Bloc partners with SMEDAN to provide fintech products and services to SMEs in Nigeria

On Friday, 4th of November 2022, Bloc entered into a strategic partnership with the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to bring the benefit of financial technology (FinTech) to SMEs in Nigeria.

Bloc is a technology company offering Banking as a Service & FinTech infrastructure to businesses who want to embed digital financial services into their product and services. Bloc is backed by a CBN-issued Microfinance banking license and a PSSP license.

At Bloc, we believe that every company will become a FinTech company, including businesses that do not have the technical know-how abundant in the tech industry today. In light of this, we have committed to building products that put the power of our FinTech APIs in the hands of non-technical businesses.

Following our partnership with SMEDAN, we look forward to onboarding SMEs and introducing them to the extraordinary possibilities that they can achieve with FinTech. Bloc will provide easy access to financial services — digital banking, bills payment, lending, loyalty cards management, social commerce, POS issuance, and so much more — for SMEs who want to use FinTech to unlock more value for themselves and their customers.

In a statement made by the Director-General of SMEDAN, through the Corporate Affairs department, he said, “we are confident that this partnership with Bloc and the platform that is being developed will greatly benefit the SMEs who work with us by simplifying access to financial services and FinTech infrastructure provided via Bloc. With over 4,000,000 businesses registered on our database, our success as an agency is measured by how much we can do for them, and we believe we have reaffirmed our commitment to innovation via our partnership with Bloc.”

The Chief Business Development Officer at Bloc, Kingsley Ikart, also said, “as an infrastructure company, we believe that this partnership also provides a new entry point for startups that work with us to extend their product offerings and services to SMEs who may not know that they exist. This is a win-win for us, our customers and SMEDAN; small and medium businesses can now leverage the power of FinTech infrastructure, products, and services to improve how they do business and offer the best customer experience”.

Recently launched in private beta, Bloc currently offers Bills Payment, Virtual Accounts & Transfer APIs to customers, with Physical & Virtual Cards launching in the coming weeks.

About Bloc and SMEDAN

Bloc is a FinTech infrastructure company that provides APIs and tools to companies and businesses that want to embed digital financial services into their products and services.

SMEDAN, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria is the agency responsible for MSME Development in Nigeria committed to establishing a structured and efficient micro, small and medium enterprises sector that will enhance the sustainable economic development of Nigeria. Their mission is to facilitate the access of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs and investors to all resources required for their development.

This article was written by Praise Philemon, Head of Brand at Bloc. Contact: praise.philemon[at]blochq[dot]io