By Benjamin Omoike

Nigeria’s leading financial institution, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has highlighted its array of solutions to support businesses in the country to make the most of 2021.

The solutions on offer are geared towards providing access to flexible funding for small, medium and large-scale enterprises thereby addressing inadequate access to capital, exposure to international markets and inherent challenges plaguing local and international trade. The solutions also allow organisations to take advantage of joint partnerships without the risk of losing capital and benefit from medium to long term investment solutions that help businesses in maximising their resources.

Commenting on the offerings, Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, said the solutions were designed to support SMEs and address its customers’ trade and financial needs.

“Over the years, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, as Nigeria’s leading end-to-end financial services provider, has remained at the forefront of providing financial solutions to business enterprises in the country, while offering Nigerian importers access to its global presence through its Africa China Agent Proposition (ACAP),” Adeniyi said.

Targeted at business owners who import goods from China or have trade dealings with China, ACAP, through Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, links Nigerian importers to Chinese exporters, facilitates payments and ensures the successful completion of their trade dealings.

“Leveraging Stanbic IBTC’s network of Chinese agents, with client satisfaction being the cornerstone, ACAP offers a broad ecosystem of services, solutions and support, which equips African and Chinese businesses to leverage trade and growth opportunities to drive Africa’s growth. The ACAP solution, which has been termed ‘game-changer’, eases the cashflow worries of African importers by providing access to finance while also empowering the importers to have end-to-end visibility of the entire importation and logistic process,” Adeniyi said. 

Likewise, the Stanbic IBTC Trade Club offers business owners exposure to meet and trade with suppliers anywhere in the world, thus giving them the needed exposure for their businesses to thrive.

With the increasing clamour for diversification of the nation’s economy from crude oil, Stanbic IBTC has also highlighted its Agribusiness solution, which is geared at providing financing options to stakeholders in the agriculture value chain.

Simultaneously, Vehicle Asset Financing (VAF) is targeted at financing heavy machines needed for business or personal purpose.

Commenting on the importance of investment diversification, Oladele Sotubo, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management, stated that investors should take advantage of the opportunities in the stock market via vehicles such as the Stanbic IBTC Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and equity-focused Mutual Funds which provide a diverse range of investment portfolios well-suited for medium to long-term investing. 

According to him, they are specially designed for investors with higher risk appetite suitable for investing in the Nigerian stock market, which returned circa 50 per cent in 2020.

Sotubo emphasised that these funds provide a unique opportunity for individuals and organisations to invest in a portfolio of professionally-managed listed securities, thereby stretching their financial resources to earn even more over an extended period.

However, the organisation notes the importance of minimising risk and transacting with trust, without the fear of losing in the event of an eventuality. This is why the Stanbic IBTC Escrow Services are a necessity at this time. Tailored at ensuring the security assets including funds, an Escrow account offers buyer-seller protection such that buyers can deposit their money and the Trustee or Escrow Agent initiates payment only when the seller delivers the required goods in line with the Escrow Agreement terms. This way, both parties in a trade deal are protected and businesses can thrive.

Still, in line with minimising risk, Stanbic IBTC is also emphasising the need for businesses to obtain the fire and special perils insurance coverage in order to protect against unexpected loss that may arise from natural disasters or malicious intent. 

Stanbic IBTC also offers its corporate client’s digital offerings such as Mobile App, Enterprise Online, *909#, Contactless POS, C’gate, PrimePay, Paywithlink and so on, to make business transactions easy and seamless. 
While wishing everyone a prosperous new year, the Stanbic IBTC Bank Chief Executive, Wole Adeniyi, urged existing and prospective customers to take advantage of the array of solutions aimed at supporting business efforts in 2021.