him, “some of the ways business owners can respond to this impact are, respond, return and reimagine. Across all horizons, a number of technology solutions can be leveraged to adjust SME operations to the new normal with the goal of cutting cost, sustaining revenues, reaching (new) customers, delivering on commitments, managing supply chains and innovating.”

 

Another guest speaker, an Associate Director of Strategy and Economics at KPMG Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Zacchaeus, noted that businesses, particularly SMEs, should realign their strategies to embrace the new normal caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He noted that this new reality presents a new set of conditions for success for SMEs and as such they must proactively adopt new strategies for survival, considering the challenging economic outlook.

 

Commenting on the BEST Masterclass, the Executive Director, Business Development of FCMB, Mrs. Bukola Smith, said the bank recognised the increasing role and impact of SMEs and particularly understand the impact COVID-19 might have on their operations.

 

According to her, “the BEST initiative has been redesigned to meet the changing dynamics of the environment with the addition of a Masterclass. This is one of the innovative ways we empower and lay a solid foundation for the success of our SME customers. We believe that this initiative, which is the second edition since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, will go a long way to impact positively on business owners. We will continue to go the extra mile to create opportunities that would enable our customers succeed despite the challenges.”

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