Fidelity Bank Hosts Kano SME Forum for Northern Businesses

In Short

Fidelity Bank held its Kano Quarterly Business Forum to support Northern Nigerian SMEs. The bank highlighted finance access, business advisory, partnerships, and capacity building.

What Happened

Fidelity Bank said it used its Kano edition of the Quarterly Business Forum to reaffirm support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Nigeria.

The session theme was “Positioning Northern Businesses for Growth.” It brought together entrepreneurs, business owners, customers, and other stakeholders to discuss practical steps for growth and resilience.

Fidelity Bank executives said their SME support goes beyond lending. They pointed to financing options, market access support, advisory services, and partnerships meant to help businesses become more stable and “bankable,” meaning ready to qualify for formal financing.

The bank also highlighted measures aimed at reducing operating costs for small businesses. These include zero-maintenance-fee account offerings and free capacity-building programmes.

Capacity building here means training business owners on the basics that keep a company running. Fidelity listed business structuring, record keeping, financial management, and how to improve access to finance. It also said these trainings are delivered through both physical and digital learning platforms.

Participants, including executives from I.G. Best Company and Nabila Oil Mills, praised the forum format for offering practical guidance and direct engagement with a financial institution.

Why It Matters

Northern Nigeria has major strengths in agriculture, trade, and manufacturing, plus a large consumer market. But many SMEs still struggle with uneven access to credit and weak financial systems inside the business.

Forums like this matter because they combine financing conversations with operational education. For banks, it can also improve SME loan quality over time, since better records and financial controls make businesses easier to assess and support.

For founders and operators, the bigger signal is competition among banks on SME services, not just loan products. That includes lower-fee accounts, advisory support, and partnerships that can unlock new customers and supply chains.