Determined to sustain its stake in the agricultural sector as a leading lender and support its continued growth, Sterling Bank has supported the second edition of Ogun State Investment Forum. The Forum, which held in the state capital, Abeokuta, between May 21 and 22, 2014, focused on agriculture and urban development.
Similarly, the bank has concluded plans to sponsor the 10th edition of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). The event will hold in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, onSaturday, May 24, 2014, at the newly refurbished Dr. Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre.
The keynote addresses at the Ogun State Investment Forum were delivered by former President of Mexico, Vincent Fox and the Vice President of European Investment Bank (former Prime Minister of Republic of Slovenia) Anton Rop. Lanre Adesanya, executive director of Sterling Bank, was part of the plenary session on Financing Agriculture and Housing Development: Investment and Potentials.
The bank in a statement explained that it had become necessary to support the Forum because of the unique roles played by agriculture and urban development in wealth creation and boosting the economy of the country.
The statement signed by the bank’s group head, strategy and communications, Shina Atilola, reads in part: “The focus of the forum is agriculture and urban development. These are the catalysts needed for any sustained economic development. We need to support laudable projects such as this because Sterling Bank is also highly involved in the funding of the Agriculture sector. We have devoted a large chunk of our loan portfolio to the sector. We are involved in the Goal Enhancement Scheme (GES) of the federal government which started in 2012 and Sterling Bank is one of the three banks that supported the federal government on the project.
“We are duly committed to ensuring the success of the transformation agenda by supporting the government’s laudable policies and financing all actors along the value chain in the agricultural sector.”
Speaking on its involvement in the sponsorship of the AMAA Award, Atilola said the decision of the bank was based on the need to invest in the entertainment sector to fully exploit the opportunities that abounded in it.
