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: Diamond Bank Plc, a leading commercial bank in the country has tasked entrepreneurs operating in the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) segment on the imperative of conducting sound Financial Integrity Tests (FIT) on their businesses.
The bank gave the charge at the 39th Diamond Business Xpress Seminar held recently in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
According to Mrs. Adaeze Ume, Segment Head, Micro Enterprises and Business Development Services, Diamond Bank Plc, FIT are processes that every MSME owner should pass to guarantee growth and sustainability of their businesses, adding that Diamond is committed to supporting Micro, Small and Medium Sized enterprises.
“Diamond Bank regards MSMEs as the engine room of the economy; hence, we have put in place structures to support this vital sector. In Diamond, we have bankers who are specialists in helping MSMEs manage their finances. For us, we understand the importance of this vital sector and that informs our decision to cater to their needs,” she said.
The facilitator of the seminar and President/CEO, Integrated Catering Company Limited, Mr. Oluwatoyin Alabi in a lecture titled ‘Developing the Uniqueness in Your Business’ advised entrepreneurs to ensure their businesses never fail a financial integrity test. He noted that every business owner must pass the test to keep profiting in business.
“Integrity is the insurance of business. Integrity will take you up, integrity will keep you up, be a man of integrity and your business fortunes will continue to be on the increase,” he said.
Alabi also stressed the need for moral integrity test for the growth of business.
“Moral integrity is also a critical test every business owner must pass to enjoy business success and keep profiting. To keep on profiting in business, you must be morally sound and upright, by so doing you will save energy, money, time and ultimately, your soul from destruction,” he said.
Alabi explained that in building structures for business entrepreneurs, there is a need to understand their markets very clearly for proper planning and evaluation. He also stressed the need to understand the sources of finance, proper accountability and good enterprise governance for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises which according to him will help growth and development of their businesses.
Alabi who commended the Diamond Business Xpress Seminar initiative as a welcome development noted that the seminars have undoubtedly provided entrepreneurs with the requisite knowledge on how to transform their dreams into profitable businesses.
He said since studies had shown that entrepreneurship strengthens the economic growth of a nation, speeds up modernization and transforms way of thinking of the common man, it is good to equip entrepreneurs with relevant knowledge which would help in the development of their business.
Alabi advised that starting small and thinking big while keeping the overhead low is the best way to grow MSMEs.
