Jaiz Bank, MoneyLine To Provide 500 Nigerian Entrepreneurs With Technical, Financial Support

Jaiz Bank Plc has promised to work with the Executive Producer of a business and economy television programme MoneyLine, Mrs Nancy Nnaji to empower young Nigerian entrepreneurs with the requisite skills and funding to become successful.

The Executive Director, Business development (North), Jaiz Bank, Dr Sirajo Salisu said this in Abuja during the maiden edition of the Personal and Business Acceleration Masterclass.

The event was attended by the Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Ltd, Johnson Chukwu; the Chief Operating Officer of Cosgrove, Elizabeth Taylor; Chief Executive Officer of Brave Icons Global Ltd Fife Banks and a former Presidential Candidate, Dr Tope Fasua.

Salisu said that the bank understands the importance of entrepreneurship to the Nigerian economy, adding that it would provide the required technical and financial support to graduates of the Masterclass programme with good business plan.

On a personal level, Suraju who is also the Managing Director -designate of Jaiz Bank Plc, said he would personally take over the mentorship of five of the graduands of the Masterclass programme.

He said that Jaiz Bank had grown from three branches which it started operations with ten years ago to about 45 branches currently, adding that before the end of this year, the number of branches would have risen to 50

He commended the organisers of programme for coming up with the initiative and assured them of the bank’s continuous support in other editions.

Speaking in her address of welcome, Nnaji said that the objective of the Masterclass programme is to empower Nigerians with business insights and better wisdom to thrive.

Nnaji who is the convener of the Masterclass programme said, “This conference is an idea whose time has come.I am poised to help you through taking action beyond today.

“We are grateful to Jaiz Bank for making that commitment at assisting people both technically and financially.

So, my vision for this is that beyond the conversation, we want to see businesses that will be assisted so that in a year’s time when we have this programme, we will be able to guage and measure that these are the businesses that we have been able to assist since the last Personal and Business Acceleration Masterclass.

“Going beyond television where we speak about the economy, business, finance and the rest, we want to hand-hold people and teach them what they need for their businesses to grow.”

She said through the Masterclass Programme, experts would be able to provide entrepreneurs with the required knowledge to make their businesses bankable.

Nnaji added, “Its like me giving back after so many years. I created this is because many of us don’t focus on the bottom of the pyramid, a lot of us focus on the big people.

“Banks don’t assist MSMEs as they should, you will see a lot of stringent collateral conditions and some of these businesses don’t have enough information to equip themselves.

“They don’t have simple record keeping, you cant just go to the bank to borrow loan, you must be able to have adequate record keeping, put fundamental business processes in place and that is why I am also doing this.

“We want to teach the small business people how to put this in place.

“The Jaiz Bank MD-designate has said that even in his own personal capacity, he would like to mentor five businesses and that is very commendable coming from Jaiz Bank MD.

“This is apart from what they would do as a bank for the businesses they would be introduced to here. They would hold their hands and assist them.”

ENDS