U.K. Eke Retires From FBN Holdings Amidst Encomiums…As Nnamdi Okonkwo Becomes New GMD
The board of FBN Holdings Plc (FBNHoldings) has appointed the immediate past managing director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo as its group managing director following the retirement of Mr. U.K. Eke, who has completed his two-term tenure..
Okonkwo’s appointment takes effect from January 1, 2022.
Uke, according to the board, tendered his Notice of Retirement on August 10, 2021
The board further announced the renewal of the appointments of Dr. Adesola Adeduntan and Mr. Gbenga Shobo as the managing director and deputy managing director of FirstBank respectively, for another term.
In same vein, the Board announced the renewal of appointments of Mr. Kayode Akinkugbe and Mr. Taiwo Okeowo as the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited respectively, for another term.
“Uke’s retirement takes effect at the end of the current Financial Year on December 31, 2021. Mr. Eke’s retirement follows from a 35 years’ career in financial services, strategy, auditing, consulting, taxation, process reengineering and capital market operations.
“FBNHoldings Board has also announced that Eke will be succeeded by Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, a focused and result-oriented top banker, who will assume office as Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc effective January 1, 2022,” Seye Kosoko, the Company Secretary said
Okonkwo, the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, brings to bear on the Board of FBNHoldings more than 30 years unbroken banking career spanning local and international experience.
He has a wealth of experience in transformational leadership, business strategy development and visioning, innovative corporate governance and risk management.
He has led the transformation of banks, with the most recent being Fidelity Bank, where he led the management team in seven years to achieve remarkable results culminating in tripling profit and shareholder value.
Okonkwo previously served as the Executive Director for Southern Nigeria in Fidelity Bank. He has worked meritoriously on an international level in his capacity as the Managing Director of UBA Ghana; Director, UBA Liberia and a Director of the Ghana National Banking College.
He has served in various leadership positions across other financial institutions including Broad Bank of Nigeria Ltd; Citizens International Bank, Nigeria; FSB International Bank Plc, Nigeria; Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Nigeria; and Merchant Bank of Africa, Nigeria.
Okonkwo made remarkable feats as a Director in various organizations including UBA Ghana, UBA Liberia, Nigeria e-government Strategy (Negst), Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc, Unified Payment System Ltd and as Chairman, Shareholders Audit Committee FMDQ, amongst others. His appointment is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities.
The board also approved the appointment of Mrs. Tope Orhionsefe Omage as a Non-Executive Director of First Bank of Nigeria Limited by the Board of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the CBN.
The Board also announced the appointment of Meristem Registrars Limited as the new Registrars to take over the Register of Members of FBN Holdings Plc in replacement of First Registrars and Investors Services Limited, with effect from December 1, 2021.
Ecobank Day: “We Should Be Open To Talk About Mental Health Issues” – Akinwuntan
Akinwuntan Ecobank MD
Ecobank Nigeria has reiterated its commitment towards promoting mental awareness for its staff, customers and the communities where it operates being part of its corporate action to support general wellbeing amongst citizens . This, according to the bank, is necessary in view of the enormous stress people encounter while trying to play their part in sustaining the national economy. The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan while speaking at the 2021 “Ecobank Day” event in Lagos stated that there was need for people to exercise more sensitivity and be more supportive towards improving mental health.
According to him, “This year, we are focusing on how we can support one another to improve on our mental health. It is something we should be open to talk about; it is something that we should be able to share our concerns so that each of us can be sensitive to how we support one another and to manage the stress available in our environment. So, this year, we are focused on mental health, educating people on how to identify and manage the disease, while also helping reduce stigma and discrimination. We all know that Nigeria is a country with about 200 million people, and there is a lot of stress on all of us. At Ecobank, we encourage staff to speak out through word of mouth, written communication, WhatsApp, sms message, even if it is an anonymous call to support victims. We also try to identify things within the environment that could have a negative effect on our journey to better mental health, and quickly take them out”.
On her part, the Executive Director, Commercial Bank, Ecobank Nigeria, Carol Oyedeji, urged colleagues to find a way to balance work with other aspects of their life. “Please when you close work, shut down your system and find ways to connect with your spouse, family and in any other thing that will give you joy and happiness”. She noted that we must encourage people to feel comfortable to talk about their emotions, without shame, fear of being judged or abuseD. She emphasized that anyone suffering or facing mental health problems should be aware that they can get help.
Experts at the event listed signs to watch out for in mental health to include; negative view of self, feeling alone, giving things away and frequent talks about death. They noted that mental health disorders are one of the most common Non-Communicable Diseases, noting that mental health issues can happen to anyone and it’s important to talk about it and also act on it.
Ecobank Day, is a Group’s flagship annual corporate and social responsibility event that ‘gives back’ to the local communities across the pan-African footprint. The 2021 Ecobank Day had the theme ‘Mental Health – Time to Talk and Act!’. It marks the final stage of Ecobank’s three-year campaign to raise awareness and help prevent Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Ecobank Day which started in 2013, focusing each year on a specific theme. These have been Education for young people in Africa (2013); Malaria prevention and control (2014); Every African child deserves a better future (2015); ICT education in schools and improving maternal health (2016); Safe water management (2017); Orphanages (2018); Cancer (2019); and Diabetes (2020).
FIRSTBANK PARTNERS NIBSS TO DRIVE DIGITAL PAYMENT CONVENIENCE WITH NIGERIA QUICK RESPONSE (NQR)
FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services organisation has announced its partnership with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System plc (NIBSS) on its recently launched Nigeria Quick Response (NQR) Payment Solution.
The NQR is an innovative payment option implemented for all financial service providers and designed to promote quick and fast transactions by scanning the code on one’s mobile device. Also, the initiative reduces cost(s) for merchants and banks in delivering instant value for person to business (P2B) and person to person (P2P) transactions by simply scanning to pay. Unlike other QR schemes, the NQR is implemented with reduced charges that is cheaper for merchants.
The initiative is accessible on the Bank’s payment infrastructure as the NQR code can be used to make payments through one’s FirstMobile App. And it is also available for the merchant in facilitating their business activities. The touchpoint and use cases of the NQR payment solution include convenience stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, pharmacy, ride-hailing/taxi payments, bus fares, tolling booths payments, vending machines, e-commerce sites, online (Instagram) businesses amongst many others.
To access the service, launch your FirstMobile App and select QR payment. Afterwards, choose NIBSS as a payment provider, then scan the seller’s NQR barcode. Thereafter, the amount is inputted, followed by PIN validation to generate an instant confirmation of the transaction successfully. On the other hand, merchants are to visit any FirstBank branch closest to them for service enrolment.
Speaking on the initiative Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “we are delighted with the adoption of the Nigeria Quick Response (NQR) payment solution, an initiative by Nigeria Interbank Settlement System plc (NIBSS) which has been instrumental to easing and promoting payment convenience with the use of mobile phones. At FirstBank, we recognize the indelible role technology plays in promoting businesses across diverse frontiers and we remain committed to reinventing our technology infrastructure to meet global standards whilst being committed to staying true to our mantra in always putting You, our customers First.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has integrated 33 Banks into the eNaira platform with N500m successfully minted by the apex bank for the take off of the digital currency programme.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said this on Monday at the official launch of the Nigerian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), known as the eNaira, at the State House, Abuja.
The launch of the eNaira is a culmination of several years of research work by the Central Bank of Nigeria in advancing the boundaries of payments system in order to make financial transactions easier and seamless for every strata of the society.
Following series of engagements with relevant stakeholders including the banking community, fintech operators, merchants and a cross section of Nigerians, the CBN designed the digital currency.
The eNaira, according to the apex bank, marks a major step forward in the evolution of money in Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Emefiele said since the eNaira platform went live, there has been overwhelming interest and encouraging response from Nigerians and other parties across the world with over 2.5 million daily visits to the website.
He said so far, N200m has been issued to financial institutions, while over 2,000 customers have been onboarded.
According to him, over 120 merchants have successfully registered on the eNaira platform.
He said, “Today, customers who download the eNaira Speed Wallet App will be able to onboard and create their wallet; fund their eNaira wallet from their bank account; transfer eNaira from their wallet to another waller; make payment for purchases at registered merchant locations.
“Mr President, today you make history, yet again, with the launch of the eNaira – the first in Africa and one of the earliest around the world.
“Mr. President, as you make ground breaking reforms, there have been continuing debate on the true value of the Naira.
“Rather than worry today on the direction of the exchange rate, let us take a step back and analyze how we got here in the first place.”
Wigwe, Emefiele honoured with Juris Law Award for outstanding contributions in finance sector
The Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs and Group Managing Director of Access Bank PLC, Herbert Wigwe, has been recognised for his outstanding contributions to Corporate Governance and Rule of Law in Nigeria’s Banking Industry.
Wigwe was presented the Juris Law Award by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad at the 2021 Judges Workshop on Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 which held on Tuesday, 12 October 2021 in Abuja.
Also honoured with an award was the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. The Juris Law Award is presented in honour of leaders who are taking significant steps towards promoting economic growth in Nigeria through deepening institutions, corporate governance and Rule of Law.
Accepting the award, Wigwe stated that he was honoured to receive the award, adding that “through innovative banking initiatives and our underlying sustainability drive, Access Bank will continue to create shared value for all our stakeholders, striking a balance between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility.”
Wigwe and Emefiele have partnered in the creation of several positive socio-economic initiatives such as the Creative Industries and Financing Initiative; a loan scheme developed to provide access to long-term and low-interest financing for entrepreneurs in Nigeria. In addition, Wigwe, Emefiele and Aliko Dangote were key parties in the formation of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) – a vehicle created to spearhead corporate Nigeria’s support for the federal government’s fight against the deadly virus. The successful coalition funded the establishment of response centres, acquisition of medical equipment, supplies and food palliatives for vulnerable Nigerians.
The 2021 Judges Workshop on Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 focused on reforms and the statutory requirements imposed by CBN on all banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria to adopt policies on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and cyber security in Nigeria.
Also in attendance of the workshop were the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF); Abubakar Malami (SAN); the Appeal Court President, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensen; the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho; the Former Chief Justice of Nigeria and former Chairman, Board of Governors, National Judicial Institute, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed and other high ranking judicial officers and the legal community.
Winners Emerge in 7th UBA Bumper Savings Account Promo
L-R: Group Head, Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC), United Bank for Africa(UBA), Prince Ayewoh; Winner of N100,000 cash prize in the UBA Bumper Savings Account Promo, Onyenwenyi Chidinma Confidence and Head of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Liability, Babatunde Ajayi, during the presentation of cash prizes to winners of the Bumper Savings Account promo draw, held in Lagos, recently
Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has again rewarded its loyal customers in its Bumper Savings Promo in line with its unwavering commitment towards prioritising its customers’ financial well-being as well as boosting savings culture in Nigeria.
Since the bank commenced the promo in 2020, over 200 winners have emerged from the initiative that continues to reward loyalty and encourage customers to cultivate a savings habit that helps to stay afloat especially during challenging times.
The promo is open to account holders of the bank from the six geographical zones in Nigeria, and customers only need to open a UBA Bumper account and save a minimum of N5000 in a month to qualify. The more multiples of N5000 they saved, the higher their chances of winning cash prizes and other juicy benefits.
The electronic raffle draw, which is the 7th since inception, was held at Kairo’s Hub on Wednesday, and was witnessed by relevant regulatory bodies including the National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Consumer Protection Council who were on ground to ensure transparency and accountability.
Winners who emerged from the draw, include, Olunwa Osita Ambrose who smiled home with the star prize of a whooping N2m, while Saheed Adeshina Adediran won N1.2m rent for a year. Adewunmi Olaniyi Sobowale, another lucky winner got 500k shopping allowance.
Others who equally smiled home with N100,000 cash prizes were; Bayode Peter Oluwaseun, Archibong Unyime Gift, Yakubu Fali, Alaegbu Promise Uchenna, Onyenwenyi Chidimma Confidence, Maria Obianuju Onyeneke, Emmanuel Kalu, Aramide Afolabi Temitope, Ijeoma Juliet Okika, Taiwo Micheal Odofin, Daina Ochekema Egbe, Ighodalo Thompson, Mercy Effiong, Alice Gabriel, Imrana Bello, Onyedika Promise Umeji, Uzoma Chibuike Timothy, Adewole James Idowu, Opeyemi John Kolawole and Israel Ojima Daniel.
Olunwa Osita Ambrose who won N2m could not hide his excitement when he was contacted over the phone. He screamed, “Thank You God” over and over and took time to appreciate UBA for the wonderful gesture saying; “This is indeed great. Thank you. You people cannot understand the great impact you have made in my life with this reward. It will transform my life greatly. May God almighty bless this bank and all those who conceptualized the UBA Bumper Account Savings Promo,” Ambrose gushed excitedly. “I am committed to the bank for life,” he concluded.
L-R: Group Head, Customer Fulfilment Centre, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Prince Ayewoh; Winner of N100,000 cash prize in the UBA Bumper Savings Account Promo, Bayode Peter Oluwaseun; and Head of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Liability, Babatunde Ajayi, during the presentation of cash prizes to winners of the Bumper Savings Account promo draw, held in Lagos, recently
UBA’s Head of Personal Banking, Ogechi Altraide, who presented gifts to some of the winners who were physically present at the event told customers that UBA places them at the very heart of its business which, according to her, is why the bank remains passionate about their overall success and added that this has consistently been proven in numerous ways which is why the bank has continually invested in cutting-edge technology to improve its service delivery and its overall aim of delighting customers.
She said, “With customer-centric promos like the UBA Bumper promo, we have created an ever-increasing list of millionaires who continue to join the UBA customer millionaire club. For this edition of the promo, we decided to pick the month of October, which is the month of independence commemoration so we can give more Nigerians reasons to cheer while celebrating the country’s independence anniversary”.
“We know that this promo will put lasting smiles on the faces of our customers and will also assure them that UBA truly values them’” Altraide said.
Head, Marketing, Diana Ubah also spoke of UBA’s passionate commitment to give back to its customers especially during these challenging economic periods, where people need all the support they can get to make life more meaningful.
“I have witnessed a lot of events like this and I must say the happiness and live changing moments that comes with a customer getting an unexpected reward is indeed a special one! To this end, I encourage those who are yet to join the winning team, should do so quickly. Without any iota of doubt, you always win with UBA” said Ubah.
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-one million customers, across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries.
With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services
Winners Emerge in 7th UBA Bumper Savings Account Promo
Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has again rewarded its loyal customers in its Bumper Savings Promo in line with its unwavering commitment towards prioritising its customers’ financial well-being as well as boosting savings culture in Nigeria.
Since the bank commenced the promo in 2020, over 200 winners have emergedfrom the initiative that continues to reward loyalty and encourage customers to cultivate a savings habit that helps to stay afloat especially during challenging times.
The promo is open to account holders of the bank from the six geographical zones in Nigeria, and customers only need to open a UBA Bumper account and save a minimum of N5000 in a month to qualify. The more multiples of N5000 they saved, the higher their chances of winning cash prizes and other juicy benefits.
The electronic raffle draw, which is the 7th since inception, was held at Kairo’s Hub on Wednesday, and was witnessed by relevant regulatory bodies including the National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Consumer Protection Council who were on ground to ensure transparency and accountability.
Winners who emerged from the draw, include, Olunwa Osita Ambrose who smiled home with the star prize of a whooping N2m, while Saheed Adeshina Adediran won N1.2m rent for a year. Adewunmi Olaniyi Sobowale, another lucky winner got 500k shopping allowance.
Others who equally smiled home with N100,000 cash prizes were; Bayode Peter Oluwaseun, Archibong Unyime Gift, Yakubu Fali, Alaegbu Promise Uchenna, Onyenwenyi Chidimma Confidence, Maria Obianuju Onyeneke, Emmanuel Kalu, Aramide Afolabi Temitope, Ijeoma Juliet Okika, Taiwo Micheal Odofin, Daina Ochekema Egbe, Ighodalo Thompson, Mercy Effiong, Alice Gabriel, Imrana Bello, Onyedika Promise Umeji, Uzoma Chibuike Timothy, Adewole James Idowu, Opeyemi John Kolawole and Israel Ojima Daniel.
Olunwa Osita Ambrose who won N2m could not hide his excitement when he was contacted over the phone. He screamed, “Thank You God” over and over and took time to appreciate UBA for the wonderful gesture saying; “This is indeed great. Thank you UBA. You people cannot understand the great impact you have made in my life with this reward. It will transform my life greatly. May God almighty bless this bank and all those who conceptualized the UBA Bumper Account Savings Promo,” Ambrose gushed excitedly. “I am committed to UBA for life,” he concluded.
UBA’s Head of Personal Banking, Ogechi Altraide, who presented gifts to some of the winners who were physically present at the event told customers that UBA places them at the very heart of its business which, according to her, is why the bank remains passionate about their overall success and added that this has consistently been proven in numerous ways which is why the bank has continually invested in cutting-edge technology to improve its service delivery and its overall aim of delighting customers.
She said, “With customer-centric promos like the UBA Bumper promo, we have created an ever-increasing list of millionaires who continue to join the UBA customer millionaire club. For this edition of the promo, we decided to pick the month of October, which is the month of independence commemoration so we can give more Nigerians reasons to cheer while celebrating the country’s independence anniversary”.
“We know that this promo will put lasting smiles on the faces of our customers and will also assure them that UBA truly values them’” Altraide said.
Head, Marketing, Diana Ubah also spoke of UBA’s passionate commitment to give back to its customers especially during these challenging economic periods, where people need all the support they can get to make life more meaningful.
“I have witnessed a lot of events like this and I must say the happiness and live changing moments that comes with a customer getting an unexpected reward is indeed a special one! To this end, I encourage those who are yet to join the winning team, should do so quickly. Without any iota of doubt, you always win with UBA” said Ubah.
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-one million customers, across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries.
With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services
Heritage Bank Director, LASAA seeks sustainable PPP model for financing advertising sector
…Commends Lagos State’s smart city project
The Executive Director, Heritage Bank Plc, Jude Monye disclosed that one of the ways out-of-home advertising industry can attain massive growth was via the adoption of public-private-partnership (PPP) model to ensure its sustainability.
Monye commended the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration for the implementation of the smart city plan with the rollout of 6,000km metro fibre optics, which is the requisite infrastructure for the smart city project.
According to the Bank’s director, “if you have deposit money bank, that is the commercial bank coming in with huge portfolio, you will see massive growth in this industry and to crown it all for me, the governor said what I didn’t know of, all the things that the government is doing with the Fibre optic projects which is towards the smart city that LASAA has also shown to us. With that alone, the PPP model, the banks are going to key into funding this so that the industry can grow.”
He revealed that deposit money banks are careful to lend to the advertising players due to lots of unstructured issues and if tackled, the banks will be willing to lend once they see that the risks in the industry have been reduced.
He, however, stated that the move by Lagos State government for the adoption of digital technology would lead to increased patronage and rev banks’ participation.
“I think lots of unstructured issues that we face and most of the banks that you see on digital media outside is not borne out of the need to advertise because it has not appealled to them, or engaging to their audience, but some of them are just pay back for the loan that they have given,” he stated.
HB LASAA PIX1 R-L: Jude Monye, Executive Director of Heritage Bank Plc; Adedamola Docemo, MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA); Joe Igbokwe, Senior Adviser to Governor on Drainage services; Tunji Bello, Commissioner of Environment; Hamzat Obafemi, Deputy Governor Lagos state; Belinda Odeneye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment & water resources; Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi, PS Ministry of Tourism; Kayode Pitan, MD of Bank of Industry and kunle Adeniran, MD of Vatebra, during the 2021 Out-of-Home Advertising Conference and Exhibition organised by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) in partnership with Heritage Bank, held in Lagos recently.
Jude, who reaffirmed that PPP actually was the model, added that there should be a kind of intra-ministerial integrated approach, as this would propel the lending capacity of banks.
Speaking earlier on the topic, “Road map for the Growth of Signage and Out-of-Home Advertisement post-Covid-19 in Lagos,” the Governor who stated that the state was making appreciable progress in the ongoing laying of the metropolitan optic fibre, as well as the installation of smart cameras in strategic locations across the State, affirmed that the technology would help enhance and support the growth of advertising in the Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat said his administration would continue to leverage technology to transform the state’s economy while easing impediments for businesses to flourish.
The MD/CEO of LASAA, Adedamola Docemo said the agency would be rolling out policies and programmes that would improve sectoral investment, drive sustainable growth, encourage regular engagement and development of the State.
He stated that with Lagos being the leading state in Out-of-Home advertising investment in Nigeria, the industry has evolved and has consistently contributed its quota over time to the growth and development of Lagos state.
Super Brands Must Synergize To Solve Africa’s Problems – Akinwuntan
The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has advocated a synergy between super brands in Africa to solve the multifarious challenges facing the continent. Akinwuntan, who made this submission at the International Advertising Association (IAA) Africa Rising 4 virtual conference, posited that recent happenings in the global arena such as covid 19 pandemic further reinforces the need for bigger brands on the continent to collaborate effectively to achieve sustainable solutions to challenges facing the continent.
According to Akinwuntan, “It is not just about digitization but understanding that life itself has deeper substance. What we have learnt in the past 18 months calls for common agenda for human race, an opportunity for collaboration to search for sustainable solutions to the myriad challenges facing the continent. This also reenforces the fact that until we are comfortable, no part of the globe is comfortable. This provides a completely new direction between developed worlds, developing worlds and whatever categorization that you want to bring to the table. With people having to stay at home because of the pandemic, we quickly saw that being disconnected from the economy fabric is much more dangerous than the health risk that we are trying to avoid from the social distancing and stay at home”.
On how Ecobank as an African Super Brand responded to the covid 19 pandemic, Mr. Akinwuntan noted that the bank’s success story in handling the outbreak and spread of Ebola disease in some parts of Africa came handing, adding that the bank’s investment in technology also paid off as it was able to provide financial services seamlessly to its customers in countries where the operates.
“We came out with strategies to ensure that small business and women enterprise leaders are able to learn to improve their capacity and source for labor without physical contact and able to access market without physical contact and be able to be financially strong without having to physically visit distant locations. For the small businesses, it is enabling them to have faith in themselves to be able to see that tomorrow has a brighter future. The covid-19 pandemic was a leveler and therefore everyone felt the impact. For a brand like Ecobank, we needed to demonstrate our ability to reach everyone at the same time. First is knowledge, people need to know, is this circumstance unique to my country, or to my own livelihood? if it is not, what has worked for other people and how have we leveraged it. That is quite a lot of learning that we focused on. We actually partnered with NEPAD and brought about leveraging on technology and capacity building for the small and medium scale business.” Akinwuntan explained.
Aligning with Akinwuntan’s submission, another speaker at the session, Group Executive for Marketing, MTN, Bernice Samuels said it was imperative super brands in Africa have a common platform to address and offer solutions to challenges facing the continent. The captivating session was moderated by Robyn Curnow, Anchor & Host of CNN Newsroom
Earlier in his welcome address, World President and Chairman, IAA, Joel Nettey said the 2-day virtual conference with the theme: ‘Africa To The World’ is aimed at projecting African brands to the world and bringing together the best on the continent to discuss trends and key developments. According to him, “as the most influential network of industry leaders with a broad spectrum of expertise, we help brands grow, strengthen, and forge new paths around the world through meaningful relationships with consumers. We use our thought leadership, initiatives in education and development, and world-class events to help our members navigate through the ever-changing worlds of business and technology. We are delighted to be able to put together this conference in such trying times to add value and bring together those who shape the industry’s future. The African continent is endowed with vibrancy, creativity, culture, its people, and strong brands weaving coherently into what makes the engines of economies move.”
The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) Africa Rising for Leadership Conference 2021 is first IAA virtual conference and it is congregating speakers and participants from across the globe – Nigeria, Kenya, south Africa, USA, Italy, Russia, Malaysia and several other leading countries where IAA has presence.
FINTECH 5.0: EVALUATING HOW FIRSTBANK STRENGTHENS COLLABORATION
…To drive financial inclusion
It was Sir Isaac Newton, in his letter to Robert Hooke in 1675, who wrote the now-famous quote: “If I have seen further (than others), it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
The shoulders of giants Sir Newton referred to has to do with leverage provided by the discoveries and experiences of people who have gone before or walked that same path earlier, that pave the way for and enable other people and a new generation to take things to a totally new dimension.
The truth is, giants whose shoulders provide such leverage to the next generation can be found in various fields and various nations. In Nigeria, for example, such giants exist in various fields and they are known and recognised.
Take the fintech (financial technology) space in Nigeria, where one bank is known to have stood as a giant with very broad shoulders, having capacities that have been built up and accumulated over 127 continuous years. Every year since 2016 (apart from 2017 when it was implementing ideas from 2016, including a Digital Innovation Lab), this well-recognised bank has provided a platform for the most robust engagement of the fintech industry in Nigeria. Tagged Fintech Summit, the annual engagement has continued to help in catalysing the fintech sector to ever-higher levels from year to year.
Held in Lagos the commercial capital of Nigeria and arguably the fintech capital of Africa, given Nigeria’s status as the leading nation in the fintech space in Africa, the annual FirstBank Fintech Summit has attracted an average of a thousand participants, who are mostly fintech owners, workers and enthusiasts, yearly. Last year’s Summit, Fintech Summit 4.0 with the theme
“How Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence will Disrupt Fintech in Nigeria”, however, drew an unprecedented number of participants – over 6,000 from across 52 different countries. It was the first virtual Summit due to the restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and it featured as keynote speaker Silicon Valley-based innovator of international repute, Chinedu Echeruo, who founded HopStop that was later sold to Apple for US$1 billion. Imagine the inspiration, dreams and aspirations young people soak up while listening to speakers with such a profile.
Far from being one-directional – with all the talk flowing from only the speaker to the audience – the yearly Summit is actually a platform for multidimensional engagement involving various stakeholders in the fintech industry – operators, regulators, investors, enthusiasts, fintech journalists and writers, bankers, et cetera.
It offers an unequalled opportunity for networking among fintech and other stakeholders, leading to opportunities for collaboration within the community. For small businesses and start-ups powered by FirstBank’s support, the annual Summit has been a veritable platform for showcasing them. The platform has also served for the announcement of policy initiatives coupled with pronouncements that provide clarifications to policy. This is due to invitations extended to regulators and the important role they are assigned in conversations facilitated during the Summit.
The Summit that preceded last year’s, i.e., the third edition of Fintech Summit 3.0 held in 2019, featured another heavyweight in Nigeria’s fintech industry, Victor Asemota, founder of Swifta Systems & Services, as keynote speaker. The theme “Banking + Tech = Solving Real Problems”, included panel sessions featuring experts with over two hundred combined years of experience in both the financial and technological industries.
They applied their knowledge, expertise and experience to address challenges in the technologically-driven business world, structured in terms of Solving Business Problems; Solving Regulatory, Security and Legal Problems; and Solving Lifestyle Problems. At the end of the Summit, participants must have felt that the Summit delivered on the confidence the Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Adesola Adeduntan, had expressed when he remarked in his welcome address, “I am optimistic that every organisation represented here will be empowered to provide services with greater speed and solve real societal problems to the advantage of the Nigerian populace through the insights that will be gained from this event.“
Fintech Summit 3.0 had built on the success of the second edition, Fintech Summit 2.0 held in 2018, which had “The Future of Banking – The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data” as a theme. Adia Sowho, the Managing Director of Mines in Nigeria, had, as the first keynote speaker, stressed the importance of collaboration between legacy banks and fintechs in the overall good of their shared financial services space. The Deputy Managing Director of FirstBank, Gbenga Shobo, had, in his welcome address, said that FirstBank was committed to finding the right balance in its approach in supporting the budding fintech industry. It is gratifying that the bank has since found that right balance and pushed ahead enthusiastically with the continual annual engagement that is its yearly Fintech Summit.
For those who like to bring up the argument that deposit money banks (DMBs) and fintech are rivals competing in the same space for the same customers and wonder why FirstBank, a leading deposit money bank, would itself be involved in efforts to catalyse the fintech industry, they need to wake up and smell the coffee. FirstBank is continuously evolving and staying on the cutting edge of technology in order to better serve its customers, who are themselves evolving and adapting to newer and more efficient and convenient technologies as they become available.
And FirstBank is on a journey to a future where it is happy, in the spirit of the African tradition of Ubuntu, to take all fintech along with it. In the words of another famous quote, “The sky is too big for two [or many] big birds flying in it to collide.” FirstBank believes there is ample room for all players – deposit money banks, fintech, et cetera – to fulfil their unique roles. Therefore, collaboration, not competition, is FirstBank’s watchword. And FirstBank considers fintech partners in progress in its avowed commitment to driving financial inclusion.
FirstBank’s own evolution and the transition is causing some people to question its continuous classification by the Central Bank as a deposit money bank (with a preponderance of bricks-and-mortar banking operations) rather than a digital bank. And the reasons for their argument cannot be easily waved aside. In 2020, for example, over 85 per cent of the banking transactions that were required by customers of FirstBank were performed on the bank’s self-service channels.
That means customers of the bank only needed the attention of the bank’s staff or branches for just 15 per cent of all the banking transactions they required in 2020. There are now as many as over 16 million customers between FirstBank’s digital channels of online banking (called FirstOnline), mobile banking (christened FirstMobile) and USSD banking (called *894# quick banking).
Between FirstOnline and FirstMobile, a growth of 21 per cent in the user base was experienced in 2020. Customers on both platforms conducted approximately 256 million transactions worth N15.7 trillion in the same year. FirstOnline, as of June 2021, had an impressive 597,466 customers on the service, a 17 per cent growth on the previous year and 578,292 transactions per month, averaging a value of N388 billion per month.
For FirstMobile, besides the impressive gain in numbers, it gained recognition as “Best Mobile Banking App” at the Global Finance Best Digital Bank Awards, for providing excellent self-service through its user-friendly app. FirstMobile had, as of June 2021, 4,596,203 users on the platform, which is a nine per cent growth on the previous year and an average of 27,730,830 transactions every month. While these numbers point to the giant statue of the bank, none of it excites FirstBank as much as Firstmonie, because of its invaluable role in driving financial inclusion at the grassroots level, one of FirstBank’s overriding commitments.
Firstmonie, the agent banking network of FirstBank, currently has over 130,000 agents across the country, making it the largest bank-led agent network anywhere in Africa. As the foremost financial inclusion service in the country, it has achieved over 750 million transactions worth N15 trillion (about US$30 billion) processed from inception to date.
Over 295 million of those transactions with a total value of N6.65 trillion were processed in 2020 alone – the same year COVID-19 caused widespread disruptions across the globe. Firstmonie agency banking scheme has empowered agents across all Local Government Areas in the country, providing employment to thousands of people.
FirstBank through the Firstmonie platform further supports the fintech industry via partnership collaborations with local and international fintechs. All these are geared towards expanding financial inclusion and providing a variety of services to customers of the bank with giant shoulders that customers and fintechs can stand on to see further.
As for Sir Isaac Newton, the giant of a scientist whose famous quote began this piece, if he could read us from the grave, he would feel very proud today to see that celebrated line from his 1675 letter being aptly used to represent the relationship that exists between the broad, energetic and dynamic shoulders of Nigeria’s banking behemoth, FirstBank, and the rapidly emerging beautiful bride of Nigeria’s economic sectors, the fintech industry. This relationship climaxes every year in the annual Fintech Summit and the forthcoming Fintech Summit 5.0 promises to take the relationship to a whole new dimension.
