The West Africa’s premier financial institution, FirstBank, has announced its upcoming SMEConnect webinar, reports ITREALMS.
Scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2026, the event is designed to move beyond performed rhetoric and equip Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with a non-negotiable convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and business scaling tools.
The session, themed “AI for Business Growth: From Adoption to Integration and Scalable Impact,” addresses the unescapable digital fate of the modern entrepreneur. As the digital economy evolves, FirstBank is prioritizing localized capacity building, ensuring that Nigerian SMEs are not left in the traditional shadows of global tech advancement.
The webinar is strategically curated to provide a coordinated national framework for AI implementation. Participants will gain a standard prerequisite for success: the ability to leverage AI to enhance productivity, streamline operations, and make unblinking, data-driven decisions.
The event features a high-level interrogation of AI solutions led by Temitope Odude, Senior AI Solutions Architect at Microsoft. Odude will provide a globally relevant perspective on how SMEs can successfully integrate AI into everyday operations. Joining the discourse are FirstBank’s internal experts, Abednego Ugwueke, Head of Digital Channels, and Ibidun Adedewe, Head of SME Acquisition & Partnerships.
Speaking on the initiative, Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business and Retail Products at FirstBank, emphasized that the Nigerian economy cannot thrive without a robust SME sector.
“As a committed growth partner, this session reinforces our strong focus on innovation,” Ezirim stated. He highlighted the bank's existing operational victory in the space, noting the use of AI-enabled credit scoring which has already facilitated the disbursement of over ₦1 trillion in fast, instant loans to micro-SMEs.
“We are equipping business owners with the right knowledge and practical insights to help them scale in the short term and drive sustainable growth. I encourage every business owner to participate to gain hands-on guidance on integrating AI into everyday business operations,” he added.
This SMEConnect initiative is a standard prerequisite for national development, ensuring that SMEs have the tools to confront the permanent theater of market competition. FirstBank’s commitment to this sector is well-documented; the bank was named Best SME Bank in Nigeria and Africa by TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance for two consecutive years as of 2025, and recently clinched the SME Financier of the Year-Nigeria by The Digital Banker.
The message is clear: the framework for a more digitally driven, transparent, and responsive SME sector is here. By democratizing access to AI expertise, FirstBank is ensuring that the hides of technical complexity are stripped away, leaving only a clear path for sustainable Nigerian growth.
The session, themed “AI for Business Growth: From Adoption to Integration and Scalable Impact,” addresses the unescapable digital fate of the modern entrepreneur. As the digital economy evolves, FirstBank is prioritizing localized capacity building, ensuring that Nigerian SMEs are not left in the traditional shadows of global tech advancement.
The webinar is strategically curated to provide a coordinated national framework for AI implementation. Participants will gain a standard prerequisite for success: the ability to leverage AI to enhance productivity, streamline operations, and make unblinking, data-driven decisions.
The event features a high-level interrogation of AI solutions led by Temitope Odude, Senior AI Solutions Architect at Microsoft. Odude will provide a globally relevant perspective on how SMEs can successfully integrate AI into everyday operations. Joining the discourse are FirstBank’s internal experts, Abednego Ugwueke, Head of Digital Channels, and Ibidun Adedewe, Head of SME Acquisition & Partnerships.
Speaking on the initiative, Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business and Retail Products at FirstBank, emphasized that the Nigerian economy cannot thrive without a robust SME sector.
“As a committed growth partner, this session reinforces our strong focus on innovation,” Ezirim stated. He highlighted the bank's existing operational victory in the space, noting the use of AI-enabled credit scoring which has already facilitated the disbursement of over ₦1 trillion in fast, instant loans to micro-SMEs.
“We are equipping business owners with the right knowledge and practical insights to help them scale in the short term and drive sustainable growth. I encourage every business owner to participate to gain hands-on guidance on integrating AI into everyday business operations,” he added.
This SMEConnect initiative is a standard prerequisite for national development, ensuring that SMEs have the tools to confront the permanent theater of market competition. FirstBank’s commitment to this sector is well-documented; the bank was named Best SME Bank in Nigeria and Africa by TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance for two consecutive years as of 2025, and recently clinched the SME Financier of the Year-Nigeria by The Digital Banker.
The message is clear: the framework for a more digitally driven, transparent, and responsive SME sector is here. By democratizing access to AI expertise, FirstBank is ensuring that the hides of technical complexity are stripped away, leaving only a clear path for sustainable Nigerian growth.
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