Fidelity Bank Plc said it has as of February 2020 disbursed about N18 billion to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the on-lending line from Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and that additional N6.8 billion has been approved, awaiting completion of documentation, by concerned customers.

The Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, disclosed this at “Giving her Wings”; a platform to mentor, build and connect young women entrepreneurs with role models, held at its Private Banking Office in Lagos.

The event was organized as part of activities marking the 2020 International Women’s Day.

He reaffirmed the bank’s readiness to assist women entrepreneurs in the country take their businesses to the next levels of growth by making available to them, low-cost intervention funding and transactional platforms and tailored business advisory and capacity building services.

He said the bank’s long-running support for the growth and development of small businesses in Nigeria stems from its recognition of SMEs as critical agents of economic development and transformation in Nigeria and the world at large.

Okonkwo also revealed that as at February 2020, the bank had disbursed about N1.7 billion to SMEs from the SME on-lending line it obtained from the Bank of Industry (BOI).

According to him, the bank also got a N28 billion on-lending line from the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) in 2018 for on-lending to MSMEs playing in critical sectors of the economy.

 He said, “As at February 2020, about N18 billion has been disbursed to SMEs on the on-lending line from DBN and an additional N6.8 billion is already approved, awaiting completion of documentation by concerned customers.”

 Okonkwo further disclosed that the African Development Bank (AfDB) had approved a $50 million line of credit to Fidelity Bank Plc to support small and medium cum women-owned enterprises in Nigeria. “Thirty percent of the line is dedicated to financing women-owned enterprises,” he said

 While speaking on Business Structure and Governance for small businesses, Founder, House of Tara International, Tara Fela-Durotoye, expressed concern about the dearth of thriving small businesses in Nigeria.

She said, “Entrepreneurs today need to decide on businesses that would outlive them, enough to create an impact wherein by so doing, they are pulling people out of poverty. Only then would the international community stop looking at us as a country that cannot provide jobs for its people.”

On her part, Chief Executive Officer, Linda Ikeji TV, Linda Ikeji, lauded Fidelity Bank Plc for organizing the women empowerment programme, explaining that more Nigerian women need platforms such as this to thrive and scale up their businesses.