Seedvest Microfinance Bank inaugurates new branch... restates commitment to business development

By Sulaiman Adesina

Mr. Kehinde Oyeleke, Vice Chairman (right),
with Mr. Bode Ajayi, Managing Director and
Chief Executive (both of Seedvest
Microfinance Bank Limited), at the
inauguration of the new branch of the bank
at Iwo Road, Ibadan, recently.
Photo: Peter Emiola TO further bring its activities to small and medium entrepreneurs, Seedvest Microfinance Bank, at the weekend, opened another cash office in Iwo Road, area of Ibadan in a ceremony that drew many microfinance experts, as well as small and medium scale businessmen and women within and outside the state. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Kehinde Oyeleke, who, is the bank’s Vice Chairman, said that Seedvest, being borne out of the vision to bridge the gap created by the

distance between the commercial banks and small and medium entrepreneurship financing, believed it was important to give more people access to its wide range of products, which, he said, had changed lives and business of many industrialists and groups.

Oyeleke hinged the splendid performance of the bank on the commitment of the workforce, management directors and the shareholders. He said, “We have been able to attract quality workforce who know how to relate with the people, understand their language and give them what they need as at when due. The Bode-Ajayi led management has been able to establish a fruitful, working relationship with entrepreneurs and people have gained confidence in the ability of the bank to change their lives for the better. Also, Seedvest would not have been where it is today but for the support of the directors, whose whole hearted believe in the vision has transformed the bank to its present status”. He then hinted that the bank was planning to open another branch within the next few months.Oyeleke said the future ambition of SeedVest Microfinance Bank is to become a dominant, state microfinance bank, that would be known for contributing its own quota to the development of the society through people’s empowerment and making dreams become a reality.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the bank, Mr. Bode Ajayi, said the desire of the bank was to be at the doorstep of every of its clients, so that it could avail every potential and present customers the opportunity to grow their business without stress. “Seedvest’s management has the genuine passion to bring up investors, and help them graduate into the next level of their business,” he says, while calling on traders, within the Iwo Road axis of Ibadan to patronise the new branch of the bank. The occasion also witnessed presentation of gifts to the first five people who opened accounts with the bank the first five beneficiaries, first three Seed Investment Account holders and first three Mustard Seed Account holders.

Many of the customers, who spoke at the ceremony praised the efforts of the bank at raising the level of their economic activities with the prompt provision of capital and business advisory services on how to maximise the use of such funds. Oyeleke said the future ambition of SeedVest Microfinance Bank is to become a dominant, state microfinance bank, that would be known for contributing its own quota to the development of the society through people’s empowerment and making dreams become a reality.

Skannet upgrades facility for better services

By Adetunji Adeleye

SKANNET, one of Nigeria’s lead ing Internet Service Providers (ISP), has upgraded its service offering for the benefit of its customers. The new service offering provides subscribers with bandwidth from a minimum of 128k speed at N2,500.00 per month to as high as 512 kobo per subscription for 24 hours. This new service profile gives more browsing power to subscribers wishing to take full advantage of bandwidth intensive websites offering multimedia services like audio and video and also provide a much faster browsing experience with very quick file downloads.

Subscribers on the Skannet network can now watch live videos from websites such as YOUTUBE, MYSPACE and other internet-based multimedia sites. In addition, they can listen to audio feeds from online radios like coolf.m., which provide their broadcast services over the internet.

This move is as a result of recent strategic repositioning embarked upon by General Data Engineering Services Plc, owners of the Skannet network, to ensure that it becomes the ISP to beat in market place. Skannet currently offers this broadband service via WiFi in Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin and Enugu with 16 additional states including Lagos which is set for activation by the second quarter 2008.

Skannet is set to roll out its VOIP enabled telephone service, SkanTalk. SkanTalk will enable customers make FREE on net (SkanTalk – SkanTalk) calls and billed national calls to GSM, fixed wireless and land lines. Customers will require broadband internet connection such as Skannet’s SkanMAX internet access to use SkanTalk.