Africa-Press – Liberia. According to the Managing Director of Bloom Bank Liberia, there are lots of opportunities in Liberia for the SMEs space.
The Managing Director of Bloom Bank Liberia Olalekan Balogun has disclosed that his entity is going to partner with any organization that is upskilling Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enhance access to finance.
He made the statement at the Launch of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Growth Accelerator Liberia 4th Cohort of the Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) at the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in Congo town.
According to the Managing Director of Bloom Bank Liberia, there are lots of opportunities in Liberia for the SMEs space. He added that the SME space in Liberia is still a virgin with rich opportunities.
Mr. Balogun disclosed that almost 90 percent of every business in the economy is SMEs. With the largest employment, he stressed that a lot of international organizations are willing to invest in SMEs but noted that SMEs require a platform and skills to access the needed finance.
“Financial inclusion is at the nicest stage in Liberia. What we are going to do differently is, apart from just having a bank account for SMEs, we believe that there are three particular things that the SME needs to do and one of them is upskilling,” he said.
Mr. Balogun added: “Providing those skills and knowledge for them to move to the next level. Also, to be leveraging digitalization. A lot of SMEs are still operating at the elementary level. I believe that we upskill through digitalization and they will upskill to the point where they become beautiful brides to access Finance in banking.”
He continues: “So, it is that area we will be providing a lot of support for, to partner with any organization that wants to upskill SMEs so that you make them beautiful brides to access finance. And when they become a beautiful bride they will understand that taking a loan doesn’t mean that it is your share of the national cake. You need to pay those loans back and the reward for paying back is getting more loans to upskill yourself and expand your operation.”
“So, we will be investing so much in training, upskilling, and providing the digital platform that will enhance the SMEs operation, and by doing that they can now access the required funding that they require,” Balogun Promises.
At the launch, the signing and renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were done with the International Bank Liberia Limited (IBLL), United Bank for Africa (UBA) Liberia, Bloom Bank Africa, and Ecobank Liberia Ltd as investment partners to the program.
The program is supported by the UNDP, EU, Swedish Embassy, and other development partners.
Also speaking, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Amin Modad welcomed the support of development partners and their efforts to boost the business climate in Liberia.
According to him, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is committed to developing programs that focus on targeting specialized sectors with MSMEs, agriculture, and various value chains.
“This is where Liberia’s competitive advantage lies and that’s where our agenda should be focused and developing an inclusive and vibrant economy,” Minister Modad added.
Minister Modad also calls for a renewed commitment not only to alleviate poverty but to create wealth in a centralized program that prioritizes women and youth.
He said: “They said that they are the foundation for any growth and the development agenda Liberia has.”
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