In a bid to develop business partnerships between NGOs and corporate organisation to achieve widespread and lasting change in the business environment, FirstBank sustainability centre in partnership with Lagos Business School hosted a sustainability workshop for NGOs and corporate organisation.
The workshop also provided capacity building training for NGOs who want to partner corporate organisations on their sustainability programmes and it espoused on modern approaches, which they can use to address social and environmental concerns of business, customers, investors and the media.
Speaking at the event, Ijeoma Nwagwu, centre manager, First Bank Sustainability Centre, said through support for events, FirstBank had positioned itself as a leader on sustainability in view of oil price drop, the devaluation of the naira and the upcoming elections.
FirstBank has led by example in the financial services industry, she said.
According to Nwagwu, “through the training, we saw that there are things that companies must do to survive, the idea of sustainability is that you are thinking long term, bearing in mind the social, environmental and economic concerns in your broader environment that will make you survive.”
She said that businesses need a social licence to operate, for example, businesses must have a good leadership and governance framework, adding that First Bank want to see people building durable institutions and businesses that will survive the taste of time.
Yomi Fawehinmi, the facilitator of the programme, said sustainability was about organisation doing the best to balance their economic, social and environmental demands over a long period, putting the right principles in place.
Fawehinmi emphasised on the need for NGOs to work together, as this will enable them pool resources, stretch impacts, miximise their opportunities and make them stronger.
“The mindset of an NGO should not be the mindset of a business man. It is not competition; we only have collaboration in the social sector. If you are interested on improving lives of people, it doesn’t matter who does it or who takes the glory,” he said.
Efua Edeh, executive director, Junior Achievement Nigeria, said the organisation provides economic educational organisations to schools across the country, adding that the programme they offer address three pillars which are financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.
“One of our priorities in Junior Achievement is sustainability. As I was coming up with my strategic plan for the year, sustainability was a top priority and I really applaud First bank for coming up with this training,” Edeh said.
Rose Mordi, national director, Down Syndrome Foundation, described the training as an empowering one, especially knowing that sustainability is very important and there are things one needs to know to be able to sustain whatever they are doing. While shedding light on her NGO foundation, Mordi said her foundation engages in four pillars which are early medical intervention, early educational intervention and vocational training for empowerment, early social integration and advocacy.
Ifeoma Okeke
