First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s Most Valuable Bank Brand, has partnered with Genevieve Gatherings 2015 to raise the bar on Women empowerment. The event themed ‘Becoming Financially Fearless’ was organised to advance the Nigerian woman’s financial confidence as well as secure their financial future. Mrs. Nimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games Limited, Mrs. Funmi Oyetunji, CEO, Abitos Financial Services Limited, Mrs. Arese Ugwu, Head of Wealth Management at Partnership Investment Plc, and Mr. Tonye Cole, Co-Founder and Group Executive Director, Sahara Group were among the speakers at the event, expounding on a varying range of topics from financial management to risk taking in an uncertain economy.
Ms Arunma Oteh (former Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission), who chaired the event emphasized the need to become financially fearless, achieve business success and leave a legacy. She advised the audience to read voraciously and widely, value investing more than spending and embrace mentorship. FirstBank’s support for the event is one of the Bank’s many interventions to promote women inclusion and participation in the polity through financial awareness and empowerment. Similar initiatives supported by the Bank recently include the Inspire for Women Conference, Women in Management, Business and Public Service(WimBiz) Conference, Women of West Africa Excellence in Entrepreneurship (WOWe) Conference, and the SME Workshops for women led SMEs anchored by the FirstBank Sustainability Centre in Lagos Business School, among several other women empowerment programmes.
According to the Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, the Bank is committed to initiatives that would encourage women’s participation and contribution to the growth and development of the economy. “We would continuously engage with initiatives that will inspire, mentor and raise a new generation of entrepreneurial women,” she stated.