“I look for the commitment from an entrepreneur.” Susan Situma says.

Susan Situma is the Vice President, Head SME Banking at Absa Kenya. She adds that hearing the story about the commitment around a business is bread and butter for her. 

“It’s a deal breaker when you can’t talk about your business in the same passion,” she states. Besides the commitment and passion, an entrepreneur should know the numbers. She adds that numbers are like your heart in the business. If you don’t know your heart is beating today, you are dead for sure. “Numbers are your business, if you don’t know them, I would not be comfortable investing in your business,” Susan says.

What are you making now? What do you think the money will do for you today? What will you make tomorrow?  Are the basic questions you should be able to answer questions about the numbers of your business, Susan Situma says. “You are in the business to make money. You have to be measuring what you are making from the business,” she reiterates. 

“The key thing is understanding what bank products are available for you and how you can use them to your advantage,” she adds. She has noticed that they are very open to giving money to businesses. However, the kind of document you have; contract, invoice, a plan for your business, determines how much money will be invested in your business.

Your knowledge of numbers will determine how much money will be invested in your business. Susan Situma adds that it’s important for business owners to have a relationship with the bank and relationship managers. They would be able to understand what you’re going through.