Access Bank has partnered with Naija Brand Chick (NBC) to organize the largest female-dominated trade fair in Nigeria.
The financial institution which stated the move was in fulfillment of its passion for women, indicated that the 5th edition of the NBC trade fair which held in Lagos on April 9 and 10, 2022 attracted thousands of shoppers and had over 200 promising entrepreneurs exhibit and increase sales on their products and services.
The two-day fair the statement recorded about N100 million in gross sales, adding that the success is attributed to the availability of seamless payment solutions by Access Bank attested to, by entrepreneurs and shoppers alike.
Speaking on the success of the fair and the importance of investing in female entrepreneurs, the Group Head, Women Banking, Abiodun Olubitan, said, “partnering with Naija Brand Chick to organize the NBC trade fair was strategic to our vision to change the narrative for female entrepreneurs by providing opportunities for them to scale up and access new markets for profitability.
“The trade fair was indeed successful, and this is just the beginning for us. We intend to double the impact and sustain our position as the best bank for women entrepreneurs in Africa” Olubitan said.
Group Head, Emerging Business Ayodele Olojede highlighted that, “Supporting SMEs was a strategic goal for Access Bank and collaborating with Naija Brand Chick provided us with an opportunity to achieve this goal.
Olojede added: “The trade fair provided our SMEs the opportunity to reach out to a larger group of customers as well as provided an avenue to network with other businesses. It provided a lot of the businesses which were predominantly online an avenue to connect personally with their customers, build credibility for their brands and increase their customer base. We were also able to leverage our payment platform- Swift Pay, which allowed users without ATM cards to easily pay for items bought at the fair, facilitate easy reconciliation and have payments confirmed without delays.”
Access Bank through the W Initiative has enabled women entrepreneurs access discounted financing through the W Power Loan and participate in capacity building programs like the IFC Mini MBA. The Bank also confirms its passion for SMEs through the Emerging Business proposition for businesses in Africa.
It remains committed to inspiring, connecting, and empowering women through the W Initiative- the home of everything the Bank has to offer women in Africa.
