Wema Bank introduces Quick Loan for 17m SMEs

To assist Nigerian entrepreneurs, startups and corporate customers scale their businesses, Nigeria’s leading digital bank, ALAT by Wema Bank Plc, has launched Quick Loan.

The additional feature which is hosted on ALAT for Business, its corporate internet banking platform, will help small/medium-scale enterprises (SME) and corporate customers access loans between N100,000 to N10,000,000.

Quick Loan will enable ALAT for Business users to access loan services virtually from any location without the need to locate a physical branch. A Nigeria SME survey report developed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), shows there are about 17.4 million small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and these contribute about 48 percent of the national GDP, accounting for 96 percent of businesses and 84 percent of employment in the country.

Samuel Robson, product manager ALAT for Business, highlighted the pivotal role that SMES play in the economic, employment and export growth in Nigeria. However, “despite the significant contribution of SMEs to the Nigerian economy, challenges persist that hinder the growth and development of the sector,” said Robson.

Read also: Explainer: Why electronic bank fraud should matter to you

In his statement, he stressed that “loan access has been one of the most challenging factors faced by this sector and we understand the need to support SMEs by providing easy access to the loans they seek.” “Hence the launch of Quick Loan on ALAT for Business, a platform that currently serves our corporate customers and SME owners.

“We believe this extra feature will help to mitigate some hassles entrepreneurs and businesses experience. The ALAT for Business Quick Loan is open to new and existing customers registered on the ALAT for Business platform and does not require cumbersome paperwork. The feature, Quick Loan, is specially designed for our corporate customers and SME owners,” Robson explained.

ALAT For Business is the internet banking platform designed to help corporate customers and entrepreneurs manage their business accounts optimally and stay on top of their finances from anywhere and anytime. Customers can make transactions of up to N100 million, make bulk transfers, pay bills and other collections without hidden charges, among others. ALAT by Wema has continuously supported entrepreneurs, young startup founders, business, and SME owners in various capacities over the years.

This year, the digital bank has facilitated the ALAT Talk Series, a session aimed at training young Nigerians on business management, strategy, technology and other key business areas.