Alhaji Umar Nasiru, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Al-Ummur Ventures Limited, deals in textile fabrics at the popular Kasuwan Barchi Market, Tudun-Wada in Kaduna South Local Government Area of Kaduna State. In this interview, he was full of praises for Sterling Bank Plc for introducing the PaywithSpecta solution, noting that the initiative has transformed his business.
As a business owner, what new processes or approaches did you adopt to survive the challenging business environment of 2020?
One of the major challenges in business today is funding. As you can see, people don’t have enough capital. What Sterling Bank is doing to support their customers’ businesses is really helping a lot because these days, government funding is not forthcoming. The bank’s strategy of funding businesses is worthy of commendation.
How is Sterling Bank’s strategy for funding small enterprises making a difference in your business?
PaywithSpecta is really making the difference. After Sterling Bank introduced it to me, I struggled a bit to convince my customers to use it. To convince people in the northern part of the country to collect facility from the bank is quite difficult. But I was lucky enough to convince my customers to try PaywithSpecta and they are happy with me. It is also helping my business at the same time. So, I can say this PaywithSpecta is really helping my business.
What is your experience with PaywithSpecta?
My account officer introduced PaywithSpecta to me. When he started talking about it, I did not take it serious then. Later, I met one of Sterling Bank’s managers who put me through. My experience so far is that the interest they are charging is not even high. If they can keep it up, I think other banks will have no choice than to sit up.
What products and services are you offering to PaywithSpecta customers?
We are into textiles and whenever they come to buy these fabrics at an affordable cost, we talk them into using PaywithSpecta.
How is the solution impacting on your business?
I am seeing the impact already because someone that used to buy goods worth two million can now afford to buy goods of N2.5 million and without much credit. It is certainly a thing of joy.
Will you recommend it to other merchants?
I will recommend PaywithSpecta to them because it is not too difficult. I will explain to them that the bank is helping their businesses to grow by using the PaywithSpecta solution.
How are you creating awareness about PaywithSpecta to your customers?
I am creating awareness about it to other customers because some of my them have benefited from my previous advice and joined PaywithSpecta. And I also talk to others on the benefits of the product whenever they come to purchase materials from me.
What exciting opportunities are you looking at for 2021?
A lot of opportunities. I pray for the bank to open more doors such so that the business can grow more, especially now that the government is not forthcoming in terms of providing incentives for business enterprises. Without things like this, businesses will remain stagnated in spite of the growing population and this will continue to affect the nation’s economy.
