Chief Wholesale Banking Officer, Alfred Nhlema
* Rebranding from SME Banking in taking cognizance that every generation of business reaches a point where the old way simply stops working
* Today is that moment — because the businesses building Malawi today are not the businesses of 20 years ago—Chief Wholesale Banking Officer, Alfred Nhlema
By Duncan Mlanjira
NBS Bank Plc has rebrand SME Banking to ‘Business Banking’ under the theme; ‘Business deserves better banking’ — taking cognizance that “every generation of business reaches a point where the old way simply stops working”.
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At the official launch at Bingu Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, Chief Wholesale Banking Officer, Alfred Nhlema, highlighted that “every generation of business reaches a point where the old way simply stops working”, and that moment has arrived “because the businesses building Malawi today are not the businesses of 20 years ago”.
“Competition is getting tougher; customer tastes are changing every day; and innovation is driving growth — yet for too long, banking has not embraced this change as quickly.
“The same boring forms, the same long queues, the same delayed approvals, the same generic products, the same one-size-fits-all approach.
“And one question kept challenging us; ‘what if banking evolved as fast as business?’ That single question changed everything — tonight, we are proud to introduce Business Banking.”
Nhlema emphasised that this is not simply a new name; nor just another product but a completely different philosophy — because NBS Bank have come to one simple conclusion, that ‘business deserves better banking’.
Thus the introduction of the sector-based Business Banking that comes with dedicated expertise; dedicated solutions; dedicated relationship managers; and dedicated decision making.
“From today, we will define our financial solutions in agriculture differently from construction,” he said adding that dedicated solutions include manufacturing, mining, transport, trade, education, healthcare, faith-based institutions, and women in business.
“Not because sectors sound impressive, but because sectors behave differently and banking should understand the business before it finances that particular business.
“For years we spoke about SME Banking. There was nothing wrong with the name but there was something missing — it defined businesses by their size.
“We believe businesses should be defined by their potential. When we look across this room, we do not see SMEs — we see founders, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, exporters, employers; and most importantly, we see people building the future of Malawi.
“And our responsibility is not simply to finance where you are today but to help you build a future business — from startup to growing enterprise, to corporate, to multinational. That is why we are no longer talking about SME Banking.”
Nhlema maintained that because speed is now a competitive advantage, the Business Banking will be digital focused to offer five-day credit decisions; pre-approved facilities, cash-flow-based lending, unsecured guarantees, and integrated digital collections.
And for the first time in Malawi, Nhlema promised that a business will be able to open an account online in minutes, without visiting an NBS Bank branch where they can encounter queues and unnecessary paperwork.
“There is one more area where we have decided to think differently; ‘Women in Business’. This is not another banking product — it is a business ecosystem because access to finance alone has never been enough.
Business growth also requires knowledge, networks, leadership, confidence, access to markets and creation of opportunities for our mothers and sisters.
“Through our partnership with UN Women, together with organisations like SMEDCO, we are creating something much bigger than finance — we are bringing closer to women access to capital, capacity building, mentorship, leadership development, strategic partnerships; because when women-owned businesses grow, families grow, communities grow and our economy grows.”
Chief Executive Officer, Temwani Simwaka
In her remarks, Chief Executive Officer, Temwani Simwaka said highlighted that NBS Bank does not measure success by the number of loans it approves but “success by the number of businesses that grow because NBS Bank believed in them”.
“We further measure success by the number of jobs businesses create; the industries they transform and ultimately, the contribution they make to Malawi.
“That is why this launch is so important. It is not about replacing SME Banking — it is about replacing limitations with possibilities recognising that today’s small businesses can become tomorrow’s national champions and tomorrow’s national champions can become Africa’s next success story.
“Our responsibility is to walk that journey with them,” she said, adding that NBS Bank’s partnership with UN Women reminds that sustainable growth is only possible when opportunity is shared.
“What began as a brief conversation between leaders became a shared commitment to action. Today, through Bold & Bankable, we are investing in women entrepreneurs not simply with finance, but with knowledge, partnerships, and opportunity — because when women succeed, businesses succeed and when business succeeds, Malawi succeeds.”
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