The role of women in every facet of life is indeed significant, either as mothers, sisters, wives, leaders, colleagues or just friends. Women enrich lives and provide the glue that holds communities and families together and Access bank values the role women play in everyday life hence the need to commence its expression since 2006 through their GEM programme.
In fulfilling its commitment to women empowerment, Access Bank Plc officially unveiled “The W”, an innovative platform for the women banking market. The event which was held at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, brought together business women and top entrepreneurs from all works of life in an atmosphere of camaraderie. The Bank unveiled exciting banking solutions designed for the financial and lifestyle needs of women. Whether as young professionals, family women in business, these solutions are tailored to fit the needs of all women at different lifestyle stages. Also unveiled was the Maternal Health Scheme which offers women the financial support to access treatment facilities and specialist, both at home and abroad. This scheme which is a flagship in the industry will break new barriers in offering support to women and over 12million Nigerians who face challenges in conceiving. Privileges of being part of the ‘W’ community includes; access to the ‘W’ community at www.womancommunity.com, great discounts and offers on a range of exclusive shopping, health and beauty, dinning, leisure and travel options. Others are mentor-mentee program, attending career development workshops and seminars that help sharpen your skills, networking opportunities, recognition and celebration with their women awards program and professional advice, guidance and education on a wide variety of personal financing and ‘money management’ topics. Another benefit of being in the ‘W’ community is the package for young women professionals (WYP) which provides exclusive access to a wide range of lifestyle-oriented value added benefits and privileges which includes primary account, secondary account, automatic salary advance and free debit card with a naira credit card. Now that I have enlightened you on what the ‘W’ community is about, I can now let you into the nitty-gritty of all that happened at Eko hotel on the day of the launch. If you were not there, you missed but not to worry what you are about to read should do justice to everything you missed.
With such classy events comes the red-carpet and theirs was glam. Various TV stations were positioned to meet guests at the door for an interview before entering the hall.
Prior to the commencement of the event, cocktail was served and it was also time for networking and catching up with lots to drink and nibble on. “Please move into the hall, the event is about to start” was what we heard next and one after the other we made our way into the hall. It was nice seeing faces of women I had interviewed over the years on my page and even though the women out numbered the men, it was nice to see bold men who ‘dared’ to be surrounded by powerful women who are industry shakers and icons in their own right. The former GMD of Access bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede was one of such men, I couldn’t help but notice how he walked to say hello to as many people as he could, quite a pleasant personality I must say.
The event was moderated by Oyinda Ige and she did a fantastic job! Herbert Wigwe, The Group Managing Director of Access bank, in his opening remarks expressed Access bank’s commitment to women’s development among many other things when he said “inspite of all the challenges in Nigeria, I am proud of the development and contribution of Access bank to this nation in terms of supporting investment, creating financial value and enrichening the country. A third of SME businesses are owned by women yet, less of that proportion goes to women despite the fact that women have recorded far lower default rates than the men. In most schools, the girls do better than then boys so why do we come out in the real world and discriminate against them?” he says and continues “in Access bank, we are out to change that. We started in 2006 when no one was talking about sustainability whereas for us, it made a lot of business sense. We have spent the last two years researching about women and no matter where you are and what you do, Access has something to offer you that is why we are creating the ‘W’ product to meet your requirements” he concludes.
I was quite impressed when three women were projected on the screen to share their stories of the benefits of banking with Access bank and I must say I found it intriguing.
First was Nike Ogunlesi, CEO of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, a children’s clothing line in Nigeria and according to her, “we were at a cross road when Access Bank came into the picture. We needed the finance, we had a business plan and where we were was too small. We put together a proposal and other banks didn’t believe in us. We met Nike Omotayo who believed so much in us and agreed to support us. This act blew my mind because we were trying to raise 300million and Access Bank saw the potentials. By the end of this year, we would have 15 branches nationwide.” Nike reveals.
Next was Muni Shonibare, the CEO of Interior Options. In her words, “IO was founded in 1987 as a response to provide interior design services to meet international standards. In 2007, we decided to restructure by working with an international company from Italy. I came up with a business proposal and Herbert Wigwe came to the factory and that was it. Access Bank has put together a well established women’s community and I must also add that they have helped my business grow. Access has increased our turnover because they are also our client.” She says.
The last person to share her experiences with Access Bank was Jenifer Ntia, the CEO of Price super stores. For her, “Price super stores started with personal savings with 6 branches and today we have 22 branches thanks to the support from Access Bank. For me, it is a case of passion plus Access Bank and your dreams will become a reality.’ Jenifer enthuses
I enjoyed the mini talk show put together by the queen of talk shows, Mo Abudu, who was joined by Herbert Wigwe and three other panelists, who shared about their expectations from Access Bank.
Another high point for me was the presentation of a play titled ‘Banking on women’ produced by Joke Silva. It was an exciting and enlightening performance; I need not stress the level of excellence you would expect from a Joke Silva production. I met her at another event and while speaking with her she told me it took them just four days to put up the stage play and I was so amazed that I left my mouth ajar for a few seconds.
Excellent night it was, fantastic product it is. Well, after all said and done, I look forward to experiencing what the product has to offer and who knows, perhaps when next I write on it, I will be speaking from the angle of a beneficiary too! The event had in attendance famous and illustrious female entrepreneurs and outstanding achievers like Adenike Ogunlesi, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, Evelyn Oputu and a host of others. Shuga Band and Dj Bisoo supplied great musical tunes.
