About SMEs

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as defined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are economically independent companies with about 11 to 300 employees and an annual debit turnover of between N5million to N500 million.

• The main factors determining whether a company is an SME are:
• Number of employees
• Annual debit turnover

How do you classify an SME?

SME Connect is a FirstBank initiative designed for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Nigeria.

SMEs can be classified as follows:

• Small/medium scale manufacturing firms.
• Small/medium retail merchants (suppliers, distributors, etc.)
• Professional firms (law, consulting, audit, etc.)
• Small/medium scale agricultural firms.
• Churches, mosques and NGO.

Why are SMEs important?

SMEs are responsible for the majority of new jobs created in Nigeria and they are crucial to Nigeria’s success in the global economy.

• For Government, SMEs, contribute to wealth creation and generate tax revenues
• In business, SMEs represent an important source of innovation
• In society, they are an important source of employment
• They drive consumption at the lower levels because they operate in every sector of the economy
• SMEs have extensive local knowledge of resources, supply patterns and purchasing trends
• SMEs constitute an important source of local supply and service provisions to larger corporations.
• They make a significant contribution to the revenue profile of most financial institutions
• SMEs stimulate growth and development within the economy

Key challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria

Some of the key challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria today are

• Poor capital structure
• The high cost of production
• Limited access to long term funds
• Poor business continuity/succession plan
• Weak value chain: supply, distribution, logistics, time to market etc
• Poor managerial and technical skills
• Lack of access to international markets
• Sole Proprietorship
• Labour-intensive production processes
• Keyman risk

• First Bank is committed to providing the Nigerian SME’S with the support needed for growth
• SME Connect is created to bring under one umbrella relevant resources, products and services aimed at helping SMEs in Nigeria.
• First Bank has tailor-made products targeted at the specific needs of SMEs in Nigeria. These loan products have been designed for financing the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) under the U-First Scheme.
• First Bank also provides Business Advisory and Support services and business-oriented credit access
• Customer/market
• Financing structure
• Access/Availability of Raw Materials
• Sales/cashflow projections
• Marketing/Distribution/Logistics
• Business Strategic Plan