Bank Dangles Loans on SMEs

Diamond Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading commercial bank has listed requirements that prospective and existing entrepreneurs in the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME) sector of the Nigerian economy should possesses in order to attract loans.

Chima Nnadozie, head, MSME Propositions of Diamond Bank disclosed this in Calabar, the Cross River state capital recently while addressing participants at the 28th Diamond BusinessXpress Enterprise Series.

He said for MSMEs to attract loans from the bank, the entrepreneur should have an account with the bank, invest in the business and have a location from which it operates, remarking that collateral security which used to be a big issue in loan consideration and approval was no longer the case.

Nnadozie said the Diamond BusinessXpress Account (DBXA) is a current account   tailored to meet the needs of MSME such as hotels, supermarkets, businessmen, professionals, travel agencies, trading outfits, schools, churches, fast food outlets, restaurants, clubs and entertainment outfits.

He said DBXA account is available in three variants: Starter, growing and established; adding that it was designed to add value to micro, small and medium scale enterprises so that entrepreneurs could grow their business with smart banking.

The features and benefits of the account are zero COT, invitation to business development seminars, fixed monthly fee as low as N1,750, easy access to business loans, personal credit cards and access to a personal website at a discounted price amongst a host of others.

Earlier in a lecture titled “Starting Big with the Minimal”, Mr. John Bassey, chairman/CEO, Habitare Group,  a design and building construction firm, listed seven steps to owning a business as: develop a product, package the product, write a business plan, bootstrap the business, moonlighting, get the best help for free and follow the money.

According to him, every great product started as an idea, but not every great idea became a great product, adding that the best product is that which is developed by research.

He defined an entrepreneur as a person who actively form or lead his or her own business and nurture it for growth and prosperity, adding that entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new of value by devoting the necessary time and effort.

He listed some of the qualities of an entrepreneur as initiative, ability see and seize the opportunity, persistence, risk taker, goal setter and goal getter, dedication, networking, driven by excellence, ability to research, planning and self-confidence.

Also speaking, Mr. John Ekpikhe, senior consultant with Mark-George Consultants who made a presentation on business planning explained that before an entrepreneur starts a business, there is need for him to do research on the business and set his goals. He said a business plan was imperative because it is the document that banks and other investors would look at to determine whether to invest in it or no