Alebiosu Highlights Financial Inclusion As Key To Poverty Eradication At UNGA 79″

NEW YORK, USA – In an exclusive interview with Arise TV during the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Olusegun Alebiosu, CEO of FirstBank, emphasized the urgent need for international leaders to prioritize poverty eradication.

He highlighted that alongside poverty, climate change and gender inequality also requires immediate attention and decisive action.

Alebiosu explained that poverty arises from a lack of access and resources, noting that finance play a crucial role in combating it in the 21st century. “The easiest way to get out of poverty is access to finance,” he stated.

During the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit, Alebiosu discussed several key topics, including innovative and sustainable financing, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity.

He underscored the importance of developing human resources to address the growing economic divide between developed and developing nations, aligning with the UN’s focus on sustainable development and equality, particularly in gender equality, climate action, and living wages.

As a financial expert in Nigeria and across Africa, Alebiosu has identified financial inclusion as a critical area for FirstBank’s role in supporting poverty alleviation under the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Bank integrates financial inclusion into its core business strategy, having extended over N36 billion in loans to women in 2023 alone, alongside developing a gender market strategy to enhance its women-focused portfolio.

He also highlighted FirstBank’s extensive network of Firstmonie agents in Nigeria, which exceeded 232,000 in 2023 with over 55,000 of these agents being women who provide vital financial services in their communities. This network exemplifies the transformative power of finance in promoting economic development.

Concluding his remarks, Alebiosu shared his vision for the future, stating, “FirstBank will further be entrenched into the fabric of society, earning a place in the hearts and minds of Nigerians as a giant advocate for economic development in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”

The UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit is an annual conference aimed at empowering private sector leaders to drive sustainable development and advance the 2030 Agenda.

This year’s summit took place in New York on September 24, 2024, providing a platform for business leaders, UN officials, government representatives, SDG stakeholders, and civil society professionals to explore innovative solutions and actionable insights.

About FirstBank

First Bank of Nigeria Limited “FirstBank”, established in 1894, is the premier bank in West Africa, a leading financial inclusion services provider in Africa, and a digital banking giant.

FirstBank’s international footprints cut across three continents – Africa, Europe and Asia, with FirstBank UK Limited in London and Paris; FirstBank in The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; FBNBank in Senegal; and a FirstBank Representative Office in Beijing, China. All the subsidiary banks are fully registered by their respective Central Banks to provide full banking services.

Besides providing domestic banking services, the subsidiaries also engage in international cross-border transactions with FirstBank’s non-Nigerian subsidiaries and the representative offices in Paris and China facilitate trade flows from Asia and Europe into Nigeria and other African countries.

For over 130 years, FirstBank has built an outstanding reputation for solid relationships, good corporate governance, and a strong liquidity position, and has been at the forefront of promoting digital payment in the country with over 13 million cards issued to customers (the first bank to achieve such a milestone in Nigeria).

FirstBank has continued to make significant investments in technology, innovation and transformation, and its cashless transaction drive has been steadily accentuated with virtually 23 million active FirstBank customers signed up on digital channels including the USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code.

With over 42 million customer accounts (including digital wallets) spread across Nigeria, UK and sub-Saharan Africa, the Bank provides a comprehensive range of retail and wholesale financial services through more than 820 business offices and over 243,400 agent locations spread across 772 out of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.

In addition to banking solutions and services, FirstBank provides pension fund custody services in Nigeria through First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited and nominee and associated services through First Nominees Nigeria Limited.

FirstBank’s commitment to Diversity is shown in its policies, partnerships and initiatives such as its employees’ ratio of female to male (about 39%:61%; and 32% women in management) as well as the FirstBank Women Network, an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and increase the participation of women at all levels within the organisation.

Also, the Bank’s membership of the UN Women is an affirmation of a deliberate policy that is consistent with UN Women’s Women Empowerment’s Principles (WEPs) – Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Non-discrimination.

For six consecutive years (2011 – 2016), FirstBank was named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” by the globally renowned The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group and “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” eight times in a row, 2011 – 2018, by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards.

In 2023, FirstBank received notable awards including “Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2023” by Global Finance Awards; “Best Sustainable Bank in Nigeria 2023” by International Investors Awards; “Best Bespoke Banking Services in Nigeria 2023” by International Investors Awards; “Best Financial Inclusion Service Provider in Nigeria 2023” by Digital Banker Africa; and “African Bank of the Year” by African Leadership Magazine; ’’Best Corporate Bank in Nigeria 2023’’ by Euromoney Awards and ‘’Most Innovative Banking Brand – Nigeria 2023’’ by Global Brands Award.

Significantly, FirstBank’s Global Credit Rating was A+ with a positive outlook while ratings by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s were A (nga) and ngBBB+ respectively both with Stable outlooks as at September 2023. FirstBank maintained the same level of international credit ratings as the sovereign; a milestone that was achieved in 2022 for the first time since 2015.

FirstBank continued to gain wide acclaim on the global stage with several international awards and recognitions received so far in 2024. Some of these include Nigeria’s Best Bank for ESG 2024 and Nigeria’s Best Bank for Corporates 2024 both awarded by Euromoney Awards for Excellence and Best SME Bank in Africa and in Nigeria by The Asian Banker Global Awards;

Others are Best Private Bank in Nigeria and Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa by Global Finance Awards; Best Corporate Bank in Nigeria 2024, Best CSR Bank in Nigeria 2024, Best Retail Bank in Nigeria 2024, Best SME Bank in Nigeria 2024 and Best Private Bank in Nigeria 2024 all awarded by the Global Banking and Finance Awards.

Our vision is “To be Africa’s Bank of first choice” and our mission is “To remain true to our name by providing the best financial services possible”. This commitment is anchored on our core values of EPIC – Entrepreneurship, Professionalism, Innovation and Customer-Centricity. Our strategic ambition is “To deliver accelerated growth in profitability through customer-led innovation and disciplined execution” and our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence to position You First in every respect.