Oladele Oduniyi
First Bank of Nigeria Limited has restated its commitment to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
At the recent Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) 2025 National MSMES Conference held in Lagos, the Bank noted that poor funding is
poor funding as one of the biggest challenges facing Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. The conference themed “Grow Nigeria: Building a Future of Innovation, Resilience, and Prosperity” focused on businesses, finance, technology and the creative economy.
According to Head, SMEs Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Abiodun Famuyiwa, the need to bridge the funding gap for MSMEs and support growth in the sector prompted the bank to lend over N200 billion to the sub-sector in 2024.
Famuyiwa stated thus:
“I can tell you confidently that last year, we disbursed about N100 billion to businesses in across diverse markets alone. Petty traders also got about N70 billion, not to talk of businesses in other areas. Overall, FirstBank disbursed over 200 billion to small businesses in one year.
“So, we are wholeheartedly supporting them, and this funds are majorly given to them without any collateral at all. We just look at the way they do their businesses and determine what they can actually afford”.
“We do not want to give SMEs money that will put them into trouble. So, we try to assess their businesses and also ensure that we monitor the usage of that fund. FirstBank has been directly involved in ensuring that SMEs businesses move to the next level.