AccessBank, IFC Strengthen SME Clients

-Conclude 2^nd Corporate Governance Awareness Training

AccessBank Liberia in partnership with the International Finance Corporative (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group has hold their second event in a series of cooperate Governance awareness raising sessions to their SME clients, with the objective of helping the bank and SME network to identify and better articulate the benefits of corporate governance for their operations and performance.

The long-day training took place at a local hotel in Monrovia, with partners from other operational countries in Africa.

The event is aimed at giving voice to the private sector to highlight its challenges and opportunities as well as to provide strategies to enhance performance and governance in the business sector.

The training seeks to enhance performance, best practice, sustainability and to on the overall provide the atmosphere to access finance and other opportunities in the country.

Speaking Wednesday February 27, 2019 at a local hotel in Monrovia, the Managing Director of AccessBank informed participants and partners that since the need for improvement in small, medium enterprise governance positioning business for financing opportunities and enhancing sustainability is overarching, conference is timely.

According to Jonas Nyaye, the aim of the conference is to support SME`s customers and other business owners and managers to share and exchange views and perspectives on general corporate governance issues, and how these issues affect one’s ability to position many interesting dimensions.

The CEO said the bank believes that their success depends on individual’s successes of their customers, saying AccessBank will eventually be successful if customers` businesses are successful too.

Mr. Nyaye further indicated that it is against the understanding that the bank always looks for ways to improve its support to the business sector at large.

He noted that last year the bank conducted a review of its value prepositions to the SMEs and corporate clients and came to a simple realization that provisions of loans and banking services are important, but may not be enough to support customers to transform their businesses at a faster pace, highlighting that they needed something else in addition like the conference.

The AccessBank boss iterated that the conference presents yet another opportunity for them to discuss and reflect on some important issues that will transform businesses that aspire to grow.

He expressed gratitude to partners and business officials, and as such; it is always good to stay together to achieve one common business goal.

In her remark, the IFC Liberia, CASA coordinator said IFC is an equity shareholder in ABL and remains committed to the bank and its clients as it is one of the largest banks in the country`s financial sector employing over 500 Liberians, with over 2,000 micro clients, and well over 300 SMEs and corporate clients.

Rahila Danjuma said the conference is a step forward, as they focus on the third component of capacity building, realizing that access to finance is not the only factor necessary for the growth of a business in a country.

Danjuma said the IFC has begun to support ABL’s new objective of providing non-financial services to clients through series of workshops including this training.

The financial expert used the occasion to call on all to make use of the opportunity to bring change to their respective businesses.