MD CEO First Bank, Segun Alebiosu
Picnews
FirstBank, West Africa’s leading financial institution and champion of financial inclusion, is excited to announce the next edition of the SMEConnect Webinar, set for Tuesday, 31 March 2026. The webinar will provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with insights and practical tools to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business growth.
This edition is thoughtfully designed to guide and educate SMEs on leveraging AI to scale their businesses in today’s fast-evolving digital economy. The theme, “AI for Business Growth: From Adoption to Integration and Scalable Impact,” underscores the critical and timely role of AI as a transformative trend shaping the SME landscape. The webinar will equip SMEs with practical insights to enhance productivity, streamline operations, boost customer engagement, and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
The SMEConnect webinar will feature experts, including Temitope Odude, Senior AI Solutions Architect at Microsoft as a guest speaker. Odude will provide credible and globally relevant perspectives on how SMEs can successfully adopt and integrate AI into their everyday business operations. Other speakers include Abednego Ugwueke, Head of Digital Channels and Ibidun Adedewe, Head of SME Acquisition & Partnerships at FirstBank.
Speaking ahead of the event, Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business and Retail Products at FirstBank, said “SMEs are the backbone of the Nigerian economy, and at FirstBank, we recognise that the economy cannot thrive without them. As a committed growth partner to SMEs, this session reinforces our strong focus on innovation, demonstrated through initiatives such as the use of AI‑enabled credit scoring to deliver fast, instant loans to micro‑SMEs, with over ₦1 trillion disbursed to support customers’ financial needs. Building on this foundation, we are equipping business owners with the right knowledge and practical insights on Artificial Intelligence to help them scale in the short term and drive sustainable growth. I encourage every business owner to participate in this session to gain hands‑on guidance on integrating AI into everyday business operations.”
SME owners and entrepreneurs can register for the webinar at https://firstbanknigeria.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cUr1LhWFQXymTqWtONOOVg
The SMEConnect Webinar series is one of FirstBank’s flagship platforms, designed to equip SMEs with practical knowledge and strategic insights. The Bank has earned recognition for its significant impact on businesses and for delivering innovative solutions to customers and stakeholders, including SMEs.
In 2025, FirstBank was named Best SME Bank in Nigeria and Best SME Bank in Africa by the TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards. The Bank also received the SME Financier of the Year – Nigeria award from The Digital Banker.
