Wema Bank’s head of SME’s advocates for gender inclusion and SME support at FEBWE 2024, emphasising tailored lending products and professional training for women-led businesses

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the 2024 Federation of Business Women Entrepreneurs (FEBWE) event, Arthur Nkemeh, Head of SMEs at Wema Bank, has emphasised the bank’s commitment to supporting women-led SMEs.

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FEBWE, an ECOWAS initiative for advancing women entrepreneurs, aligns with Wema Bank’s goal of developing capacity, boosting resilience, and promoting economic empowerment through SMEs.

While speaking exclusively with Freelanews, Nkemeh highlighted Wema Bank’s strategy, which includes partnering with organisations like FEBWE to help Nigerian businesses unlock opportunities within ECOWAS.

“Wema Bank is a focused SME bank, and one of our aims is to work with SMEs, particularly women-led SMEs, to develop their capacity, increase their resilience, and drive economic empowerment and job creation,” he said.

Discussing the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs, Nkemeh identified gender inclusion and the lack of tailored lending products for women as key barriers.

He urged financial institutions to create specific packages for women, emphasising Wema Bank’s commitment to gender inclusion through its SARA initiative.

“We are big on gender inclusion at Wema, and through our SARA initiative, we offer interventions that promote resilience and provide access to grants, particularly for green financing,” Nkemeh stated.

In addition to providing tailored financial products, Wema Bank also focuses on creating market access and offering professional training for women entrepreneurs.

“Market access is vital, and we ensure that women receive the training needed to improve productivity,” Nkemeh added.

The bank’s head of SME’s concluded by noting Wema Bank’s international recognition for its efforts in supporting SMEs.

Rtn. Victor Ojelabi

Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.