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BIZENIUS.

Advanced SME Banking Masterclass

Build a profitable, sustainable SME banking business — product design, channel marketing, value-chain thinking and a credit process that fits SMEs rather than shrunken corporates.

The programme

Corporate banking is crowded and retail is brutally competitive; in the MENA region, SME banking is the missing profit generator — and the sector governments most want funded, for employment and wealth creation alike. This masterclass takes experienced participants through establishing and managing a broad-based, profitable and sustainable SME banking business. It insists SME banking is not just lending: designing a marketing programme and credit product suite that sells, reaching better SMEs through intermediaries and channels, and applying value-chain concepts to programme design. Credit sessions confront the real analytical problems — inadequate financial information, third-party and informal financials, collateral beyond landed security — plus documentation, settlement, and managing and monitoring an SME loan portfolio.

What you will do

Design a marketing programme and credit product suite that can actually be sold to the SME market.
Reach better SMEs through intermediaries and channels, applying value-chain concepts to programme design.
Adapt the credit process to SMEs, reflecting the real differences from lending to larger corporates.
Analyse SME borrowers despite inadequate financial information, incorporating third-party and informal financials.
Identify suitable collateral beyond landed security, and handle documentation and settlement issues cleanly.
Manage and monitor an SME loan portfolio, drawing on microfinance techniques where they genuinely transfer.
Mobilise external funding and technical support to complement the bank’s own resources.

Who attends

  • General managers and regional managers
  • Heads of regional businesses and branches
  • Branch managers responsible for SME banking
  • Marketing, sales and distribution leads
  • Credit and risk management managers

Cohorts bring together board members, executives and the rising leaders behind them — kept deliberately small, so every seat is a peer’s.

Programme agenda

Built for the decisions no textbook prepares you for

I.The SME opportunity
  • Why SME banking is the missing profit generator
  • Not just about lending
  • External resources: funding and technical support
II.Market and products
  • Marketing programmes and credit product suites
  • Intermediaries and channel strategies
  • Value-chain concepts in programme design
III.SME credit analysis
  • How SME lending differs from corporate lending
  • Inadequate information, third-party and informal financials
  • Microfinance techniques worth borrowing
IV.Portfolio and operations
  • Collateral beyond landed security
  • Documenting and settling SME loans
  • Managing and monitoring the portfolio

Frequently asked

Is the masterclass only about SME lending?

No — it insists SME banking is not just lending. Participants design a marketing programme and credit product suite that actually sells, reach better SMEs through intermediaries and channels, and apply value-chain concepts to programme design, alongside the credit and portfolio sessions.

How does the course handle weak SME financial information?

Head on. The credit sessions confront the real analytical problems — inadequate financial information, third-party and informal financials, and collateral beyond landed security — together with documentation and settlement issues, portfolio management and monitoring, and the microfinance techniques that genuinely transfer to SME lending.

Who should attend, and how is it delivered?

It is designed for experienced participants: general and regional managers, heads of branches, branch managers responsible for SME banking, marketing and distribution leads, and credit and risk managers. Delivery is in English or French, in-house editions are tailored to your market, and rolling-calendar dates and fees are confirmed on request.

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In their words

Knowledge transfer, emphasised throughout

“We worked with BIZENIUS for our Fresh Graduates Programme — they are simply amazing. Knowledge transfer and practical learning were emphasised throughout.”

Kuwait Investment Authority

From the Mandate Record

Mandate № 06 · MENA

Turning SME banking from an underwriting problem into a franchise

Every bank wants the SME segment. Few can say how they will make money in it.

Open the dossier →

The Capability Arc™

Fix it · Advisory

Advisory & Consultancy

A senior bench across risk, treasury and regulation.

Learning is one point on the Capability Arc. Many institutions pair this programme with the advisory engagement — and automate what the framework demands.

Teams from these institutions train with BIZENIUS

  • Citi
  • Barclays
  • ExxonMobil
  • Total
  • Gazprom
  • Standard Bank
  • QNB
  • Crédit Agricole
  • Nedbank
  • Absa
  • Raiffeisen
  • Halliburton
  • Baker Hughes
  • ConocoPhillips
  • Ooredoo
  • National Bank of Kuwait
  • Kuwait Finance House
  • Bank Muscat
  • Bank Audi
  • SABB
  • Garanti BBVA
  • Ecobank
  • Arab Bank
  • National Bank of Egypt
  • ADIB
  • Access Bank
  • Afreximbank
  • Repsol
  • QNB ALAHLI
  • Stanbic Bank
  • Equity Group Holdings
  • KCB Bank
  • Lombard Odier
  • NOV
  • Weatherford
  • Subsea 7
  • Al Baraka
  • Banque Misr
  • Burgan Bank
  • Bank ABC

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