W-Holistic Business Solutions, founders of Sustainable Education and Enterprise Development (SEED), recently hosted the Maiden Edition of the SEED Access to Finance Clinic on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at Quad T Event
Center, Lagos State.
SEED is an integrated training, mentoring, business development and access to finance solution for revolutionising the emergence, growth, success and sustainability of Education Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) (i.e. private schools: pre-school, primary, secondary and vocational schools).
The SEED solution towards school development and transformation implements targeted improvements using a hybrid of physical and online solutions. SEED develops and improves schools’ capacities using a scalable and
sustainable model. By promoting a ‘learning and doing’ culture, SEED nurtures its SEED Schools (SEED Alumni) in transforming their schools into high performing Sustainable Education MSMEs which are fit to obtain finance to grow their enterprises.
As part of the multi pronged approach of the SEED Solution, targeted at schools in Nigeria with the aim of developing and transforming them for better and sustainable education service provision to children from low income households, which includes Quality Assessment, Business Development Training, Mentoring, Advocacy and Access to Finance, SEED held its Maiden Edition of the Access to Finance Clinic from its network of 723 Affordable Private Schools in the 6 Education Districts of Lagos State.
The aim of the SEED Access to Finance Clinic is to improve the access to finance for SEED Beneficiary Schools and serve as a platform for the schools to understand the requirements for financing, get further information on various finance options, and commence the access to finance process(-es) for their preferred option(s).
The theme of the Maiden Edition of the SEED Access to Finance Clinic was “Financial Inclusion for Affordable Private Schools” with presentations by the SEED Access to Finance Partners including Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Sterling Bank, Jessefield Microfinance Bank, Lotus Capital and FINT. The Maiden Edition of the SEED Access to Finance Clinic had 307 Affordable Private Schools out of its network of
723 Affordable Private Schools in attendance.
The Maiden Edition of the SEED Access to Finance Clinic also featured a Keynote Presentation by Nigeria’s first licensed credit bureau, FirstCentral Credit Bureau, represented by the bureau’s Head of Sales and Marketing, Mr. Olanrewaju Agbede. Other features of the SEED Access to Finance Clinic included messages
from Heads of School Associations, which are SEED Acquisition Partners, and messages from one of the partners of SEED, Developing Effective Private Education in Nigeria (DEEPEN). The SEED Access to Finance Clinic also had a Panel Discussion session, Updates on SEED Project session and Breakout Sessions which contained Visits to the SEED Access to Finance Partners’ desks by the SEED Alumni for Contact and
Registration on Various Finance/Loan Products.
According to the CEO of W-Holistic Business Solutions and Project Director of SEED, Mrs. Olanrewaju Oniyitan, in her Welcome Address, the SEED Access to Finance Clinic was initiated to bridge the gap between Affordable Private Schools and Finance. She reiterated the history of the SEED Project which was started as a result of the desire and interest to change current status of education in Nigeria and positively affect the future incomes and livelihoods of today’s school-aged children through a multipronged business development support approach which impacts major stakeholders in the school business sector including school owners, school administrators,
teachers, parents, communities, and most importantly, the school children. She added that the SEED Alumni in attendance should be open minded towards the opportunities which the SEED Access to Finance Clinic was going to afford them including the opportunities to interact with the SEED Access to Finance Partners one-onone. She urged the schools to take full advantage of the platform for accessing funds for aspects of their School Transformation Plans which required external financing for their schools’ growth and sustainability.
