A recent survey shows improved customer service in SME banking as financial institutions in Ghana and Nigeria seek long-term relationships with expanding businesses.
- SME banking customer service in Africa has shown some significant improvements
- KPMG’s 2024 Banking Survey highlights progress and challenges in SME, corporate, and retail banking.
- In 2024, Nigeria and Ghana saw modest improvements in customer experience in the SME sector
Historically, limited access to finance was the main challenge for African SMEs, but restricted market access is now a greater hurdle.
Other issues like regulatory differences, tariffs, and complex taxes also hinder cross-border expansion.
SMEs represent 90% of businesses, over 50% of global employment, and up to 40% of GDP in emerging economies, with higher contributions when informal SMEs are included according to the World Bank.
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KPMG’s 2024 West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey highlights improvements but also ongoing challenges in several banking sectors like SME, corporate and retail baking.
The report which is based on insights from over 33,000 retail customers, 5,000 SMEs, and 700 commercial organizations in Nigeria and Ghana revealed that Retail banks, in particular, are struggling to differentiate themselves amid strong competition from fintech players.
The report based its survey on the Six Pillars of experience excellence which it says have been established, over time, as the universal set of emotional qualities.
These pillars include Empathy, Integrity, Personalization, Resolution, Time and Effect and Expectations.
The report however identified ‘Personalization‘ (understanding customers’ specific circumstances and adapting the experience accordingly) in the sector as the weakest experience pillar for the third consecutive year.
Lending to SMEs is challenging due to lengthy KYC, credit assessments, limited data, and weak governance.
While banks often prioritize corporates and microfinance targets individuals, SMEs remain overlooked and underserved.
Despite these challenges, some banks focus on SMEs due to their crucial role in economic growth, job creation, and as a large, underserved market with long-term growth potential.
Supporting SMEs also aligns with economic development goals and creates new revenue streams.
The report highlighted how the different sectors performed in both countries in 2024.
Nigeria
In 2024, Nigeria’s banking industry saw modest improvements in customer experience across key segments.
The SME sector experienced the highest growth, with its customer experience score rising by more than two percentage points compared to the previous year.
The corporate segment stood out, surpassing the 80-point mark in overall customer experience ratings, reflecting the high standards of service delivery in this area
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Ghana
The SME segment also led in customer ratings, surpassing the Corporate segment, which topped last year.
SMEs saw a significant improvement of about five percentage points, while the Corporate segment grew by just one.
This shift reflects a stronger focus on meeting the needs of SME customers, crucial to economic growth.
The table below shows the top five banks in Nigeria and Ghana with the best customer service in SME banking;
| S/N | Nigeria | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanbic IBTC | Prudential Bank |
| 2 | WEMA Bank | GTB |
| 3 | UBA Bank | Calbank |
| 4 | First Bank | Access Bank |
| 5 | Keystone Bank | ABSA |
