Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has partnered with Selar, Africa’s largest creator platform, to empower African creatives and bridge the prevalent gaps in the African creative space. This revolutionary partnership has birthed a power-packed webinar titled “The Digital Economy and the Future of Work”, a learning and problem-solving webinar aimed at helping Africans—especially Nigerian—creators to maximise their potential and leverage available resources to transform their creativity into sustainable streams of income.



In a world where work is evolving, the concept of employment is undergoing a profound transformation. The creator economy is reshaping the digital landscape, granting young individuals unprecedented opportunities to create and monetize knowledge as never before. Generation Z and Millennials are harnessing the creative space to attain financial independence by selling digital content and forging careers as creators.

Scheduled for September 29, 2023, this webinar promises to illuminate the challenges and prospects that creators encounter as they navigate this exhilarating terrain. It offers invaluable insights into effectively tapping into its potential.



According to a survey conducted by Selar, one in every four creators is an employer, a testament to the potential for creators not only to earn but to create job opportunities, thus bolstering the African Creator Economy as a stable and lucrative source of income. This, in turn, promises to reduce unemployment rates in Africa, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.



Solomon Ayodele, Head of Innovation & Corporate Transformation at Wema Bank and one of the speakers at the event, commended the bank’s commitment to innovation, recounting the bank’s storied history of resilience and technological advancement. He affirmed Wema Bank’s dedication to equipping its customers with practical knowledge to help them monetize the digital sphere effectively.



According to Douglas Kendyson, the C.E.O. of Selar and another speaker at the event, the dream is for the partnership to mark the beginning of a strong network of groundbreaking initiatives from both powerhouses—Wema Bank and Selar—to revolutionise the creative space in Africa and build more jobs for Africans all over the world. “I’ve been in the tech space for years now and Wema Bank has been at the forefront of innovation—from digital banking alternatives like ALAT to youth-empowering technology programmes like Hackaholics and much more—all of which have shaped the entire FinTech industry, which is why this partnership is so important to us at Selar.



This highly anticipated event would demystify the complexities of the creative space, with a distinct focus on the African context. Key speakers for the webinar include Douglas Kendyson, Solomon Ayodele, Benjamin Dada (Founder/Publisher, Benjamin Dada Blog), and Senior Manoa, one of Nigeria’s premier creators. Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by creators across the African continent, the pivotal role of financial institutions in fostering the growth of the creator economy, and practical guidance for establishing and enhancing successful online businesses with digital products.



This event welcomes attendees from all walks of life, from budding creators to established entrepreneurs eager to harness the dynamic potential of the creator economy.



Wema Bank, once again, redefines the global standard for banking and reaffirms its position as the bank that works tirelessly to support every stakeholder.



Mark your calendar for “The Digital Economy and the Future of Work” on September 29, 2023. To secure your spot, register for free at [https://bit.ly/WemaXSelar].

The International Women Society (IWS) Skills Acquisition Centre, Lekki, Lagos has honoured Polaris Bank with the prestigious ‘Providers & Enablers’ Award in recognition of the Bank’s remarkable commitment and significant contributions to women empowerment, particularly in the area of vocational, skills training and capacity building for women, as undertaken by the IWS .

The award ceremony was held at a special graduation ceremony last Thursday, July 27, 2023, at IWS Skills Centre, Lekki, Lagos. 

Esteemed representatives from various organizations, community leaders, and women who have benefitted from the vocational and skills training programmes were present to celebrate the momentous occasion.

The IWS Centre, renowned for its dedication to uplifting women in the community, showcased a compelling video presentation that highlighted the transformational impact of the collaboration between the Centre and Polaris Bank. Through these skill-building programmes, women from diverse backgrounds have been empowered to pursue their passions, unlock their potential, and become self-reliant contributors to society.

Mr. Kehinde Akinwunmi, the Principal of the IWS Skills Acquisition Centre, Lekki delivered an impassioned speech expressing his gratitude to Polaris Bank for their unyielding support in nurturing the dreams and aspirations of countless women. He also emphasized the pivotal role played by the Bank in providing financial resources and scholarships for 21 students, enabling the Centre to expand its reach and positively impact the lives of even more women.

Responding to the recognition, Polaris Bank’s Head of Sustainability, Mrs. Yemi Akinrelere, who received the award on behalf of the Bank reaffirmed Polaris Bank’s commitment to advancing gender equality and promoting women’s empowerment in line with principle 4 of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principle and as a cornerstone of its Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

“At Polaris Bank, we believe that empowering women is not just a moral imperative, but an essential driver of social progress and economic growth. We are honoured to partner with the International Women Society Skills Acquisition Centre in their noble mission, and we remain committed to supporting women’s advancement and fostering an inclusive and equitable society.”

The collaboration between Polaris Bank and the IWS Skills Acquisition Centre continues to serve as a shining example of how public-private partnerships can catalyze positive change and uplift entire communities. By equipping women with the necessary skills and knowledge, both institutions have empowered many women – young and the not-to-old to seize new opportunities, break barriers, and become agents of change in their respective fields.

One of the landmark contributions of Polaris Bank to the IWS Skills Acquisition Centre was the donation of a multi-million-naira ICT Laboratory for digital and ICT-related capacity building for students of the Centre, amongst other supports.  

Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 is a pivotal goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. When achieved, it will have ripple positive and significant impacts on social, political and economic state of the nation.

The United Nations is seriously committed to achieving this through its Millennium Development Goals MDGs and targets.

While MDG 1 seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, MDG 2 centres on universal primary education, MDG 3 seeks to promote gender equality and empower women while MDG 5 and 6 focus on maternal healthcare, malaria and other diseases.

This underscores the importance of the issues which concern not just Nigeria but Africa and the world.

In Nigeria, one of the moving force that is rallying the nation towards achieving the MDG goals is the Hope for Sure Foundation, as championed by the visionary Naomi Olapeju Sigismund.

A licensed broker, social worker, proud daughter of Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria and graduate of Business administration from Sheridan College, she also founded the African Canada investment and expo summit.

Through foundation, she has committed resources, network and expertise to significantly empowering women and children in many ways and via multiple initiatives.

Speaking about her passion in a media chat, she said, “Our mission is to improve the quality of life, offer relief from poverty through empowerment and advancement of education amongst youths.”

“Our foundation holds medical outreach twice yearly since 2015 to impact the lives of both young and old in the communities. We gave out 1000 free reading glasses in free treatment for over 3,000 people through our team of doctors in Nigeria.

“We empowered over 5,000 youth and women, fed over 3,000 children, and provided medically support for over
10,000 elderly men and women. We also assist HIV patients and victims of human trafficking,” she added.

Business Empowerment

Naomi Olapeju has provided platforms to support entrepreneurship building and empowerment for women and girls. She is known to be hardworking, dependable, reliable, diligent, versatile and an innovative humanitarian and philanthropist who has facilitated a cordial relationship between Canada and Nigeria with investment in humanity through international charity engagement.

In recognition and acknowledgment of her outstanding support towards societal development and progress, she’s a recipient of many award categories.

Hope for sure foundation was birthed out of her passion for humanity: giving hope to the hopeless, putting smiles on the aged, helping the rejected to feel loved, supporting the widows to be who they want to be regardless of how society has painted them due to the circumstances they found themselves, and helping youth to and their
purpose in life, picking the youth from the street and empowering them and lots more.

Her passion for service to humanity has taken her to different regions in Canada, different states in Nigeria and other countries freely giving back to humanity in her capacity.

Skill Acquisition
Through our program, many are helped to actualize their dreams by aiding the
underprivileged to obtain work with public or private organisations through academic certificates, providing a source of income, and enabling them to become positive contributors to the community.

Youth Empowerment

The foundation provides free development program aimed at creating opportunities that will encourage and develop the youths to be morally responsible, self-reliant and financially productive citizens.

Because youths will be the future of our country and there is a need to motivate them to do something for the development of themselves and the country.

Girl Child Education

The foundation offers education support to girls. This is borne out of our understanding that girl Child education, across the global, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia, remains key.

The marginalization of girls’ education is linked to religious and cultural practices. Poverty, poor infrastructure, violence, and fragility are other contributing factors inhibiting girls’ education. Similarly, child marriage is also a critical challenge facing girls all over the world.

According to UNESCO recent report, more than 41,000 girls under the age of 18 marry every day. A child birthing child is a disaster already happening. According to UNESCO estimates, around the world, 129 million
girls are out of school, including 32 million of primary school age, and 97 million of secondary school age. It has been observed in some climes that educated women
contribute to rapid socio -economic development.

Education gives women a disposition for a lifelong acquisition of knowledge, values, attitudes, competence, confidence, independence, and skills.