The Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) will this year put special emphasis on providing finance to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). This follows criticism of the bank in the past for not doing enough in providing loans and other financial services to the small business sector.
The bank's Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Tsikirayi, said last week at a function for media personnel in Dar es Salaam that the bank has taken a strategic decision to support the sector.
StanChart is currently looking to develop further business with the mining, agriculture, manufacturing and other trade sectors. It is now expanding its range of products and services to include import and export finance, structured trade solutions and management of foreign exchange. Among other strategies this year, StanChart will develop consumer business, focussing on unsecured loans which are highly in demand.
