FirstBank Empowers SMEs with AI-Driven Growth Strategies, Hosts SMEConnect Webinar

Lagos, 20 March 2026 – FirstBank, West Africa’s premier financial institution and financial inclusion services provider, is pleased to announce the upcoming edition of the SMEConnect Webinar scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. The event will equip small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the knowledge and tools to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business growth.

This edition is strategically curated to inform and educate SMEs on how AI can be applied to scale their businesses in today’s rapidly evolving digital economy. The chosen theme, “AI for Business Growth: From Adoption to Integration and Scalable Impact,” reflects the growing importance and timeliness of AI as one of the most influential trends shaping the SME business landscape. The session will provide SMEs with actionable insights on how to leverage AI to enhance productivity, streamline operations, strengthen 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

SMEConnect Webinar series is one of FirstBank’s signature platforms for supporting SMEs with practical knowledge and strategic insights. The Bank has consistently won awards for impacting businesses and for providing innovative solutions for customers and other stakeholders, including SMEs.

The Bank was named Best SME Bank in Nigeria and Best SME Bank in Africa by TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards for 2 years as at 2025.  The Bank also won the SME Financier of the Year- Nigeria awarded by The Digital Banker.