Polaris Bank has pledged that its Polaris Pearl account will equip women entrepreneurs with the requisite knowledge, skills, and support to run their businesses profitably.
The Bank announced that following from its interaction with women across the country, it has discovered that most of them are unable to access finance to either stabilize or scale their businesses mainly because of a lack of awareness on how to leverage bank funding to drive and sustain profit. It notes that this finding is contrary to the popularly, but erroneously held view that unavailability of finance is the main challenge facing the average businesswoman.
Speaking further on the benefits of the Polaris Pearl Account, the Bank’s Group Head, Products and Market Development, Adebimpe Ihekuna, explained that lack of proper guidance on access to opportunities is also a major hindrance to women in their entrepreneurial ventures. She noted that “we have carefully designed Polaris Pearl Account for women or groups of women entrepreneurs who initiate, organize, and operate a business enterprise to fulfil an existing need for the purpose of making a profit.”
Furthermore, she affirmed that “with Polaris Pearl, Women Entrepreneurs do not only have access to collateral-free loans but are also regularly supported in understanding vital aspects of business development such as business training, business tips and positioning for new opportunities. We also support them with requisite skills on emerging local and global trends that may impact their businesses”.
She also said that “many women entrepreneurs who have embraced the Polaris Pearl product have so far enjoyed numerous incentives such as business name registration, health check, business plan development, and a host of other value-adding benefits.”
Speaking on the value proposition of the Polaris Pearl, the Bank’s Acting Managing Director/CEO Innocent Ike, explained that “Polaris Bank is a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and hence a critical stakeholder in the global conversation about gender inclusion and women empowerment especially in enhancing their access to finance and business opportunities.” He explained that the empowerment of Nigerian women constitutes one of the six pillars of Polaris Bank’s corporate citizenship and Sustainability focus.
