Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) on Monday inaugurated its second Centre for Businesses and its Public Private Partnership (PPP) Incubator Centre off the Accra-Dodowa Road near Peter Pan restaurant at Madina.

This UMB Centre for Businesses, just like the first one in Ashtown, Kumasi, will offer quick and relevant financial and non-financial services to SMEs in Accra and its environs, while the UMB PPP Incubator Centre, a ground breaking concept that seeks to partner the government and the private sector, is expected to support the One District, One Factory initiative.

Chief Executive Officer of UMB, John Awuah, in a welcome speech, said UMB’s vision this year is to set a new standard in the delivery of SME banking services and enhance its competitiveness in the SME market.

He said the unique needs of SMEs cannot be addressed by the traditional operational parameters of most banks hence the decision by UMB to invest in the establishment of the UMB Centre for Businesses. He added that the UMB Centre for Businesses “was set up to address the risk and growth needs of SMEs in a manner that is efficient and streamlines the often cumbersome process of accessing credit and advisory support.”

UMB recently pledged to create liquidity space of up to $100 million to support the ‘One district, one factory’ initiative. “This means that for qualified private sector businesses who want to partner with the government to build factories in the districts, the UMB PPP Incubator Centre will provide a wide range of services including technical support and financing to enable them to complete their projects.”

UMB Board Chairperson, Elizabeth Zormelo noted that “even though the UMB PPP Incubator Centre was established to primarily support the One District, One Factory initiative, it will also support other Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects that are not necessarily linked to the One District, One Factory Initiative.”

UMB Director of Consumer and Business Banking, Mr. Kevin Cain who has responsibility for the strategy and operations of both Centres, stated that, “UMB’s reputation as a business friendly bank is once again demonstrated by the inauguration of not one, but two Centres to support the needs of enterprises in various sectors of the economy.”