Financial giant, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has won award as the Best African Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of the Year by the African Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (AASME).
This is as the bank has completed the disbursement of over N3.6 billion to small businesses and women entrepreneurs out of the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
FCMB bagged the prestigious award at the second edition of African International Small and Medium Enterprises Economic Summit and Award (AFRI-SMEs 2016), held in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.
It would be recalled that AASME is a coalition of micro, small, medium businesses, associations, operators, owners and individual manufacturers within Nigeria and some African countries.
Experts in SMEs are upbeat, saying the level of disbursement of MSMEs fund has been among the largest when compared with other banks in the initiative of the CBN.
The President General of AASME, Amb. Darlington Onuoha Kalu while handing down award to FCMB revealed that “FCMB deserves nothing less, considering its pedigree and volume of support to SMEs over the years”.
Other milestones of the bank as rolled out by Kalu include the unbeatable speed and positive response in various partnerships driving the growth and development of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria.
AASME boss added further that “The bank is helping to solve the problem of unemployment, leading to skills acquisition and in turn, the nation’s economic development”.
“FCMB is the first bank to respond to and cooperate with us, among all other Banks that we called. The bank’s level of commitment towards the economic development of Nigeria through its quality and volume of support to small businesses, starters and growing firms, has not been equaled by any other bank”.
Responding, the Regional Director, South-East and South-South, Okey Ezeala; and the Vice President and Zonal Head, Owerri Zone, Okey Ogelle, both commended the organisers for their commitment, and level of organisation towards realising their main objective of truly transforming and growing small businesses into mega firms in an economy that is in need of SMEs.
Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by the honorable Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Prof. Kabir Isa Dandogo, commended FCMB for its commitment towards economic development through various support to MSMEs.
