NIB MD pledges continuous support for SMEs

The Managing Director of the National Investment Bank (NIB), Mr Samuel Sarpong, has assured small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of the bank’s continuous support to help them to grow and sustain their businesses.

He gave the assurance when he led a five-member team from the head office of the bank to visit some shops at Okaishie and CMB Markets within the Central Business District.

Mr Sarpong was accompanied by the Deputy Managing Director, Mr George Alfred Thompson; the Accra Main Branch Manager, Mr George Addae-Mensah; the Excel Banking Manager, Ms Aba Katu, and Mr Newlife Selorm Kudzo Amey of the Customer Services Unit.

Premise

Mr Sarpong, following his appointment to head the bank recently, has initiated a number of programmes aimed at restructuring the bank as part of measures to re-position the bank for growth.

He believes direct interaction with individual customers and business operators would give management a deeper understanding of their specific needs, thereby developing tailor-made products to address their needs.

SMEs in particular have over the years lamented the challenges associated with accessing credit from commercial banks in the country, a phenomenon that makes it difficult for most SMEs to survive their first five years.

A statement from the NIB said it was expected to become one of the strongest banks in the country following the government’s assurance to recapitalise it on the heels of a Bank of Ghana requirement for all commercial banks in the country to have a minimum capital of GH¢400 million.

Industrialisation support

The statement quoted Mr Sarpong as saying that the bank would support the nation’s industrialisation agenda by making funds easily accessible to the manufacturing sectors of the economy.

“The NIB is going to be more responsive to the needs of businesses than it has ever been. This includes the deployment of smart banking solutions and products that would meet the specific needs of all our customers,” he stated.

The NIB managing director also encouraged business owners to adopt practices and strategies such as proper record-keeping, prompt debt payments and regular savings to engender confidence among business partners and financial institution to make it easy for them to access funds.