As part of its strategic initiatives for thought leadership, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria’s Best Banking Brand has lent its support to the NESG to chart a new course for the Education sector at the 20th edition of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group Conference (NESG) taking place from Tuesday, March 18 to Thursday, 20, 2014 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
The Summit themed “Transforming Education through Partnerships for Global Competitiveness” is organized to deliberate on the role of the Nigerian education sector in the transformation of Nigeria. The event which is projected to drive consciousness and a more significant involvement of the private sector in the education space, whilst gaining the attention and interest of key stakeholders on the centrality of education and learning for economic development and nation building will also focus on building national consensus on what is urgently required to rebuild, revamp and reinforce the education sector to secure Nigeria’s future and global competitiveness.
The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who is expected to declare the Summit open will also lead a Presidential Strategy Session with eminent local and international personalities, which will focus on key strategic elements required to bring about the desired changes in the education sector. Other aspects of the Summit will include plenary sessions on thematic areas of the education sector such as Quality and standards; ICT, knowledge transfer and relevance; developing an Integrated curriculum that is fit for purpose; access, equity and inclusion in education, early years education; tertiary education and employability, skills, vocational education and leadership in education.
According to the Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney “as a leading financial institution providing innovative services to our numerous customers, we are pleased to be playing an important role in helping to move our country forward through our support of the NESG summit which aims to aid the development of educational activities and in turn the transformation of the economy through manpower development”.
“At FirstBank, we remain committed to promoting thought leadership and driving the development of the educational sector through our support for players and regulatory authorities in the sector. As a key stakeholder in the Nigeria economy we hope that the NESG summit will enhance capacity building and foster development of the sector which is pivotal to driving the nation’s economic growth in the nearest foreseeable future.” FirstBank has been a consistent partner of the NESG over the years and has played a leading role in charting new courses for policy changes in different sectors of the economy.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is Nigeria’s largest financial services institution by total assets and gross earnings. With more than 8 million customers, FirstBank has over 750 branches providing a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, Banque International de Credit (B.I.C) in the Republic of Congo, International Commercial Bank (ICB) in Ghana, Gambia, Guinea and Sierra-Leone as well as its Representative Offices in Johannesburg, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.
FirstBank is the recipient of many awards. The Bank has been named “The Best Bank Brand in Nigeria” three times in a row – 2011, 2012, 2013 – by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group. FirstBank’s brand purpose is to always put its stakeholders, customers and partners at the heart of its business, even as it is poised to standardize customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across Sub Saharan Africa, in consonance with its brand vision “To be the partner of first choice in building your future”. The brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on the FirstBank’s inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position its customers first in every respect.
For two consecutive years, 2012 and 2013, FirstBank was named the “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards. Other recent awards include the “Best Bank in Nigeria” in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence, “Best Bank in West Africa” and “Most Innovative Bank in Africa” in the African Banker Awards, “Best Bank in Nigeria” in the EMEA Finance African Banking Awards for the fourth time, “Best Foreign Exchange Services in Africa” in the EMEA Finance Treasury Services Awards, “Best Banking Group in Nigeria” by World Finance Banking Awards, and “Best Financial Reporting Company” by Africa Investor.
