Sterling Bank Plc is set to access a new stream of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and promote international trade with its partnership with Opportunity Network, a business match-making platform.
Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, while addressing media stakeholders in Lagos said that the bank is proud to partner with the global firm, remarking that the single most important thing that a bank provides is trust. He added that Opportunity Network establishes that trust between investors across the globe.
Mr. Suleiman said the partnership would enable Sterling Bank place its customers on the platform which in turn will increase their ability to collaborate with potential business partners across the globe.
Also speaking on the partnership, Divisional Head, Corporate Clients Coverage & Sales at Sterling Bank, Mojisola Bakare, described Opportunity Network as a platform that provides seamless trading between local businesses and foreign investors.
In her comments, Managing Director of Nigeria Opportunity Network, Adriana de la Cruz Duffo, said the platform is a tool for enhancing business growth as well as a digital platform for vetted CEOs and investors to share and connect with reliable trade and investment deals globally.
Duffo described Opportunity Network as a “private invitation-only network of business owners, CEOs and high net worth individuals carefully selected and vetted by a financial institution or law firm who is our trusted partner.”
She said 25 companies have indicated interest in the platform with about 20 on the verge of closing their deals at the pilot stage in Nigeria. She added that the platform aggregates high-quality commercial, mergers, acquisitions and capital related opportunities from around the world into one single, online location.
“Business deals are actionable and proprietary and can be posted and searched by deal type, industry, geography and deal size,” she said, adding that the organisation’s platform “aggregates the vetted clients of financial institutions and professional associations.”
Duffo disclosed that Opportunity Network currently has partnerships with UBS worldwide, Citizens Bank and YPO in the United States, London Stock Exchange Group, Intesa Sanpaolo in Italy and ABN Amro in Netherlands, among others.
She said Opportunity Network has closed $178 billion deals in 120 countries for 18,000 corporates and with 38,000 connections made, adding that connection can be established within 48 hours of first contact.
She said results after one year of collaboration with partners showed that 70 per cent of the members actively used the platform. According to her, “When posting, 95 percent of them receive connections within the first week while 75 percent of the opportunities posted are either negotiating or already closed the deal and on average, members receive 11 connections per opportunity.”
