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First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has once again restated its commitment to the capacity building and empowerment of Nigerian youths to facilitate the development of their entrepreneurial skills for the growth of the country.

 

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO) of FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, gave this assurance when students of Kaduna Polytechnic, which came third at the Enactus World Cup for young entrepreneurs held in Mexico last month, visited the Bank. Kaduna Polytechnic represented Nigeria at the World Cup having emerged national champion at the Enactus challenge sponsored by FCMB, held in July with participation of students from 30 Universities and Polytechnics nationwide. The Enactus Challenge is a global initiative to harness and celebrate the dexterity and novel ideas of youths (especially students) which they feature in their project work, develop and execute in their various host communities with emphasis on economic empowerment and improving the quality of life of the people.

 

Commenting on the passion of the Bank to continually support initiatives and programmes that would empower youths, Mr. Balogun stated that, ‘’we have through our support provided students an enabling platform to develop and nurture their business skills through the projects they worked on, promote innovative ideas to protect and sustain the environment and develop as well as transfer entrepreneurial skills to unemployed youths in their communities’’.

 

He informed that FCMB got involved with Enactus in 2009, ‘’because we identified with their vision which also aligns with one of the core aspects of our value proposition – to be helpful’’. The GMD/CEO emphasized that the Bank is, ‘’committed to helping, not just our customers but everyone around us so we can together build a sustainable business’’. Mr. Balogun pointed out that as a financial institution with a vision is to be the premier financial services group of African origin, FCMB’s ability to achieve this vision is hinged on the long term success of the Bank’s stakeholders and the environment where it does business.  ‘’Hence our commitment to transparent corporate governance, sustainable value creation and application of effective risk management principles’’, he stressed.
 

Mr. Balogun noted that FCMB’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focus is in line with this and this explains the Bank’s involvement with Enactus. He assured that the students and indeed Nigerian youths that, ‘’we plan to deepen our commitment in the years ahead – to support and facilitate any initiatives that will help you achieve your objectives in a sustainable way’’. While commending the students of Kaduna Polytechnic for the national and international feat recorded by coming third behind Germany and Britain at the World Cup out of the 34 countries that participated, the FCMB GMD/CEO urged them to keep up the spirit and aim for nothing but excellence in all their future engagements. ‘’You are great future leaders and we are proud to identify with you.You are on the right track towards empowering yourselves to make positive and endearing impact in your communities and indeed your generation’’, he noted.

 

FCMB’s partnership with the Enactus challenge dates back to 2009 when the Bank took up the sponsorship of the competition. Within this period, the Bank has supported entrepreneurial work by students and communities in 5 states in Nigeria, namely Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Rivers state. Through this intervention, over 700 women and unemployed youths have been empowered with skills acquisition through the various capacity building and entrepreneur programmes implemented.

 

Over the years, FCMB has identified with various youth and community empowerment programmes across the country through a deliberate and sustainable effort to enhance skill acquisition and reward such endeavours. This is in line with the bank’s values of excellence and sustainability. The Bank has been recognised to be one of Nigeria’s leading drivers of CSR in several areas, especially its commitment to Poverty Alleviation, Economic Empowerment and Environmental Sustainability. FCMB drives a comprehensive bouquet of financial services and is focused on providing simple and reliable services to customers.

 

 

 

Keyword- Ladi Balogun