Stanbic IBTC Bank, a member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IE Business School, Spain, to finance prospective participants in the executive blended programme run by the school.
The parties on Tuesday signed the financing agreement to kick start the partnership in which the lender will provide loan facilities for students enrolled in IE’s top ranked MBA programmes. IE is ranked third business school in Europe by the Financial Times. Its Global Executive MBA was recently ranked number one by the Economist.
The collaboration, which will be operative for an initial period of one year from May 2015, and renewable for another year, covers financing for IE’s MBA and Executive MBA programmes. Stanbic IBTC Bank will finance a part or the total cost of the programmes which IE offers to qualified candidates who have been accepted to the programme. The financing will come in the form of an Unsecured Personal Loan (UPL).
Speaking at the event, Obinnia Abajue, executive director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, said “the partnership fits into the institution’s goal of fostering economic empowerment through strategic interventions that enable individuals and businesses realise their aspirations.”
It was the pursuit of this objective that informed the creation of the Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership Series, which made its debut last year, to build a new cadre of leaders among people and businesses in Nigeria, he said.
Similar capacity-building initiatives spanning various sectors of the economy, including MSME, transport and logistics, trade and finance have also been organised by the Stanbic IBTC Group on an ongoing basis to support individuals and businesses, Obinnia said.
“The partnership with IE opens another window of opportunity to empower people for self-development and actualisation. It is in sync with our operating mantra, which is moving forward. At Stanbic IBTC Bank, we are mindful of the fact that socio-economic growth and development are anchored on sound education and robust infrastructural base. This conviction underscores our strategic interventions in critical sectors of the economy, including education,” he said.
On his part, IE’s vice chairman, Diego Del Alcazar Benjumea, who noted that the institution was dedicated to building business leaders worldwide, said Stanbic IBTC Bank was chosen for the partnership after a thorough appraisal that revealed its uncommon commitment to multi-sectoral capacity-building and economic empowerment.
Having become Africa’s biggest economy, with its rebasing throwing up previously under reported sectors such as telecoms, entertainment, and retail, IE´s country director, Eniola Harrison, said “Nigeria requires, in both the public and private sectors, a critical mass of skilled manpower to drive its future growth, while sustaining its growing international profile and reputation.”
According to Del Alcazar, “a major goal of IE is to help people acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to drive business excellence around the world.”
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
