Sterling Bank, EAS partner to support SMEs in export

Sterling Bank Limited, has partnered with Export and Sell Nigeria Limited (EAS) to propel small and medium-scale enterprise (SME) operators into the realm of scaleable exports.

The collaboration unfolded through an intensive four-day capacity-building boot camp, attracting an impressive turnout of over 130 export business participants.

Olushola Obikanye, group head of agric and solid minerals finance at Sterling Bank underlined the imperative for capacity building, citing three pivotal factors crucial for the flourishing of the agricultural sector in Nigeria to flourish.

“Access to information, markets, and finance are fundamental,” he asserted, emphasizing that “without addressing the first two, financial intermediation remains futile.”

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Obikanye underscored Nigeria’s need to ensure that domestically produced goods secure access to well-structured markets primed for their uptake, affirming the bank’s unwavering commitment to collaborative endeavors aimed at co-creating products and devising innovative solutions to bolster the private sector’s vitality within the agricultural domain.

He remarked, “Given agriculture’s significant GDP contribution, SMEs represent the most viable intervention avenue in the sector, transcending traditional industry players.”

In a similar vein, Akporee Idenedo, head of the commercial banking division at Sterling Bank, elucidated the bank’s broader vision, highlighting its aspiration to foster wealth creation and enrich livelihoods through proactive initiatives.

“We strive to empower entrepreneurs beyond mere financial transactions,” he articulated, noting that “by nurturing activities geared towards enhancing exports, we catalyse entrepreneurial empowerment.”

Idenedo further elaborated, “Our conviction lies in the belief that nurturing entrepreneurship leads to wealth generation, and our export conference serves as a pivotal avenue to realise this vision. Given agriculture’s intrinsic link to exports, this platform underscores our commitment to empowering lives, generating wealth, and contributing to Nigeria’s socio-economic advancement.”

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.