Ecobank Nigeria has announced new seamless window of forex access for operators of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country, noting that entrepreneurs with relevant documents can approach the bank for their foreign exchange needs for importation.
The bank said the new window is in line with Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recent directive to banks to support the SMEs with forex for import.
In an interview, the Head, SME Commercial Banking of the bank, Mr. Sunkanmi Olowo, said apart from the several initiatives to support the sub-sector, the SMEs business segment could access forex up to the CBN’s approved limit per quarter to cater for their import needs.
According to him, “As an SME friendly bank, we are again involved in the current regulator’s effort to make forex available to the operators to meet their import needs. We believe this will once again boost activities in the sector. We encourage the SMEs promoters to approach our bank for their need. ”
The bank explained further that to qualify for forex allocation, the applicant was expected to present to any of its branches a duly completed Form Q; application letter to purchase forex through the scheme; foreign bank transfer details and proforma invoice from offshore supplier/ beneficiary.
Business Hilights recall that the CBN had recently opened a special forex window for the SMEs. This, according to the apex bank, will enable the SMEs to import eligible finished and semi-finished items, not exceeding $20,000 per operator each quarter.
The apex bank, before opening the window for SMEs, had argued that its special intervention was necessitated by findings that a large number of the SMEs were being crowded out of the forex space by large firms.
