FCMB Women empowers young girls through skills acquisition

Eager to deepen its commitment to continually improve lives in communities and to mark this year’s International Women’s Day with the theme, “Be Bold for Change”, FCMB Women sponsored and graduated a batch of young secondary school leavers in a three-month intensive skills acquisition and basic business management training programme to empower them with entrepreneurial and employability skills.

Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics in a report titled “Statistical Report on Men and Women in Nigeria” show that girls’ school enrolment and completion rates still lag beyond boys’.

Percentage of females enrolled in primary schools increased from 45.3 percent in 2010 to 45.7 percent in 2015. For boys it was 53.4 percent in 2013 and 52.5 percent in 2014 available data on NBS website show.

“People and their talents are two of the core drivers of sustainable, long-term economic growth. If half of these talents are underdeveloped or underutilised, the economy will never grow as it could” wrote Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum in his preface to a report “The Global Gender Gap Report 2014.”

Multiple studies have shown that healthy and educated women are more likely to have healthier and more educated children, creating a positive, virtuous cycle for the broader population.

According to a statement from the bank, the youth empowerment and employability training programme sponsored by FCMB Women was in collaboration with Jakin Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), a highly renowned organisation, with an overall aim of solving some of the challenges faced by underprivileged youth.

The batch made up of ten young secondary school leavers from rural communities in Lagos within the age range of 16 and 21 years under-went training in computer application skills, business management and planning, book keeping, work ethics, time management, bead and soap making, among others.

Fielding questions from the media, Felicia Obozuwa, divisional head, Corporate Services Division, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), said “FCMB Women are very passionate about empowering children especially the less privileged to fulfil their dreams. This is our little way of helping to ensure that vulnerable girls who have just finished secondary school, are not idle, but given the basic training and exposure, required to give them a head start for a bright future”.

Executed through the Fresh Foundation programme, “the initiative is run with the objective to empower youths with entrepreneurship and employability skills”, said Bukky Adebiyi, the Founder of Jakin NGO.

One of the beneficiaries of the Fresh Foundation training Programme, Blessing Ogbansiegbe and the best graduating beneficiary who won in addition, a three-month internship with FCMB thanked FCMB Women immensely for the opportunity she got to partake in the programme. “The training has awakened the giant in me. I have learnt so much about effective communication, improved my knowledge of time management, branding and advertising. I really appreciate FCMB Women for this opportunity given to us on a platter of gold. We sincerely thank the Bank and its partners, Jakin N.G.O”, the ex-student of Fazl-i-Omar Senior High School, Iwaya Lagos enthused. 

For Chioma Akintaiwo who finished from Surulere Girls Secondary School, Lagos, it was a wonderful moment for her. She thanked the Bank for adding to their lives, the immense value which they would not forget in a hurry for the impact and the foundation laid in them.

Over the years, FCMB Women, motivated by the corporate social responsibility ethos and ideals of First City Monument Bank, have renovated schools, built libraries, donated books, awarded scholarships to indigent students, raised business capital for widows, and donated care materials to orphanages across the federation.

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU