National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) is building a dedicated banking platform that will be an exclusive digital space co-created with SMEs to understand and address their needs better. Positioned as a community platform ‘For SMEs by SMEs’, the SME banking platform will leverage NBF’s latest business solutions and skilled expertise, and will evolve into a unique space for SMEs to access banking requirements, find and interact with peers, and create ideas that can address specific business challenges.
Devid Jegerson, Head of Customer Experience and Platform Development, said “National Bank of Fujairah was one of the first banks to set up a dedicated team supporting small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE, so we have the knowledge and expertise to help SMEs realise their full potential through digital, tailor-made solutions. Given that SMEs in the UAE are growing rapidly, the platform will serve as a digital space for SMEs’ to interact with peers, share know-how and gain access to beneficial resources on government policies.”
He added “Our goal is to build a unique SME community and banking platform, and the only way to do this is to really understand SME needs and create this platform together. Few experiments have been done in different regions and segments of the industry. This is the first time that the SME community will be engaged in a call to action to co-create the next generation digital SME platform, while working together with a financial institution. Our long-term vision is for the platform to evolve over time and to set a new benchmark in the way SME’s in the UAE interact and do business.”
According to the UAE – Ministry of Economy, the SME sector represents more than 94 per cent of the total number of companies operating in the country and provides jobs for more than 86 per cent of the private sector’s workforce. Therefore, there is a huge opportunity to steer SMEs to realise their full potential through a model that invites business owners to exchange ideas and discuss challenges – from access to funding, to supply chain financing, hiring resources and logistics management.
