In its bid to keep MSMEs operating optimally in the Nigerian economy, Diamond Bank Plc, last Thursday, at the Jogor Centre in Ibadan, took entrepreneurs through a series of training sessions with a view to help them overcome challenges in the harsh and competitive business terrain.  

Diamond Bank, in its passionate manner, has been noted for its ingenuity in helping organisations build business empires strong enough to weather economic storms.

While handling an interactive session at the capacity building seminar facilitated by Mark-George Consultants, Mr John Ekpikhe, a Senior Consultant of the firm, stated that every business or brand must be characterised by unique differentiating factor(s) as these differentiators help to put businesses at a vantage edge, adding that the perception of customers would go a long way in determining the success or otherwise of any enterprise.

Mr Ekpikhe, while noting the importance of growing and sustaining one’s business, highlighted four ways of growing businesses which are: increasing the number of target customers, increasing the number of repeat purchase, increasing the average value of each sale and increasing the efficiency of the process that exists in one’s business, adding that for any business to run without hitches an operational structure must be put in place.  
Speaking during her training session on “Dare to dream and succeed in a harsh economic climate”, Founder & CEO, Lifeforte International Schools, Mrs Sarah Olubi-Johnson, stated that the capacity building seminar was a necessary tool in conquering the economic threat called “recession”.

Speaking on the topic “Sparking Innovation and Creativity in your Business”, the MD/CEO of Ibadan Central Hospital, Dr Abib Olamitayo, said every business had a capacity to grow into a dream business empire despite the unfriendly business climate but noted that to remain in business, a brand must be creative.