Wema Bank Plc has again demonstrated its commitment to deepening financial literacy and optimisation among its customers, particularly SMEs, with a webinar themed ‘Unbundling Tax, Legal and Compliance – Issues for SMEs’ held on Thursday, May 20, 2021. It featured facilitators who shared insights on how SMEs can upscale their businesses and Wema products/services they can use.
The webinar, one of the avenues the bank is using to deepen financial literacy and business optimisation across its stockholder universe, featured Head, Legal Services, Wema Bank, Hilary Ajodo; Fiscal Policy Partner & Africa Tax Leader, Pricewater Coopers (PwC), Taiwo Oyedele; Head, Online Sales & Digital Platforms, Business Day, Linda Ochugbua and Head, Corporate Strategy & Planning, Wema Bank, Olufemi Akinfolarin.
Speaking on ‘Legal Challenges Faced by SMEs’, Ajodo said that business education and registration was essential for any serious-minded entrepreneur to avoid floundering. He said that to thrive, “one of the first steps an entrepreneur who intends to run a business should take is to gain adequate knowledge of the business and decide on the nature of corporate entry to register.”
Ajodo said that entrepreneurs must endeavour to start small by registering their businesses as an enterprise before migrating to a Limited Liability Company and finding ways of minimising expenses to maximise profit.
He advised SMEs owners not to venture into businesses they are not sure of, sign any contract without adequate information, and avoid litigation as the first step in a dispute but explore alternative settlement means.
