Fidelity Bank Deepens Support for Northern SMEs at Kano Business Forum

Fidelity Bank Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the growth, resilience and sustainability of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Northern Nigeria, as it hosted entrepreneurs and other business stakeholders at its Quarterly Business Forum in Kano.

The forum, which brought together business owners, entrepreneurs, industry stakeholders and customers, was themed, “Positioning Northern Businesses for Growth.” It provided a platform for participants to examine practical strategies for improving business operations, accessing finance, strengthening financial management and identifying opportunities for sustainable enterprise development.

The financial institution said the initiative was part of its broader efforts to deepen its engagement with SMEs and provide businesses with support that goes beyond conventional access to credit.

Speaking at the event, Executive Director, North, Fidelity Bank Plc, Sufiyanu Garba, described Northern Nigeria as a critical component of the country’s economic future, noting that the region possesses significant agricultural, manufacturing, trading and consumer-market opportunities.

Garba said unlocking the region’s economic potential would require stronger partnerships between financial institutions and businesses, particularly through access to funding, market opportunities, advisory services and other forms of enterprise support.

“The North occupies a critical place in Nigeria’s economic future. With its vast agricultural resources, strong trading culture, manufacturing capacity and large consumer market, the region has enormous potential for sustainable economic growth.

“Fidelity Bank remains committed to helping businesses unlock this potential through financing, market access, advisory support and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He explained that the Quarterly Business Forum was designed to reinforce the bank’s role as a long-term partner to businesses rather than merely a provider of funds.

“Supporting businesses is central to our purpose, and our ambition is to be more than a provider of funds. We want to be a trusted partner that understands businesses and provides the financing, knowledge, connections and solutions they need to grow,” Garba said.

He added that Kano and the wider Northern region possessed the human resources, entrepreneurial culture and economic assets required to play a leading role in Nigeria’s economic development.

Also speaking, the Divisional Head, SME Banking, Fidelity Bank Plc, Ugochi Osinigwe, said the forum was established to enable the bank engage directly with entrepreneurs and gain a better understanding of the challenges confronting businesses across different sectors.

According to her, the initiative serves as a listening platform through which Fidelity Bank obtains first-hand feedback from business owners while identifying practical ways to improve its products and services.

“This forum is more than an engagement; it is a listening platform. We are here to deepen our relationships, understand the unique challenges facing businesses across sectors and hear directly from entrepreneurs on how we can serve them better,” she said.

Osinigwe stressed that Fidelity Bank’s support for SMEs extended beyond traditional banking, with the institution providing products, advisory services, training and strategic partnerships aimed at helping businesses establish stronger foundations and scale their operations.

She also highlighted measures aimed at reducing the cost of doing business, including zero-maintenance-fee account offerings and free capacity-building programmes for entrepreneurs.

She said the bank’s training programmes were particularly important because many SMEs struggled with basic business management practices, including proper record keeping, financial management, business structuring and preparation for accessing formal finance.

“We invest significantly in training because many SMEs struggle due to limited knowledge of essential business practices. Through our physical and digital learning platforms, we help entrepreneurs develop the skills required to become more structured, sustainable and bankable,” she said.

Participants at the forum welcomed the initiative, describing it as an avenue for gaining practical knowledge and improving engagement between businesses and the financial sector.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of I.G. Best Company, Okereke Ignatius Mmbonye, said Fidelity Bank’s contribution to SME development went beyond providing credit facilities.

He said initiatives such as the Quarterly Business Forum provided businesses with access to useful knowledge, relationships and connections capable of supporting their growth.

“Fidelity Bank has demonstrated that its commitment to SMEs goes beyond access to credit. Platforms such as this provide valuable knowledge and connections that can make a real difference to growing businesses,” Mmbonye said.

Similarly, the Managing Director of Nabila Oil Mills, Sufiyanu Salisu Ahmad, commended Fidelity Bank for creating an avenue for direct interaction between entrepreneurs and financial institutions.

“I appreciate Fidelity Bank for creating this platform to engage directly with entrepreneurs and understand the challenges we face. It is encouraging to see a bank take such a practical approach to supporting businesses,” Ahmad said.

The bank said the Kano forum formed part of its wider strategy to strengthen Nigeria’s SME ecosystem through improved access to finance, enterprise development, financial education, financial inclusion and strategic business support.

The initiative also comes against the backdrop of growing calls for stronger institutional support for SMEs, which remain an important component of economic activity, employment creation and enterprise development in Nigeria.

Fidelity Bank recently received the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Service Ambassadors Award for the Highest Impact on MSMEs Accessing Credit for the First Time, recognising its contribution to expanding financial inclusion and improving access to credit for businesses.

The bank said its SME-focused initiatives were aimed at helping entrepreneurs become more structured and sustainable while positioning them to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the Nigerian economy.

Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving more than 10 million customers through its digital banking platforms and 255 business offices across Nigeria, as well as its United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.

The bank has also received a number of local and international recognitions, including the 2025 DBN Innovation Award for MSME Support, Best Retail and SME Bank Award from Independent Newspapers, Best Bank for Export & Trade Finance and Most Innovative Bank of the Year at the 2025 BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

It also received Nigeria’s Best Private Bank award at the 2025 Euromoney Awards, as well as the Most Improved Commercial Bank of the Year Award from Nairametrics, SME Bank of the Year Award from NewsDirect, the Straight-Through Processing Excellence Award from Citi Group and recognition from Global Brands Magazine for Excellence in Community Empowerment.