By Emma Una, Calabar

Diamond Bank of Nigeria Plc has so far given N70billion as loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) since the inception of the programme in 2009.

The Bank’s Head of MSME Proposition, Mr. Chima Nnadozie, said this last week in Calabar at the Diamond Business Xpress Enterprise Series

During the interactions after the lectures, participants make contributions on and asked questions to maximise the benefits of the business lecture series in growing their businesses, Nnadozie  said the  Bank was willing to give out loan to MSMEs  if they meet the banks basic condition of having operated for at least one year,  function from  a fixed address , and have invested  money in the enterprise since it started.

He said, “The bank has since 2009 given out over 70 billion naira to small businesses to boost their financial capacity. This figure is since we started in 2009 but since then some have been  paying back and the figure now should stand at N30 billion”.

Meanwhile, the three  resource persons at the monthly  enterprise series were  drawn from the private sector: John Ekpihke a business planning consultant who spoke on business planning and development ,  John Etim Bassey  a business  resource  consultant who spoke on the principles of minimal start up,  while  Chima Nadozie the head of MSMEs at  Diamond  Bank  spoke extensively on the  factors  through which  businesses can  best attain its highest aggregate performance.

John Ekpikhe told the participants that business plans are in practice, not mere instruments for attracting and obtaining loans from banks but actually practical tools that help in the day-to-day running and operations of businesses.

“Though most people stumble into business and as such do not have a formal business plan to provide the focus and direction which the business should follow, the business plan is an important instrument which aligns the entrepreneur with exactly what he is doing and what he seeks to achieve by taking control of the business and also understand it fully”.

He said the business plan helps the business owner to know the needs of the business, its turnover, how to access loans and finances to the level he wants through constant analysis which cannot be easily achieved without a business plan.

Every business, he said, ought to have bench marks and time frames to meet the primary purpose for which it was setup like creating independence for its owner, higher income prospects, better lifestyle, personal satisfaction and building a future for the entrepreneur.

“Every business owner, whether small, medium or large scale, has a personal reason for delving into it but often at the end of the day,  many cannot meet these goals principally because at one point the owner  may lose track of where he is taking the business to and as its often said,  if you do not know where you are going, any road takes you there”.

Mr John Etim Edet, on his part told the participants that making more money should not be the motivating factor for starting a business but to create value because people who buy a product or patronise a service are seeking to satisfy a desire or meet a need not give  just to give away money for the fun of doing so.

“What the entrepreneur should do first is to develop a product or service that can meet needs because products or services are vital not because you want to sell it but because of the value people place on it or satisfaction they derive from the service”.