Wema Bank has empowered empowered over 500 business owners with the knowledge and skills at the second Wema Export Trade Academy (WETA) held in Lagos. Participants were taken through critical areas of export by experts from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), among other.
Deputy Managing Director, Wema Bank Plc, Oluwole Ajimisinmi, said: ‘At Wema Bank, we recognise that the potential of Nigerian businesses in global trade can only be fully realised when they have access to the right knowledge, the right connections, and the right financial support. WETA brings these critical elements together and our ambition is to create a platform that helps businesses understand the export ecosystem, connect with the right stakeholders, and build the capacity required to participate sustainably in international trade.’
Deputy Director, NAFDAC, Oluseyi Sanyaolu, added: ‘For businesses looking to take their products to international markets, understanding the processes, regulatory requirements and institutions involved is critical to ensuring that their products meet the required standards.
This is why initiatives like the Wema Export Academy are important, because they equip businesses with the knowledge and guidance needed to navigate the export journey and compete more confidently in global markets.’
For participants, the programme also provided an opportunity to reassess their businesses through the lens of international trade and better understand what would be required to take locally developed products and services into new markets. One of the participants, Dele Badejo, an importer exploring opportunities within the export market, described the programme as an important step in understanding the opportunities available to Nigerian businesses seeking to diversify into export.
Tajudeen Bakare, Divisional Executive, Wema Bank, spoke on the continuity of the engagement. ‘Our intention is not to end its engagement with the participating businesses at the completion of the Academy. We are not training and leaving them to navigate the journey alone. The goal is to continue to work with them, understand what they require at different stages and provide the relevant financial and non-financial support that can help them grow. For us, this is the beginning of a partnership.’
For Wema Bank, the Export Trade Academy represents a broader approach to SME development that goes beyond providing financial products to building the capacity businesses require to grow. The successful completion of the second edition of WETA builds on the Bank’s wider international trade agenda to nurture businesses and aspiring exporters through the different stages of international trade.
Through initiatives such as WETA, Wema Bank continues to position itself as a partner to Nigerian businesses across different stages of growth, supporting SMEs to strengthen their operations locally while building the knowledge, capacity and connections required to compete globally.