WEMA BANK SECURES US$35m CREDIT TO FUND SMEs

Wema Bank gets US$35m Line of Credit to support SMEs.

Wema Bank Plc have secured a line of credit (LOC) from international lenders. The LOC is specifically to grow  financial support for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The bank received US$15 million and US$20 million from African Development Bank (AfDB) and Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) respectively.

Wema Bank  pioneered Africa’s first fully digital bank ALAT. According to its Managing Director, Segun Oloketuyi, the LOC will particularly help support the Bank’s vision of building a sustainable retail sector by supporting micro, small and medium scale enterprises.

SMEs are one of the key elements to Nigeria’s economic growth and also to other world economies. SMEs contribute over 55% of GDP and over 65% of total employment in high-income countries. They account for over 60% of GDP and over 70% of total employment in low-income countries. And also contribute over 95% of total employment and about 70% of GDP in middle-income countries.

Oloketuyi said, this effort to support SMEs will ultimately help to create jobs, accelerate industrialization, redistribute wealth and fight poverty.

Wema Bank has continued to grow its capacity to provide solutions tailored for its customers lifestyle and also built to deliver value to all stakeholders.

In May 2017, the bank launched ALAT which allows you open an fully-functional account without visiting a physical branch. It also encourages savings with a 10% interest rate on savings goal.