Over 250 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana have benefited from Barclays Bank’s tailor-made capacity building programme aimed at educating and assisting the SMEs on running sound and sustainable businesses.
The Bank recently held its latest SME clinic in Tema where it engaged with importers, exporters, freight forwarders and other small business owners,equipping them with useful information and tools on how to grow their businesses.
Beneficiary SMEs were also taken through a series of sessions including Group Imports, Credit Sanctioning, Fraud Alerts and Forex Trading among others. They were also introduced to various products and services developed by the bank for their benefit. Key among the new products and services include Digital Banking, Mobile Money Transactions and Barclays Business Club.
The Bank also used the platform to update participants on its transitioning from Barclays to Absa and the opportunities it presents to remain more relevant to customers.
The Tema event is the fourth workshop to have been organised by the Bank after similar activities in Takoradi, Accra and Kumasi earlier this year.
Speaking at the programme, the Business Banking Director at Barclays Bank Ghana, Mrs Grace Anim-Yeboah said the capacity building engagement was organised to help SME clients improve their business processes, implement good corporate governance structures, improve customer service, instill excellent human resource management practices and have better access to credit.
“We are commited to helping SMEs grow and achieve their business goals. We will continue to provide the necessary support and financing to enable them succeed,” Mrs Anim-Yeboah said.
“As we move into a highly digitised banking environment, we will lead and help you to make the right digital choices that will impact positively on your growth. We are the trusted financial partner you can always rely on for the best solutions designed to serve your best interest,” she said.
The clinics also created networking platforms for quality engagement and trading among the clients.
Other officials of Barclays who spoke at the event assured participants of the bank’s capacity and ability to support the growth of their businesses.
Last year, the Barclays SME clinics supported more than 750 clients with various capacity building programmes and this year many more are expected to benefit from it.
By Kingsley Asare
