Mr. Jones Darmoe, the Access Bank Sekondi Takoradi Zonal Head for Business Banking, has encouraged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adapt to the fast-paced modern world and take advantage of the current country’s digitization drive.

SME’s can only stay in the spotlight and become productive if they accept digitalization, according to Mr. Darmoe, because of where the financial sector is headed and how technology is affecting business models.

The banker added that digitalization is the way for SMEs to survive, succeed, and expand and that, Access bank recognizes the importance of SMEs to Ghana’s economy.

“Access Bank believes in succeeding together with its customers. Being a ‘go-to Bank’ for SMEs, it remains committed to its promise of providing more than banking to its valued customers.”
Mr. Jones Darmoe

Mr. Darmoe made these comments at a workshop in Takoradi co-hosted by the bank and Open Labs, a science fellowship that assists promising youth in the country to pursue careers in sciences.

This is not the first time Access Bank has held these capacity-building programs to teach and educate SMEs on the importance of adapting to emerging technology in order to increase productivity and ensure their sustainability in the financial industry space.

Before the Takoradi event, Access Bank sponsored similar capacity-building workshops in Accra and Kumasi. Over 6,000 SMEs were provided with business advisory services and exposed to accessible lending facilities as a result of the interactions, allowing them to achieve good profits.

Mr. Darmoe speaking during the event, stated that according to studies, roughly 20% of SMEs fail within the first year of operation, and 50% fail after five years due to a lack of capital and technical competence. He promised that Access bank would continue to assist SMEs whenever they need them and would design programs specifically for them to ensure their operational efficiency.

Improving Customer Services

Mr. Darmoe revealed that the Bank had assigned branches and a website portal as primed resource platforms where customers could walk in or log on for business assistance. He explained that the bank had created products and services such as the Instant Business Loan and Business Protection Insurance to help people achieve more by promoting financial inclusion.

Campus Head for Open Labs, Ms. Penielle Amankwah equally advised the small-scale businesses to go digital since it would increase operational efficiency, customer service, and reduce human errors. She also encouraged attendees to use digital technology to help their businesses expand, pointing out that many SMEs have missed out on the many benefits of technology owing to a lack of information.

Ms. Amankwah also challenged the participants to use their smartphones for more than just basic tasks, urging them to utilize them to gain crucial business skills.

“Many people have smartphones yet use them for only basic activities. The smartphones can be used to enhance your knowledge on new trends in growing your businesses and expose you to more business ideas among other benefits.”
Ms. Amankwah

To improve their business experiences, participants were later introduced to Access Bank’s digital banking solutions, including AccessAfrica, Access Pay, Merchant Pay, POS, and Access Cards. They were also taught how to use targeted internet browsing to help their businesses expand by leveraging digitalization.