FNB Eswatini has increased funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to E1.5 million in a move aimed at improving businesses’ access to growth capital.
Speaking at the Manzini Regional Entrepreneur of the Year (EYA) Awards held at The George Hotel yesterday, FNB Eswatini Chief Executive Officer Thokozani ‘TK’ Dlamini said the enhanced financing formed part of the bank’s commitment to responding to the evolving needs of entrepreneurs across the country.
Dlamini said the decision followed direct engagements with entrepreneurs through the FNB SME Growth Forums, where business owners shared the challenges they continue to face.
He said FNB had already begun implementing many of the improvements requested by SMEs.
“Our entrepreneurs have told us that they need our merchant devices to be more agile. They have also asked us to engage more with them and have also requested that we expand access to our loan services.
“We have heard these submissions through our scored lending approach, we are now able to support our SMEs with funding of up to E1.5 million, ensuring that our entrepreneurs get convenient capital injections to grow their businesses when they need it the most,” Dlamini said.
He explained that the SME Growth Forums were established to strengthen the relationship between the bank and entrepreneurs by creating a platform where business owners could openly discuss their challenges, while enabling FNB to develop practical financial solutions tailored to their needs.
He acknowledged that the bank would not always get everything right immediately but stressed its commitment to continuously improving its products and services for SMEs.
“We will not get everything right at once, but what we can promise is that we will not stop in our bid to find the right solutions for local SMEs. We will be relentless in making our service efficient and bringing our help closer to where SMEs are,” added Dlamini.
The CEO said FNB highly valued its partnership with the Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) through the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
He described the initiative as an important platform that brings the bank closer to entrepreneurs and enables both organisations to support business growth collaboratively.
Reaffirming the bank’s commitment to the sector, Dlamini said FNB remained ready to support the development of SMEs locally and encouraged entrepreneurs to participate in the SME Growth Forum that followed the awards ceremony.
He stated that the forum would provide practical business support while allowing entrepreneurs to engage directly with the bank on the assistance they require to expand and strengthen their businesses.
