Ecobank pledges continuous support for SMEs, MSMEs
By Isaac AIDOO, Accra
The Regional Head of Commercial Banking, Anglophone West Africa at Ecobank, Charlotte Amanquah has assured owners of Micro , Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of the bank’s continuous support to help grow their businesses into large corporates.
Ecobank, she pledged was interested in “bringing value to your businesses and so we will continue to find more avenues of giving you the opportunity to excel and add value to what you do.”
Madam Amanquah was sharing her thoughts on financial strategies and support systems available to SMEs crucial for their financial health and growth at the 2023 Vodafone Business Runway held in Accra on the theme ‘Good to Great with Vodafone: Innovate, Comply and Expand.’
Responding to concerns about the high cost of loans and their impact on SME growth, Madam Amanquah said Ecobank helps SMEs find alternatives so they don’t suffer the full impact of the loan costs.
“For instance, for SMEs who are in the business of import goods, we are at a point now where with banking support, the SMEs are able to establish other payment instruments and not incur the interest costs; so we establish letters of credit, we give guarantees, things that will not let you pay the over 20% interest costs but you pay just a small fee,” she explained.
She maintained that, “for Ecobank, it’s the value addition; our job is not just to give money you cannot repay but bring value to you that serves your needs as a customer.”
“As a bank, what we look at is your cash flow, your business volumes . We have ways of working in partnership with others in the financial space as well as governmental agencies in the public sector to provide funding support to SMEs. So we share the risk together while the SME bears the minimum cost till it expands into a large corporate.
“This arrangement, she stressed leaves no room for the requirement of collateral. For micro and SMEs we are able to provide funding at the early stages however it is important to recognise that the bigger you become, the more you also have to take your own responsibilities.
“For the SMEs, we are able to give funding when we know how you are operating so talk to our experienced team of bankers at Ecobank and you will help without insisting on collaterals.
