Business

FirstBank CEO, Others Laud, Empower Women at FirstGem 4.0

Published

3 years ago

April 1, 2021

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd and Subsidiaries, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, has lauded the qualities of African women, saying a woman who knows how money works is in a vantage position to change the world for the better.

Dr Adeduntan made this assertion while delivering his speech at the First Gem Annual Conference 4.0 with the theme, “The Art of Negotiation”, held both on location and via the web.

This year’s event, which fell into the month of March appears symbolic as it represents two wonderful occasions including the celebration of the International Women Day, which provides opportunity to discuss and proffer solutions to gender parity issues and women empowerment challenges, and the 127th anniversary of the bank, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited. Of more importance is the fact that the 4.0 edition took place on the very day the company marked its birthday.

In his speech, Adeduntan paid glowing tributes to women, citing the fact that First Gem is tailor-made to suit the financial inclinations of women in business. He reiterated that “FirstBank, through the FirstGem initiative, is committed to supporting the contemporary woman’s financial services needs across the various stages of her life,” adding that “Our FirstGem value proposition provides real solutions to challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and working professionals.”

The FirstBank’s CEO eulogised the enterprising African woman, using an African proverb, which says, “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family (nation)” stressing that “If you teach a woman how money works, provide her with the right products and funding support; she can transform the world.”

Further in his narrative, Adeduntan went down memory, bringing to the presence the moments that birth FirstGem as a preferred platform for the empowerment of women financially and numerous achievements recorded overtime.

He said: “In the last five years, our FirstGem initiative has served to foster the empowerment of women across the socio-economic strata with implementation across three pillars.

“The FirstGem platform for women (access to leadership programs/ workshops/trainings on women empowerment, business skills on wealth management and investment plans) Value proposition including capacity building, affordable finance, access to infrastructure, market visibility for women MSMEs

“A strong commitment as a financial institution to support women by leveraging the Bank’s resources in developing unique and mutually rewarding solutions.

“Today, our work is more important and impactful than ever! A review of the performance of the FirstGem initiative shows the effectiveness of our efforts to elevate and empower the Nigerian woman. In 2020, we gave out loans of NGN 58 billion to over 81,000 female entrepreneurs and professionals.
Empowering women via agent banking proposition is one of the outcomes of the FirstGem initiative. Across our agent banking network – the largest verified bank-led agent banking network in Nigeria – , we have about 24,500 female agents representing 28 percent of the agents in our network. It gives us much joy to see that more women are embracing this proposition and getting empowered.

“The FirstGem Initiative takes an inclusive approach to empowering women to make confident and sound decisions with respect to their business, family, and future. Whether you are the primary financial decision maker, a partner or financially independent, the time is now to power your own financial success by being part of the FirstGem Initiative – Open a FirstGem account and join the FirstGem community!

“Finally, as we close out on the activities that celebrate women folks, this March, I would like to restate that, at FirstBank, we remain committed to providing products and services that will allow our female customers and employees to thrive and attain their maximum potentials in business and career. Let us work together to make 2021 count for women, everywhere!

He advised women entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities the FirstGem offers, noting that “we are leveraging the Agent banking proposition to close the gender gap and tap into the rich and overlooked base of the pyramid customer segment (that is predominantly women) with the realization that failure to fully harness women’s productive potential represents a missed opportunity to drive accelerated global economic growth.”

Recognising that the post- COVID-19 pandemic economic indices do not in any way favour women, Adeduntan informed that FirstBank has devised a veritable approach to support women’s wealth creation and financial independence.

“It has become imperative to match the scale and urgency of this challenge with financial products that address the lifecycle financial needs of women. The products should holistically address the needs of women by providing them with integrated access to savings as well as short and long-term credit, capacity building, and wealth management advisory. This suite of products will improve the earning capacity and reduce poverty levels amongst the women folk, in the medium to long term. Success will be dependent on everyone playing a part!” The FirstBank CEO said.

Firstgem is an exclusive FirstBank initiative to inspiresl and empower women to take charge of their financial future through the provision of access to resources and interactive workshops and advisory that help women to make informed financial decisions and build wealth management competences.

Other speakers at the event were the Chairman Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, who spoke on the theme of the International Women’s Day, “Choose to Challenge”, Professor of Economics at IESE Business School, Prof Pedro Videla, who spoke on the current state of the Global Economy and how it Impacts Business Decisions, and Senior Lecturer, IESE Business School, Prof Mehta Kandarp, who lectured on Negotiation as a Tool for Winning in Business and Career.

Business

Naira Slumps to N1,399/$1 in Official Window, N1,430/$1 in Parallel Market

Published

7 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Eric

The Naira continued its slump against the American dollar for the seventh consecutive day on Friday, in both the official and parallel windows.

The domestic currency traded at N1,399.23/$1 and N1,430/$1 respectively.

This is according to data sourced from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window.

At the end of trading on Friday, the Naira lost N89.35 against the dollar when compared to the previous exchange rate of N1,309.88/$1 on Thursday, April 26, 2024.

The intra-day high and low recorded during the day were N1,410/$1 and N1,05/$1 respectively, representing a wide spread of N359/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the dollar at the parallel section of the market for the seventh consecutive day to trade at N1,430/$1 representing a loss of N10 when compared to the N1,420/$1 it traded the previous day.

However, the Naira gained against the pound. The domestic currency appreciated by N50 against the British Pound to trade at N1,650/£1 as against the previous trading price of N1,700/£1 representing a gain of N50 for the local currency,

The Canadian dollar however closed flat against the Naira to trade at N1,000/CA$1 same as the previous trading day rate.

The Euro also slumped against the Naira to trade at N1,450/€1 as against the rate of N1,500/€1 the previous trading rate indicating a gain of N50 for the Nigerian currency.

Business

Bureau De Change Operators Seek Unified FX Retail Market

Published

7 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Eric

The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has announced plans to create a unified structure for the retail end of the country’s foreign exchange market.

The association disclosed on Friday that the move would tackle volatility and boost regulatory compliance within that segment of the market.

This move, according to the ABCON President Aminu Gwadabe, is aimed at tackling currency volatility and strengthening regulatory compliance within the sector.

Gwadabe outlined ABCON’s strategy, which involves unifying operators across various categories within the market. The association is establishing state chapters to achieve better market coordination, integration, and ultimately, a single, standardized market structure. This would, in theory, allow authorities to monitor all BDC operators throughout Nigeria more effectively.

He said: “Part of our vision for a united retail-end forex market includes activating geo-mapping and automated BDCs physical office verification exercise using the Remote Gravity Physical verification apps. This will enable forex buyers to easily locate BDCs offices for effective and seamless transactions.”

He reiterated the benefits of a vibrant retail end of the forex market to support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s goal of achieving true price discovery for the Naira, balancing international obligations and national objectives; ensuring ease of regulation, security agencies monitoring and supervision as well as entrenching market visibility for BDC players.

With the world going digital, BDC operators under the ABCON leadership are committed to staying ahead of the competition by deploying time-tested technology to deliver effective services to foreign exchange end-users.

“Finally, we also condemned in its entity, the seeming reappearance of illegal economic behaviours in forex conversion and peer-to-peer trading that pose another recent surprise in naira volatility and I therefore want to warn that while surprises are the new normal, resilience is also the new skills,” Gwadebe explained.

The benefits of a unified market are multifaceted, according to Gwadabe. It would not only address exchange rate fluctuations but also bolster regulatory compliance among BDCs.

This could have a positive impact on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) efforts to achieve transparency in foreign exchange pricing. Additionally, a unified structure could enhance the overall image of BDCs and other stakeholders in the market, potentially leading to increased employment opportunities.

Business

FirstBank Appoints New MD/CEO, Alebiosu

Published

5 days ago

April 22, 2024

Eric

First Bank of Nigeria has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as its new Managing Director with effect from April 2024.

The Bank stated this in a release signed by its acting company secretary Adewale Arogundade.

Alebiosu takes from Adesola Adeduntan, who resigned abruptly on Saturday with eight months left to complete his tenure in December 2024.

The release stated that “following the resignation of the managing director/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Board of Directors has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as the acting CEO of the 130-year-old institution.

“The appointment takes effect immediately and is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The release stated that Alebiosu was until this appointment the executive director, chief risk officer and executive compliance officer since January 2022. Prior to that, he was the Group executive/ chief risk officer, a position he held since 2016.

“Alebiosu brings to the executive management of FirstBank over 28 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry with cross-functional exposure to Credit risk management, Financial planning and control, Credit and marketing, Trade, Corporate and commercial banking, Agriculture financing, Oil and Gas, Transportation (including Aviation and Shipping) and Project financing.”

It added that the new acting MD/CEO commenced his professional career in 1991 with Oceanic Bank Plc (now EcoBank) and prior to joining FirstBank in 2016 served as Chief Risk Officer at Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, Chief Credit Risk Officer at African Development Bank Group and Group Head, Credit Policy & Deputy Chief Credit Risk Officer at United Bank for Africa Plc.

“He is an alumnus of Harvard School of Government and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management. He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“He is a member of various professional bodies namely, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), Associate, Nigeria Institute of Management (ANIM), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Member, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.”