Stanbic hosts talks to find solutions for sustaining SME growth

April 6, 2018 in Business, Companies, Investment, Policy by Editor

Mweheire said Stanbic has started a business incubator to help owners of SMEs attain management skills and other vital tools needed to sustain their growth.

April 6, 2018—Stanbic Bank Uganda (SBU), in partnership with MTN Uganda, Uganda Breweries Limited and Crown Beverages, hosted its first Enterprise Banking Conference in Kampala with intentions of finding solutions to extending the longevity of small businesses.

Delivering opening remarks, the SBU Chief Executive Patrick Mweheire said, “Given their substantial contribution to GDP small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are key drivers of Uganda’s economic growth, however in order to harness their full potential there is need to support them by not only giving them access to affordable credit, it is equally important to provide them with innovative products, skills and training so as to promote sustainability.”

Under the theme ‘Building a sustainable Uganda through Business’ the conference was held to give small but growing enterprises a platform to exchange ideas, experiences and network on how to grow their businesses in a professional and more sustainable manner.

Studies indicate that despite Uganda being one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world out of 100 enterprises that start business less than 10% live beyond their third birthday.

Mweheire said, “As Stanbic Bank, along with our partners in the oil and gas sector, we recently made a giant stride in this direction by launching a business incubator project that will support Ugandan SME working in the sector. An initial intake of 16 SMEs are being trained and given the management skills to grow and survive beyond the vulnerable initial stage of development and become long term sustainable businesses.”

Referring to the innovative products and services the bank has developed, Steven Segujja, Stanbic Bank Head Enterprise Banking said, “As a bank we no longer believe our role is limited to providing financing, but developing and offering innovative products and services that cater for the specific needs of the client. This is the reason why the bank is introducing a more versatile and responsive Enterprise banking solution which delivers banking at the doorstep and fingertips of our clients.”

Segujja said Stanbic no longer believe their role is limited to just providing financing, but developing innovative products.

Stanbic’s Enterprise Banking previously known as SME Banking has been significantly enhanced with features that go beyond just providing regular banking services now offering many more customer centric products such as Enterprise Direct, Enterprise Online, Point of Sale among others.

“Our objective is to grow a truly digital bank capable of meeting the needs and ambitions of our clients who want to grow their companies beyond being just small enterprises,” Segujja said.

Andrew Robertson, who is the Head Business Banking Africa Regions Standard Bank Group spoke about their commitment to the continent which he said had been built on a rich 150 year heritage.

He said, “Africa is our home, we drive her growth. We have a deep understanding of doing business in Africa and our footprint enables us to create linkages necessary to grow African Businesses in a sustainable manner.”

He thanked the SME owners for attending the conference promising it would become an annual event.