Although, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are globally regarded as major drivers of economic growth, Nigeria and other African countries have SME funding gap of more than $140 billion.

In addition, more than 70 per cent of SMEs in the continent lack access to medium-longer-term finance.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo stated this at the second US-Africa Trade and Investment Forum held in New York, USA recently, where he spoke on "small and medium enterprise funding in Africa - a banker's experience."