L-R: Arthur Nkemeh; Head SME Banking,Wema Bank; Ms Debora Enakhimion; Permanent Secretary Office of the Secretary to State Government; Edo state; Tunde Mabawonku; Executive Director Digital and Retail Banking, Wema Bank; Mrs Violet Obiokoro- Managing Director; Edo State Skills Acquisition Agency (Edo Jobs); Osa Abbe (Assistant Director, Debt Management Office, Ministry of Finance, Budget, Economic Planning & Development) at the just concluded SME Business School organized by Wema Bank in Benin.

Small and medium enterprise (SME) owners at the just-concluded Wema Bank SME Business School held in Benin have lauded the bank for the business transformation sessions. A total of 250 participants comprising SME customers and non-customers alike attended the 5th edition of the Wema Bank SME Business School designed to impart business management skills, entrepreneurial knowledge, and financial and marketing management skills to boost the success of SMEs in the region.

The Wema Bank SME Business School was launched in Lagos in 2021 to boost the capacity and skills of SMEs to help them achieve their business objectives. The second edition took place virtually, while the third and fourth edition happened in Abuja and Port Harcourt respectively. The fifth edition, which took in Benin from Monday, May 22 to Friday, May 26, 2023, has further helped to equip SMEs in Edo State and various other parts of the South South region with the requisite business management knowledge and skills to effectively run their enterprises and respond to the ever-evolving challenges of today’s business world.

A participant, Edith Igabali, commended Wema Bank for the knowledge-laden seminar which has broadened her perspective on SME management. “Wema Bank is trying for me; they have made me what I am today. The session was power packed, fun, and educative.”, she said.

Another participant and SME owner, Love Onobrakpor, expressed gratitude to the bank for the highly impactful programme, adding that she had no regrets taking time off work to attend the one-week session. “It was interesting and highly interactive, well worth it”, she said.

For Precious Izedonmi, it was worth the time spent, God bless Wema Bank. “I have been greatly impacted and I am grateful for the privilege, it can never be trivialized”, she said.

The just concluded SME Business School which took place in Benin had a very rich and relevant curriculum that directly addressed the issues within the Nigerian SME sector. The faculty and facilitators also comprised of experienced and highly knowledgeable experts in various fields who made the training not only worth the while but beneficial in terms of knowledge gained and new insights revealed about SMEs management.

The curriculum included a macroeconomic review of the Nigerian economy, business strategy formulation and execution, sales and marketing, customer experience value management, financial management, sustainability, leadership, communication and people management.

Head, SME Banking, Wema Bank PLC, Arthur Nkemeh, after the session expressed his appreciation “We appreciate our partners and every facilitator for the session and most importantly our customers who trust us to give them excellent financial services.”

“We will continue to offer superior customer service to our customers with business facilities and advisory services that will help scale up their business, this is one of the many offers to come from Wema bank,” he said.

The Wema Bank SME Business School 5.0 took place at the Uyi Grand Event Centre, Benin City from May 22nd -26th 2023.