Access Bank Plc, has launched what it termed the ‘Diamond Business Advantage (DBA) lite’ in a bid to increase its digital loans and enhance access to finance for young entrepreneurs.

The bank said the product which is targeted at the youths was designed to add value to micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs).

Speaking during the launch of the product in Lagos, recently, the bank’s Executive Director, Victor Etuokwu, said, entrepreneurship is essential for the growth of any nation.

He said: “DBA Lite is a product of the erstwhile Diamond bank via the Diamond Business Account (DBA) and that was one of the best products in the market but after the merger, we renamed it as DBA but this innovation; DBA Lite is targeted for the youths who are start-ups, established or growing. This innovation will bring access to digital loans for the youths because that is what we want to do with this innovation.”

Etuokwu noted that the digital loan would be in the form of N50,000 to N5 million, adding that entrepreneurs can only access the loan once they meet the requirements.

According to him, Access Bank accounts for over 50 per cent of digital loans in the industry because it is gives such loans at an average of N18,000-N20,000 daily.

“Last year, four million people accessed N100 billion and we are targeting more in 2021. We are growing and we will keep growing because our digital loans are not for the youths only but for small business owners, employees and the rest of them and I am assuring you that we will do double digit this year as that is the plan.

“As we speak, we are averaging N12 billion to N13 billion every month and so we should be somewhere around N60 billion to N70 billion and clearly, we will do more than we did last year,” he said.

Giving more insights into the product, Etuokwu noted that the features of the product includes less documentation, affordability, convenience, access to market, access to finance, access to business loans and access to payment acceptance services.