Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading commercial bank, is set to extend credit facilities worth N1 billion to businesses founded by women across the country with a free interest rate for the first 30 days.
Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, disclosed this while presenting the keynote address at the 5th edition of the Women Founders Conference.
According to him, the bank is also set to invest another $100,000 in the next two years in such businesses. He noted that the best business is that which is set up to solve a problem. Suleiman told the audience that as entrepreneurs, the women will always be exposed to diverse opinions, but they should always remember why they set up those businesses in the first place.
“When a customer continues to validate the product or service of a business as a solution to its problem, then everyone will queue behind it,” Suleiman said.
Head of Sterling’s OneWoman proposition, Ifunanya Ugboko, also said that “this collaboration with the Women Founder’s Conference is an evidence of Sterling’s commitment to enriching women’s lives. Sterling, through the OneWoman offering, has created dedicated discounted business loans, support facilities, and capacity-building programs for businesses founded for and focused on women.”
Also speaking, a co-founder of Startup Kano, Aisha Tofa, said the project was set up in order to create a platform for young people to interact, network and provide solutions and opportunities among themselves on the realization that jobs were unavailable for youths.
