By Bockarrie Allieu
FREETOWN, Aug 3 (SALONE TIMES – 232news.com) – As a way of empowering women who are engaged in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) In Rokel Commercial Bank on Monday 1st August 2022 gives out 101 million Leones as loan to Krootown Road Market Women.
During the symbolic handing over ceremony of the cheque to the beneficiaries, the Managing Director of the Rokel Commercial Bank Dr. Enkudayo Walton Gilpin said what they want to do is to relate themselves with market women who are in small and medium enterprises, noting that one of the functions of bankers is not only to sit in the air condition offices, with coat and tie but to help the smaller businesses thereby growing the economy together.
He stated that it is against this backdrop that the Rokel Commercial Bank has moved to various markets and has done similar SME interventions in provincial towns like Moyamba, Bo, Makeni, Kenema, Kabala, and Pujehun.
Dr. Gilpin added that, Rokel Commercial Bank plan to cover the country and the process is purely to support micro small, and medium enterprises to enhance overall economic activity and repayment is very good to support the process, encouraging these women to pay these loans back to the bank as the money they are giving them does not belong to the management and staff of the bank but belongs to shareholders they are only managing it.
Director of Credit Risk Department, Rokel Commercial Bank Morrison Conteh noted that the beneficiaries are happy to receive these loans but as for him the only time he will be happy is when these women go through a repayment schedule which is a policy to recover loans.
He further that over the years they have been having challenges of recovering loans from Sierra Leoneans particularly the smaller business owners who have wrong notions that the loan provided to them by commercial banks is political money, therefore they should deviate from this perception.
He assured these women they want to maintain a chain of relationship with the market women but the only way to do that is to pay the loan back as money is available what the RCB has done is just the pilot phase more is there to come if they comply with the repayment schedule.
Constituency 125 Chairlady of the Ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) Madam Hawa Rogers commended the Rokel Commercial Bank for providing their loan for Krootown Road Market commending the Managing Director of RCB whose leadership according to her has continued to raise the banner of the bank higher on daily basis.
She sold the women to put politics aside and concentrate on their businesses so that they will pay back the loan as this will give them credibility for more loans
Manager of SMEs Department at RCB Haja Fanta Jalloh made mentioned of financial inclusion strategy of the bank, adding that they want to bring everybody onboard in the banking system as they believed that will enable market women or smaller business owners to loan facility from RCB. She encouraged them to inculcate the habit of saving as it is good for them and their children.
She noted that the one hundred and one million leones is a pilot phase and that more is coming only if the market women comply with the loan repayment policy.
Ramatu Bangura who doubles as chairlady of the Krootown road market women group thanked the Rokel Commercial Bank for providing this loan to them and promised that they would not let the bank down. She confessed that they have never had this kind of opportunity from any commercial banks in the country therefore they will make sure that they live up to the expectations of RCB.
