Following the success of its Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Seminar in Onitsha, Anambra State last month, Skye Bank Plc held the Lagos edition of its seminar for business owners in the SME sector during the week.
The event which was of exceptional success, with over 200 entrepreneurs in attendance, took place in Ikeja where the Bank disclosed it wants to facilitate knowledge sharing and offer banking solutions that will help businesses.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, group managing director (GMD) of Skye Bank, explained how Small and Medium Enterprises are major contributors to employment in Nigeria and other countries worldwide.
Oguntayo added, “Skye Bank wants to facilitate knowledge sharing and offer banking solutions that will help businesses. There is no way for multinationals to employ all the teeming young people who are seeking employment, therefore, the role of SME’s in employment cannot be over emphasized.”
Mr. Folu Ayeni, keynote speaker, and vice chairman of Tantalizers, shared his success story on the rapid growth of Tantalizers from a small living room venture to a large scale business with 53 outlets nationwide
Ayeni recalled how Skye Bank provided the initial N2.5 million seed capital that was used to start the business.
He charged the participants to come up with bright, profitable business ideas, and package the ideas properly, saying: ‘If no one is listening to your ideas, go to Skye Bank.”
Contributing to Ayeni’s statement, Mrs. Funke Fowler-Amba, urged the participants to get training on their vision in order to make it a reality.
Questions raised by participants at the seminar, were appropriately addressed by Skye Bank representatives who revealed that the next SME Seminar will take place in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The SME initiative is part of the Skye Bank’s contribution towards encouraging small businesses, thus developing the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector of the Nigerian economy.