Stanbic educates SMEs, youths on finance management

At the Masterclass session of Stanbic IBTC at the on-going Social Media Week, Lagos 2019, small and medium scale enterprises and youths have been urged to have knowledge in finance management because of the future.

Stanbic noted that future’s challenges require finesse in the areas of financing and management so as to remain competitive.

Head Business Development, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, Shobowale Gbemisola, while educating participants, said: “If we can keep a lot of these entrepreneurs in business, it means a lot more people that are unemployed would have jobs.”

Gbemisola said the session was aimed at educating SME owners, especially the younger generations, who trade and do business online, on how to better manage their finances to avoid folding up.

The Portfolio Manager, Microfinance Banks/Non-Bank Financial Institutions, Stanbic IBTC, David Adebayo, explained that most SMEs simply copy what has already been done, “while stating that they should be innovative, pointing out that most Nigerian SMEs are simply duplicating what has been done.

“We need to think big, we’re not thinking big enough, most enterprise owners in the country are not thinking of growth. We should think far ahead about solving a problem that can reach out to everyone across the world. We are yet to see Nigerian enterprises in that form. They need to do something that differentiates them, we should think a lot bigger.”

Adebayo also pointed out that customer service remained one of the key issue hurting SMEs, he said: “entrepreneur do not realise that they need to listen to their customers, who are the king, “making them happy improves the business.”

Speaking further, Gbemisola spoke on budgeting and finance separation as an issue for SMEs, he said:”The reason we’re here is to tell you that when you have some money to put away after you’ve paid yourself, you should put it in an investment vehicle that is above inflation.

“You have a budget and you pay yourself a salary, if you assume that the money from the business is yours, then you have started on the wrong foot, you should separate yourself from the business and your personal money, that means you pay yourself salary like your staff, after then, invest part of that money into the business,” he added.