Small business owners in Ibadan, the largest city in Africa will convene at Mouve 21 Event Centre, Ibadan from September 21 to 22, 2016 for the first phase of a four- day Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Workshop organized by Sterling Bank Plc. The second phase would hold at the same venue from September 28 to 29, 2016.

The Bank had organized similar workshops in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Onitsha with over 300 MSME members trained. Similar workshop was also organized last month for members of the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (NASME).

The Bank in a statement released last Friday explained that the workshop would provide participants with the opportunity to fully appreciate the concept of entrepreneurship. “Participants will be well positioned to enhance their managerial capacity and well equipped to navigate the challenging operating environment”, the Bank explained in the statement.

The Bank in the statement said the programme will cover Basic Accounting Skills, Customer Service and Team Building, Sales and Marketing, Essentials of Business Plans and Human Resources Management among others.

The Bank’s Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Mr. Shina Atilola had in previous communication on the workshop explained that the Bank would be anchoring a series of workshops for MSME operators in various states nationwide.

According to him, the Bank came up with the workshop to support MSMEs in the country and enable them grow to become established institutions, given the potential role they play in economic development.

His words: “SMEs remain the pillar of any growing economy and the operators in the sector must be well positioned and equipped for accelerated growth and positive impact on the economy”.

A cross section of participants who attended previous events expressed confidence that the training received at the workshop would go a long way in repositioning SMEs, which serves as the bedrock of the economy globally.

Sterling Bank Plc, “the one-customer bank”, is a full-service national commercial bank with an asset base above N800 billion with over 190 business offices and more than 800 ATMs nationwide. In over 55 years of service, Sterling Bank (formerly NAL Bank) has evolved from the nation’s pre-eminent investment banking institution to a fully-fledged commercial bank. Furthermore, with a strong national presence, Sterling Bank is one of the top 30 most capitalized institutions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The bank is also one of Nigeria’s fastest growing banks and is recognized as a dynamic financial services organization.