The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Heritage Bank Limited, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, has reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to wealth creation and the development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). He explained that Heritage Bank was poised to serve “as a catalyst to create wealth, preserve it and fashion out a succession plan for the next generation.”
“Heritage Bank was set up to do one or two things and there are three steps to it. One is the creation, preservation and transfer of wealth. We sat down as a bank and noted the difficulties faced by businesses and families in Nigeria in the area of generational wealth transfer.
“To us, the main target is that our activity, our investment, our catalytic behavior will help make businesses move from one level to the other. That is the goal.”
“SMEs have to survive if the economy must survive. It is not an option. It is the bedrock of our economy. The artisans, the fitters, the technicians… if they do not exist, our maintenance culture will be very poor. Funding is the last thing on the menu for SMEs. Let us begin to inject methods and give guidance to these companies,” he added.
He noted that the bank had developed and introduced a wide range of services, which addresses the capacity and financing needs of SME businesses, adding that the goal of Heritage Bank’s SME offerings is to build a network of entrepreneurial leaders that will drive the growth of the sector.
