Manufacturers have been urged to adopt vendor financing as part of their business strategies to boost productivity and increase business growth.
The Managing Director, Sage-Grey Finance Limited, Temitope Runsewe, stated this at a press conference to mark its 10th anniversary, advising manufacturers to have a long term plan for their businesses.
“Manufacturers, there’s always value in the long term. Now, to finance them, what they can do better from manufacturing companies is not always think of finance. Also, think of vendor finance. Find complementary ways that can work with you,” he said.
He stressed that the firm has established a $10 million circular economy impact fund with the Dutch Consulate targeted at providing support for projects including recycling and clean energy in Nigeria.
“We are certain that we are the only ones that have a Circular Economy Impact Fund. We work very closely with the Dutch consulate. They have the same shared vision. I set up a fund in Nigeria specific for circular economy projects, which happened to have a $10 million fund,” he said.
He stressed that the fund would support small medium enterprises (SMEs) in the circular economy space.
“We cater to SMEs, apart from those large ones, we also have regular retail products, which are retail products for individuals, for businesses, for SMEs,” he said.
He described sustainable finance as a catalyst for business growth, disclosing the firm’s plan to get listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange and become a commercial bank.
“We plan on listing on the stock exchange how to access more capital in-country. It is more sustainable in setting things to access capital from Nigeria to fund things in Nigeria because of currency, which is not an issue because the government has done some incredible reforms.
“We plan on listing on the stock exchange to raise capital. After that, convert to a commercial bank. With a commercial banking license, we would like to provide more services and also reduce our cost of operations because we’re quite decent and comfortable,” he said.
He stressed that the firm has diverse interests in financial services, technology, investment management, energy services and manufacturing.
