Heritage Bank Limited has partnered the organisers of the first edition of the West Africa Trade and Investment Forum to boost the integration of economies of West African countries in the areas of agriculture, skills development, manufacturing and information technology.
The Group Head, Agric and Exports, Heritage Bank, Mr. Olugbenga Awe, said the bank committed to the growth and development of the sectors the forum was planning to focus on, the lender said in a statement.
Awe said the bank’s partnership with the organisers of WATIF “is just a continuation of a process it started as part of its commitment to the SMEs, which are the bedrock of the economy, because they (SMEs) employ labour, and in terms of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, they are the future of the economy.”
Awe was also a keynote speaker in a roundtable discussion on agriculture which recommended soil and seed quality for improved agricultural output.
Other recommendations include the use of technology, creation of market hubs, setting up of website for farmers to upload information about their products and standardisation of products across the sub-region among others.