Pan-African Bank, Ecobank has inaugurated the Smart Small And Medium Enterprise (SME) Agency Banking campaign aimed at empowering 100,000 entrepreneurs under the Ecobank SME and Agency Banking proposition.
Ecobank Nigeria’s Head of SME, Emeka Agbada stated that the initiative was unveiled in concordance with the bank’s resolve to support the Federal Government and Central Bank Of Nigeria’s vision for financial inclusion across the country.
Apart from seeking to enhance the level of financial inclusion, the initiative also aims to create self-employment for new entrepreneurs and help diversify the income streams of existing small businesses across Nigeria. Agbada reiterated that Ecobank has made it easy for entrepreneurs and small businesses to become the Bank’s Agents under this initiative.
He said, “This laudable initiative is to empower small businesses and create new entrepreneurs. It is open to every honest and enterprising adult capable of using smartphones and/ or Point of Sale (PoS) Machines as well as every small and medium enterprise subject to their meeting the terms and conditions as set out for Agents. Why not join the Ecobank Smart SME Agent network today and become a mobile financial services provider?”
Mr. Agada explained further that an Xpresspoint agent could perform basic banking services such as account opening, deposit collection for Ecobank, interbank transfers to other banks, card and card-less withdrawals, bill payment, airtime top-up, remittance services amongst others. He said Agents will earn money through-fees and commission on all successful transactions done through the agency. Ecobank will also train the agents and provide branding materials for free.
Head Ecobank Agency Network, Mrs. Nike Kolawole applauded the Initiative and added that the Ecobank Agency proposition remains the best in the industry today. She encouraged small businesses to partner with the bank to drive financial inclusion and employment.
Mrs. Kolawole while speaking on a general note said,“banking has greatly evolved and has become closer to the people. With the introduction of Agency banking, no one needs to visit a bank branch to carry out a transaction. With your phone, you can perform your transaction or perform transactions for other people on behalf of the bank and earn commissions. I encourage the youth and owners of small businesses (men and women) to use this initiative to expand their revenue streams while offering this value-added service to customers”.
