Small and medium enterprises are the lifeblood of Africa. They play a crucial role in its growth, providing employment, stoking new economies, and connecting the continent to the rest of the world.
In South Africa they are the heartbeat of our GDP. SMEs drive real growth, and it is estimated that they provide employment to roughly 47% of the workforce, with their total economic output accounting for around 20% of GDP.
These businesses are owned by our neighbours, family and friends and they touch our lives every day, often in small ways but sometimes in grand, immeasurable ways.
The impact that these businesses have, makes for incredible stories, and it is these stories of tangible, sustainable growth that form part of Standard’s new business banking marketing campaign.
The campaign tagline; South Africa banks on business. Business banks on us; speaks to real stories, about real business, and the real, life-changing impact they have on people’s lives.
Standard Bank has collaborated with some of their business clients, to tell their stories and to demonstrate how they have partnered with them to help them grow. The bank will be delving into the remarkable histories of the businesses, celebrating their resilience, and honouring the many ways that they have positively changed, and continue to change, the lives of the people who work for them and the communities in which they operate.
These stories will showcase how these businesses employ people, empowering them and their families, and aiding in their children getting an education. They will highlight how businesses provide the impetus for growth and help to take families and communities out of poverty, and how they drive economic activity and act to combat socio-economic challenges.
In the coming weeks, these remarkable stories will be unpacked across billboards, in print, online, on radio, and on television. In times of uncertainty, businesses want partners that bring them certainty, reliability, and excellence when it comes to service. But, importantly, they also deserve partners who understand their needs and who are committed to helping them achieve their goals.
Standard Bank supports many of these businesses with banking solutions, trade assistance, market access, transcontinental networking platforms, and more.
Their Business Banking offering is an ecosystem of innovative products designed to meet even the most complex needs. They cut across sectors and look to provide clients with access to funding, expertise and advice, digital integration, trade solutions and insurance coverage.
Standard Bank is proud that they have helped businesses remain relevant and thrive to tell their stories as part of their new campaign.
The bank says, they are invested in driving Africa’s growth, and that they know that being a bank is no longer enough. Standard Bank states that they must become an integral and indispensable enabler of their clients' aspirations. They pride themselves in partnering with their clients, providing value along their life journey, building, and maintaining trust, servicing first, and selling second.
The stories which make up the new campaign are testament to this. They demonstrate how finding the right partner can help businesses succeed, and they highlight how successful businesses impacts society exponentially.
Every day Standard Bank partners with businesses to help them unlock their growth, no matter the economic climate.
That is why, South Africa banks on business. Business banks on us.
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