Sterling Bank flags off Made in Nigeria Week

Sterling Bank has concluded plans to champion the use of locally manufactured goods and services by initiating what it has described as the 'Made in Nigeria' week, which started yesterday and will continue till April 29.

The bank's Executive Director, Finance & Strategy, Abubakar Suleiman said: 'The week is an opportunity for us to promote a sense of pride and confidence in Nigerian grown brands starting with our people. For the entire week, we intend to showcase and celebrate everything Nigerian as a brand that supports our indigenously manufactured products.'

Other initiatives already undertaken by the bank to promote local entrepreneurs include its partnership with Innoson Motors Limited, the first indigenous manufacturer of vehicles, to finance the purchase of locally made vehicles produced by the company; the financing and business patronage of Labana Rice mills, an indigenous rice mill, amongst others.

The campaign will also serve as an avenue to create employment, especially for the Nigerian entrepreneurs involved in the production of these goods. The patronage of local manufacturers of attires for instance, is expected to boost the local economy, especially those in the fashion and shoe making industry, adding that the initiative was one of the numerous initiatives the Bank was undertaking to enrich the lives of Nigerians.

Suleiman said: 'This campaign comes at a critical time in the country, a time when there is an increasing call to look inwards, especially in the face of the current foreign exchange pressures resulting from the country's overdependence on oil exports for foreign exchange and global oil sector downturn driven by the falling oil prices. These have in turn dampened economic growth and negatively impacted other sectors with prices of imported products and inputs rising significantly. The Nation