Global Banks Partner for Co-working Expansion

Strategic Alliance to Empower Nigerian SMEs: Flexible Office Spaces Meet Enhanced Banking Solutions

In a significant move to bolster the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria, a new strategic partnership has been forged between HQ, a brand under the International Workplace Group (IWG), and The Alternative Bank. This collaboration aims to bridge the gap in accessibility to essential business infrastructure and financial services, particularly targeting burgeoning businesses in secondary cities.

The alliance was formally inaugurated with the opening of Allen HQ and the signing of agreements for new IWG locations in Kano, Jos, Maiduguri, and the FF Tower in Victoria Island, Lagos. This expansion signifies a deliberate strategy to extend IWG’s global network beyond the traditional commercial hubs of Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, reaching into areas where SMEs represent the dominant economic force.

IWG’s Country Manager, Mr. Ayo Akinmade, articulated the core objective of this initiative. “In all those secondary cities, the biggest concentration of businesses is SMEs,” he explained. “So, if we are not talking about Lagos, Port Harcourt, and other cities that I’m talking about, it is 80–90 per cent SMEs. So, by going to those places, automatically we are targeting the SMEs.”

The partnership with The Alternative Bank is designed to be a catalyst for IWG’s expansion across Nigeria. The immediate plan is to establish IWG centres in at least six to eight new locations within the current year. This aggressive rollout is a clear indication of IWG’s commitment to a broader strategy that acknowledges the vital role of SMEs in diverse economic landscapes.

“With Alt Bank, we have a strategic plan where we look at the beginning of the year and we are targeting between six and eight locations,” Akinmade stated. The current phase of this ambitious expansion is structured to ensure comprehensive national coverage, adopting a regional approach to its rollout.

IWG is meticulously planning its expansion to encompass the entire country. “We are trying to cover the country. So, we try to make sure that in selecting locations, we are going east, we are coming to Lagos, and we are going central, which is relatively around Abuja, and then we are going north,” Akinmade elaborated.

The rationale behind this accelerated expansion stems from IWG’s strategic evolution. While the company’s initial decade was primarily focused on major economic centres like Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja, the current imperative is to establish a presence wherever significant business activity and population density warrant it.

“We are clear now that the next phase of our expansion must cover all the other locations where significant business opportunities are happening,” Akinmade emphasized. A key differentiator of the IWG model is its emphasis on integrated networks. Each new location is not an isolated venture but is seamlessly plugged into a unified system, enabling clients to transition effortlessly between different IWG centres, both domestically and internationally.

“As we bring in a location, we’re not only bringing in that location, but we’re also bringing that location into a network,” he added. This networked approach offers a distinct advantage, particularly when contrasted with the operational realities of large corporations and SMEs. Akinmade pointed out that multinational giants like Chevron or Shell possess the financial capacity to develop and maintain their own extensive office facilities.

However, for SMEs, such capital expenditure can be prohibitive. “If you are Chevron or Shell or whatever, you have the money to set up your own office. You can get a budget of a couple of million dollars and set up your office,” he explained. “It is in those areas that if you have N5m and you need to set up an office, you will go and use your N5m to do the whole office. Then you don’t have any money to run the business that you want to do.” IWG’s flexible office solutions and The Alternative Bank’s financial services aim to circumvent this challenge, freeing up capital for core business operations.

Mohammed Yunusa, Director of Digital and Product Innovation at The Alternative Bank, highlighted the forward-thinking nature of this partnership, acknowledging the global shift away from traditional banking models. “We are taking a very long-term view because we think bank branches are disappearing,” Yunusa stated. “The way the world is going, you don’t need to have plenty of brick and mortar for people to come in. You need to have a space that is multi-purpose.”

This collaboration directly addresses the evolving needs of businesses and individuals who may not have a dedicated office space. The partnership facilitates access to professional working environments within IWG’s network, while simultaneously providing integrated financial management solutions.

The benefits of this alliance are not confined to the local market. Subscribers to IWG’s services gain access to an expansive network of properties, both within Nigeria and on an international scale. Yunusa underscored that this collaboration is conceptualized as a comprehensive “business ecosystem” rather than a mere real estate transaction.

“It’s a good partnership for all of us—the bank, IWG, and even the country—because what we’re doing is giving people working areas, a collaborative space,” Yunusa concluded.

The impact of this partnership is already evident, with 16 co-working spaces established across Nigeria through the collaboration, adding to IWG’s existing portfolio of 23 co-working spaces in the country. Furthermore, members of IWG gain access to a global network of over 4,000 office spaces worldwide, a testament to the far-reaching implications of this strategic alliance.