Lagos.14.03.2025. Unity Bank Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to women’s empowerment with a series of high-impact initiatives designed to inspire action toward gender equality and sustainable development.

The Bank hosted a webinar with the theme: “Unleashing Women’s Potential,” pivoted by the Unity Bank Women Network as it was marking this year’s International Women’s Day, 

Being one of the Bank’s thought leadership on self-reliance, opportunity and equity, the webinar featured influential female leaders, including Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, a Nigerian entrepreneur and media personality, and Oluwabusayo Adegoke, a certified life coach and Strategy Consultant, who shared perspectives on women’s leadership, financial inclusion, and breaking barriers in male-dominated industries. The event provided an opportunity for professionals, entrepreneurs, and young women to gain valuable insights into personal and professional development.

The Bank also spotlighted women making significant contributions to their communities, particularly those driving change through education, mentorship, and financial empowerment. Among them were Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, a trailblazer empowering girls through technology; Tejumoluwa Olaobaju, an advocate leading the fight against period poverty in her community; and Chioma Ohakwe, a champion of inclusivity and women’s empowerment through targeted skill acquisition programmes for girls and women. 

Speaking on the Bank’s commitment to gender equity, Mrs. Particia Ahunanya, Unity Bank’s Chief Compliance Officer and Chair of Unity Bank Women’s Network, stated: “Our commitment to financial inclusion and gender equity has made Unity Bank remain in the vanguard of championing opportunities for empowering women across all sectors. This is in view of the realization that women are crucial drivers of economic growth and societal transformation. Through initiatives like the ‘Unleashing Women’s Potential’ webinar and our community spotlights, the Bank is focused on promoting more initiatives to drive impact among the female gender”.

Unity Bank’s IWD 2025 initiatives align with its broader vision of supporting women in leadership, business, and entrepreneurship. Through gender-focused initiatives – particularly with products like the Yanga Account – the bank is committed to driving financial inclusion and empowering women to actively participate in economic and financial systems. By providing tailored financial solutions, Unity Bank aims to create equal opportunities for women to thrive, grow, and succeed.

As the global conversation on gender equality continues to gain momentum, Unity Bank calls on stakeholders across industries to accelerate actions toward creating a more inclusive society without limitations.

L – R: Branch Leader, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nanka Close, Wuse, Abuja, Vincent Ijioma; GAIM 6 NYSC Empowerment Grant winner, Bomane-Aziba Koromo; and Zonal Inspector, NYSC Zone 3, Abuja, Adama Usman, at the Fidelity Bank GAIM 6 NYSC Empowerment Grant prize presentation ceremony for Q1 in Abuja recently.

Fidelity Bank Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to financial inclusion, youth empowerment, and promoting a healthy savings culture by rewarding nine National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members with N500,000 business grants each.

The grants were awarded under the Get Alert in Millions Season Six (GAIM 6) promo, an initiative designed to reward loyal customers with cash prizes totaling N159 million. The promo, which runs from November 2024 to August 2025, targets various categories of customers, including NYSC members, students, and general customers.

Mr. Osita Ede, Divisional Head of Product Development at Fidelity Bank Plc, stated that this season of the GAIM promo aims to enhance the opportunities for loyal customers to win.

“When we launched the GAIM 6 promotion in November 2024, we unequivocally stated that this campaign season is intended to promote inclusivity. Consequently, we have increased the total prize money to N159 million and added additional draws, beyond the weekly and monthly draws featured in previous seasons.

“Now, we have specific draws catering to various segments of our customer base including women, students, youth corps members, and traders. It is important to note that these categories of customers also stand the chance to win millions of naira in the monthly and grand draws which we will be hosting till 20 August 2025,” explained Ede.

Nine NYSC customers were selected through a random electronic draw in the first quarter of the GAIM 6 campaign, from various branches nationwide. They are: Oluwatosin Emmanuel Olowolayemo and Ekpeno Aniekan George, both from Uyo 2 Branch; Derryk Chidubem Okafor from Trans-Ekulu Branch; Aliyu Idris Adamu from Tudun-Wada Kaduna Branch; Bomane-Aziba Koromo from Nanka Close, Wuse Branch; Asabe Grace Adamu from University of Maiduguri Branch; David Agbai Agwu from Oshogbo Branch; Abdullahi Opeyemi Olajuwon from Airport Road, Lagos Branch; and Eghosa George Orhue from Ado Ekiti Branch.

Expressing his gratitude and excitement, one of the recipients of the entrepreneurship grant, Chidubem Okafor, appreciated Fidelity Bank for the grant, noting that the funds will enable him to achieve his entrepreneurial dreams.

His words, “At first, I thought it was a scam when they introduced the initiative at our orientation camp, but today, I am truly honored to receive this support from Fidelity Bank. This grant will go a long way in helping me achieve my entrepreneurial dreams, and I promise to make the most of it,”

Similarly, David Agwu, who also emerged a winner in the draw, expressed his surprise at the unexpected win, saying, “When I received the call, I thought it was a prank. I never applied for anything, so it was hard to believe. But when they sent me proof, I realized it was real. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. My plan is to invest the money in vocational training and digital skills development, particularly in fashion and painting in order to establish a sustainable business”.

Beyond the N500,000 entrepreneurship grant, the winners will also enjoy free business advisory and training sessions at the newly launched Fidelity SME Hub, located at 22, Lanre Awolokun Street, Gbagada Phase 2, Lagos.

Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 8.5 million customers through digital banking channels, its 251 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.

The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Awards; the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023; and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards. It was also recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023 and the Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.

(L-R) Lead, Deal Matchmaking at Impact Investors Foundation (IIF), Tochi Ginigeme; MD/CEO of Wema Bank PLC, Moruf Oseni; Chairman, Board of Directors, Wema Bank PLC, Dr. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola; Director, Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Nneka Okekearu; and CEO of Hervest, Solape Akinpelu, at the Wema Bank International Women’s Day event in Lagos today.

…Hosts HeForShe Awards, Big Sister Programme Graduation Ceremony, others.

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has commemorated International Women’s Day 2025 in style, hosting a grand event on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at its Head Office Facility in Lagos.

The Wema Bank International Women’s Day 2025 Event convened iconic women from diverse fields and industries to dissect the topic “Harnessing Innovation & Technology To Accelerate Financial Inclusion for Women”. Deriving from the global IWD 2025 theme “Accelerate Action”, the Wema Bank International Women’s Day 2025 event highlighted the need for implementing an innovative approach to promoting financial inclusion for all women and forging long term sustainability for women empowerment.

Among the major highlights of the Wema Bank International Women’s Day 2025 event were the Women Network’s graduation ceremony of the Big Sister Programme Cohort 2; special performances across music and poetry; the HeForShe 2025 Awards where outstanding male employees of Wema Bank who have made outstanding strides in accelerating action towards women empowerment, were awarded to encourage more men to become pro-women; and a panel session featuring distinguished women who have been instrumental in accelerating action for women empowerment.
Moderated by Media Personality and TV Presenter, Olive Emodi, the session featured three panelists including Dr. Nneka Okekearu, the Director of the Entreprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University, Solape Akinpelu, CEO of Harvest and Tochi Ginigeme, Lead Deal Matchmaking at Impact Investors Foundation; all of whom provided invaluable insights and visionary contributions to the perceptive discussion on addressing roadblocks and leveraging innovation for women empowerment. This grand event panned out excellently, receiving commendation from women across Nigeria.
Attesting to Wema Bank’s commitment to women empowerment Chairman, Dr. Mrs. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola, the Chairman of Wema Bank, highlighted the Bank’s role in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards the global advancement of gender equality. According to her, ““The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Accelerate Action”, and as the first female Chairman of Wema Bank, my career is a testament to the impact that can be generated and the change that can be achieved, when individuals and corporations take decisive steps to accelerate action for women empowerment. The goal of the 5th Sustainable Development Goal, ‘Gender Equality’, is to build a world where woman can thrive without discrimination and oppression, and we must all do the work to contribute to the achievement of this goal”.
Emphasising the deep-rooted nature of Wema Bank’s commitment to empowerment, Mr. Moruf Oseni (FCIB), Wema Bank’s MD/CEO commented, “This mission of empowering lives is one that is deeply rooted in our identity as Wema Bank. From inception in 1945 to present, we have carried on the mission of empowering our people. A lot has changed in the last 8 decades but one thing that has remained constant is our commitment to inclusion, empowerment and support for women. As a Bank, we recognise the gender equality gap that exists globally, and we understand the need for a tailored approach to addressing this challenge. This is why we launched our women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema, in 2019, and why we continue to take intentional steps towards empowering women”.
“Since the launch of SARA, we have banked over 400,000 unbanked women, disbursed over N75 billion in low-interest loans and over $20,000 in grants, created over 900 jobs for women, provided market access for 3,000 women, connecting them with over 135,000 customers and generating over $4 million in sales; and these are just to mention a few. Why have we been so intentional in the gender space? Because “Accelerating Action”, for us at Wema Bank, is beyond lip service. We walk the talk when it comes to women empowerment and today, we are gathered here to not only celebrate the exceptional impact we have made in empowering women for 8 decades, but more importantly, raising the right conversations and driving the right actions as we look ahead to a future of much greater possibilities. Wema Bank has supported women since 1945 and we celebrate our 80 years anniversary come May 2nd, 2025, we are more driven than ever to continue empowering women and building a future where women thrive, where equity is the norm, and where equality and empowerment are not just ideals but realities”.
Wema Bank has proven itself to be a gender inclusion and equality driven organisation, going above and beyond to empower women from all walks of life to thrive, and contributing to the advancement of the global movement for gender equality.
As Wema Bank counts down to 80 years, the world joins in to celebrate Nigeria’s oldest indigenous and most resilient bank, pioneering innovative impact in the African banking industry since 1945 and beyond 2025.