Diamond
Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading commercial bank has listed requirements
that prospective and existing entrepreneurs in the micro, small and
medium scale enterprises (MSME) sector of the Nigerian economy should
possesses in order to attract loans.
Mr.
Chima Nnadozie, Head, MSME Propositions of Diamond Bank disclosed this
in Calabar, the Cross River state capital recently while addressing
participants at the 28th Diamond BusinessXpress Enterprise Series.
He
said for MSMEs to attract loans from the bank, the entrepreneur should
have an account with the bank, invest in the business and have a
location from which it operates, remarking that collateral security
which used to be a big issue in loan consideration and approval was no
longer the case.
Mr.
Nnadozie said the Diamond BusinessXpress Account (DBXA) is a current
account tailored to meet the needs of MSME such as hotels,
supermarkets, businessmen, professionals, travel agencies, trading
outfits, schools, churches, fast food outlets, restaurants, clubs and
entertainment outfits.
He
said DBXA account is available in three variants: Starter, growing and
established; adding that it was designed to add value to micro, small
and medium scale enterprises so that entrepreneurs could grow their
business with smart banking.
The
features and benefits of the account are zero COT, invitation to
business development seminars, fixed monthly fee as low as N1,750, easy
access to business loans, personal credit cards and access to a personal
website at a discounted price amongst a host of others.
Earlier
in a lecture titled “Starting Big with the Minimal”, Mr. John Bassey,
chairman/CEO, Habitare Group, a design and building construction firm,
listed seven steps to owning a business as: develop a product, package
the product, write a business plan, bootstrap the business,
moonlighting, get the best help for free and follow the money.
According
to him, every great product started as an idea, but not every great
idea became a great product, adding that the best product is that which
is developed by research.
He
defined an entrepreneur as a person who actively form or lead his or
her own business and nurture it for growth and prosperity, adding that
entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new of value by
devoting the necessary time and effort.
He
listed some of the qualities of an entrepreneur as initiative, ability
see and seize the opportunity, persistence, risk taker, goal setter and
goal getter, dedication, networking, driven by excellence, ability to
research, planning and self-confidence.
Also
speaking, Mr. John Ekpikhe, senior consultant with Mark-George
Consultants who made a presentation on business planning explained that
before an entrepreneur starts a business, there is need for him to do
research on the business and set his goals. He said a business plan was
imperative because it is the document that banks and other investors
would look at to determine whether to invest in it or not.
