Access Bank has partnered with creator marketing platform Aktivate to give small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria a lower-cost way to work with social media creators.
Through the partnership, eligible Access Bank SME customers can access Aktivate’s creator campaign service for ₦5,000, a 67% discount on the standard price. The offer also gives businesses access to a network of more than 50,000 verified creators.
The partnership arrives as creator marketing becomes a more practical channel for businesses that want to reach customers through Instagram, TikTok and other social platforms. For smaller companies, however, finding suitable creators and managing campaigns can still be difficult and expensive.
Access Bank Brings Creator Marketing Into Its SME Support
Access Bank is expanding its SME support beyond conventional banking services by giving businesses access to tools that can help them attract customers and build their brands online. Creator marketing is increasingly part of that process, particularly for businesses whose customers discover products through social media.
The partnership with Aktivate gives eligible SMEs a way to enter the creator economy without having to build their own influencer database or manage every part of a campaign manually. Instead, businesses can use Aktivate’s platform to connect with creators and organise campaign activity.
Abiodun Olubitan, Group Head, SME Banking Products at Access Bank, said the bank recognises that SMEs need more than financial services to build sustainable businesses.
SMEs Can Access Creator Campaigns for ₦5,000
The most immediate part of the partnership is the discounted campaign price. Eligible Access Bank SME customers can use Aktivate’s creator campaign service for ₦5,000, giving smaller businesses a relatively inexpensive entry point into influencer and creator marketing.
That price can make a difference for businesses that have previously viewed creator campaigns as something designed primarily for larger brands. A small retailer, restaurant, fashion company or service provider can test the channel without allocating a large marketing budget to its first campaign.
The cost alone does not guarantee results. Businesses still need to select creators whose audiences match their customers and establish clear campaign objectives. But a lower entry price makes experimentation easier.
Aktivate Connects SMEs With More Than 50,000 Creators
Aktivate provides the technology layer behind the partnership, connecting brands with creators and supporting the management of campaigns. The platform allows businesses to discover creators and work with them on branded campaigns rather than relying entirely on manual outreach.
The platform says it has a network of more than 50,000 verified creators. That gives SMEs a much broader pool of potential partners than they might find by searching social media individually.
For a small business, the relevance of that network is less about having access to the biggest influencers and more about finding creators whose audience, location, content style and interests fit the product being promoted.
Smaller Creators Could Benefit From the SME Push
The partnership could also create more commercial opportunities for nano and micro creators. These creators may have smaller audiences than celebrity influencers, but they can often operate within highly specific communities and niches.
That can be useful for SMEs. A local food business, beauty company or fashion retailer may have little reason to spend heavily on a creator with a huge national following if most of that audience has no connection to the company’s target market.
Creator campaigns built around audience relevance can give smaller creators a role in SME advertising while allowing businesses to reach more focused communities.
Access Bank Is Bringing Creator Marketing Closer to Small Businesses
The partnership reflects a broader change in how SMEs approach digital marketing. Social platforms are no longer simply places where businesses post updates. For many companies, they have become discovery channels where customers find products, research brands and decide what to buy.
That makes creators increasingly useful to smaller companies that may not have the resources to run large advertising campaigns. A creator can introduce a product, demonstrate its use or recommend a service directly to an established audience.
For Access Bank, providing access to that ecosystem adds another practical tool to its SME offering.
The Partnership Could Expand Paid Opportunities for Creators
More SME campaigns can also mean more potential work for creators. Instead of relying only on campaigns from major consumer brands, creators can find opportunities among the thousands of smaller companies looking for ways to reach customers online.
Aktivate’s creator platform allows creators to connect their social accounts, discover opportunities and manage brand collaborations. This gives creators another route into paid partnerships while giving SMEs a structured way to find potential campaign partners.
The long-term impact will depend on how actively businesses use the service and whether campaigns generate measurable results. Still, bringing SMEs and creators into the same platform creates a larger commercial marketplace for both sides.
What Access Bank SME Customers Need to Know
The discounted offer is available to eligible Access Bank SME customers, who can access Aktivate’s creator campaign service for ₦5,000. The partnership also provides access to Aktivate’s network of more than 50,000 verified creators.
For businesses that have considered creator marketing but found the process too expensive or difficult to manage, the offer provides a lower-cost starting point.
More importantly, it shows how creator marketing is moving beyond major brands and dedicated influencer campaigns. SMEs are becoming part of the market, and platforms such as Aktivate are building the infrastructure to connect those businesses with creators.