African Bank of the year, Guaranty Trust Bank plc has launched “The SME MarketHub”; Nigeria’s 1st e-commerce portal for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). The launch took place on Friday, 31st May 2014 at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The e-commerce and business directory portal is part of GTBank’s strategy to empower and support Nigerian SMEs and also contribute to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy. The portal is designed to enable Nigerian entrepreneurs migrate their businesses online and take advantage of the vast international and local sales opportunities within this space. SME owners will also have access to a wide variety of business tools that will enhance profitability as well as a community that will allow them forge relationships with other business owners.
Commenting on the innovation, the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje said “There is no getting away from the fact that economic conditions remain challenging for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. It is however vital that this integral sector of the economy gets all the support it needs to drive growth and development. E-commerce is widely acknowledged as a powerful tool for fully enhancing business possibilities as it opens up a world of businesses to customers and a world of customers to businesses. The speed, efficiency and convenience with which transactions can be completed are distinct advantages that e-commerce has over traditional means of transacting business. With the introduction of the SME Market Hub, GTBank has provided SMEs an E-commerce platform that allows small and medium business owners create & maintain an online presence and expand their business frontiers to new markets and millions of buyers that are online.
Also at the event, Segun Agbaje stated that a percentage of every transaction carried out on the SME MarketHub will be committed to the Bank’s “Autism Fund” dedicated to the building of an “Autism Resource Center”. This Center will make it easier for parents, educators, therapists and caretakers to have access to information that will augment and supplement their efforts in providing quality care to individuals with Autism and special disorders.
Guaranty Trust Bank plc has been at the forefront of industry innovations within the Nigerian financial services sector. These include the introduction of the GTBank social banking; the first of its kind by any Nigerian Bank which allows GTBank Social Account holders transfer money, purchase airtime, pay bills, and confirm their account balances on Facebook as well as the introduction of a ‘Fast Track’ banking system that allows its customers deposit and withdraw money within its branches using their debit cards.
Guaranty Trust Bank plc was established in 1990 and has within the last 24 years come to be recognized as one of the most innovative and service focused banks in the Nigerian financial market space. The Bank operates from over 230 branches in Nigeria and has banking subsidiaries in Cote D’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and the United Kingdom.