FirstBank sustainability centre sponsors 2nd workshop for women-led SMEs
FirstBank Sustainability Centre has reinforced its commitment to promoting empowerment, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion amongst women through its sponsorship of a workshop for women owners of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
A statement signed by Folake Ani-Mumuney, head, marketing and corporate communications, FirstBank plc, says the event is the second in the series of workshops for women-led SMEs in the country and is part of the FirstBank’s SMEConnect Series.
The statement says the event is scheduled to hold on April 23 and 24, 2015, at the FirstBank Sustainability Centre situated within the Lagos Business School, Lekki Lagos.
“The workshop is designed to further equip women for enterprise development as well as assist in the transformation and expansion of women’s businesses into enterprises generating employment, economic benefits and social value,” Ani-Mumuney says.
She adds that the event will offer a sustainable growth strategy for women-led SMEs and teach them to integrate financial success with societal and environmental advancement.
Facilitators at the event will include Ibukun Awosika, chief executive officer, The Chair Center; Delia Nzekwu, Sustainability Consultant; and Pauline Nsa, managing director, FBN Microfinance Bank Limited. Other speakers are Valentine Ojumah, MD, FBN Insurance Limited, and Bayo Olugbemi, MD, First Registrars Limited.
Ani-Mumuney observes that SMEs are pivotal to economic development, a fact that informs its major focus in the bank’s mass market segment.
“We are keen on women economic empowerment and it is our desire to see businesses go beyond the narrow intent of profit-making to embed societal and environmental interests which would deliver long-term growth. Women-led SMEs integrating a social dimension to their value proposition will make their businesses more sustainable than the ones run with conventional cost and quality gains”, she further states.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, is Nigeria’s leading financial services institution by total assets and gross earnings and one of the largest corporate and retail banking financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa).
Since its establishment in 1894, the bank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, risk management and strong capitalisation.
FirstBank operates an extensive distribution network with over 750 business locations (623 branches, 61 quick service points and 69 cash centers/agencies), over 2,397 ATM’s and over 9 million customer accounts. The bank provides a comprehensive range of financial services and has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, Banque International de Credit (B.I.C) in the Republic of Congo, International Commercial Bank (ICB) in Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal as well as its Representative Offices in Johannesburg, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.
ODINAKA ANUDU