“Sterling Bank’s MSME Academy has brought succour to small business owners”

The Sterling MSME Academy was established three years ago to equip aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs with the skills required to build sustainable businesses. Mrs. Daniel Olajumoke, Managing Director of Real Mercy International Limited, spoke with newsmen in Ilorin after the 3-day MSME Academy workshop in the state. She commended Sterling Bank’s unwavering support to small and medium enterprises. Excerpts.

How would you describe the MSME Academy organised by Sterling Bank Plc?

Wonderful experience l must say. It is rare to see a bank giving back to the society in the way Sterling Bank has done. Initially l thought the bank organised the workshop as a way of marketing their various products and compel us all to open account with the bank. But this was not even mentioned at all during the 3-day period. For me the workshop was strategic. If the country must survive the current economic challenges, we must look inward. Agriculture is critical, but the small business segment is also very critical.

What would you say are the take away for you?

The workshop has sharpened my entrepreneurial skills. With this workshop, l can say that my managerial capacity has been enhanced and am now well equipped to navigate the challenging operating environment where we operate and l belief the story is the same with other participants. It is good to see a bank that realises that SMEs remain the pillar of any growing economy and believes operators in the sector must be trained, positioned and equipped for accelerated growth and positive impact on the economy.

How did you get to know about the workshop?

I was in Ibadan last year when the bank came to organise the programme. I didn’t get to know about it before l left Ilorin so l couldn’t attend but a friend of mine attended and told me about it. When l asked why Sterling Bank is limiting it to just Ibadan, she said the bank had promised to expand the scope in 2017. I never believed anyway because banks won’t go to where they can’t make money. But sometimes in April, a friend of mine asked if l heard that Sterling Bank was planning to bring the MSME Academy workshop to Ilorin and asked that l check online. I saw it online and confirmed. I also went to the Ibrahim Taiwo branch in Ilorin to reconfirm. Through me, five other participants also came for the programme.

Can you tell us about your business?

Real Mercy International Limited is a wholesale and retail company. We distribute WAMCO, Nestle and Promasidor brands, among other products, to retail outlets here in Ilorin and other neighbouring states. We are also a retailer.

We opened for business in 2016 with the sum of N15,000. Our start-up stock was a carton of sardine and sachet Nescafe purchased from Lagos. But today we have stock running into millions of Naira. We started with a shop in 2006 but today we are operating from six locations across the state with plans to extend to Ogbomosho, Ibadan and Lagos.

I must confess that l learnt the trade from my mother who was on top of her game at that time. She really supported my venturing into business and l have never disappointed her. She is proud that I built my business from scratch.

What are the major challenges in this business?

As an investor, you can never be satisfied with the level of your business especially when you know that the business has an enormous potential to grow. As it is, we are doing very well, but we still want to expand. Looking at things from this perspective, l will say that the major problem we have is capital for expansion. Again, in this business, for you to command good market share, you need capital to get more supplies from the companies you represent to  be able to expand your market share because the more you sell as a distributor the more you are recognised by the companies. Another challenge is under-pricing by competitors. Since the more you sell the more you are rated, some of our competitors are in the habit of selling below the actual cost to cut off others in the business. They can buy more and so make their money from volume.

So what is the solution?

The solution is obvious, raise more capital to compete fairly in the market. But in doing so you must be careful so that you don’t run into problem because the goods must just be bought if not you get overstocked. That is why we appreciate Sterling Bank a lot. The bank does not only provide the required capital, it goes extra mile to provide free advisory services to us.

What cutting edge service do you get from Sterling Bank?

It is all about getting capital or funds to inject into the business. While other banks are willing to give you money and come back to breath down your neck when the business fails, Sterling Bank is different. When we ask for money, they will sit down with us, analyse the business and determine jointly how much we need to inject into the business and this makes a lot of sense. And in human relations, Sterling Bank is the best. We are working with a team from the bank that is helping us to manage the business as if they are investors in the business. They come around from time to time to give advice and counsel on how to be competitive in the marketplace.