FirstGem
, the FirstBank lifestyle offering for women was launched in Lagos in October 2016, to provide enabling opportunities for women to achieve their financial goals and aspirations.
With FirstGem, female customers can access support funds for their total financial empowerment, free business advisory, specialized trainings on business development initiatives, regular information and insight on business opportunities in various sectors and industries as well as tremendous discounts at merchant outlets that offer lifestyle products and services amongst other benefits.
FirstBank in the bid to provide all women across the country with this amazing offering has committed to driving this train across all the geo-political regions of Nigeria, sensitizing women to leverage the FirstGem offering to achieve sustainable economic growth and contribute to national development.
The Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and author of the Book, ‘The Girl-Entrepreneur’ was at Uyo Akwa-Ibom State on November 24, 2016, where she participated at a book club event to deliberate on the values of entrepreneurship whilst sensitizing the attending entrepreneurs on the FirstGem offering.
The FirstBank team was also at Makurdi, Benue State on November 29, 2016 to support the First Lady of Benue State, Dr. Eunice Ortom in her pet project tagged ‘Eunice Spring of Life (ESLF) Social Support Programme for Benue Women’ to promote economic activities for women.
Driving home the FirstGem Offering, the Bank provided an exposition on the funding windows for women in the agricultural value chain.
This includes the special intervention fund of N220bn created by the CBN to provide low cost, long tenored funds to MSMEs to enhance their capacity for employment generation, economic development and inclusive growth.
The scheme commenced in 2014 and advocated that 60% of the fund should go for women entrepreneurs.
The FirstGem offering would empower more women to drive economic activities, transformation and development in the social environment while it provides the requisite support system to enable women to be all that they can be.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, isNigeria’s leading financial services institution by total assets and gross earnings and one of the largest corporate and retail banking financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa). Since its establishment in 1894, the Bank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, risk management and strong capitalization.FirstBank operates an extensive distribution network with over 750 business locations (623 branches, 61 quick service points and 69 cash centers/agencies), over 2,600 ATM’s and over 10 million customer accounts. The Bank provides a comprehensive range of financial services and has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank DR Congo, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone and FBNBank Senegal 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” five times in a row – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 – 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 ispoised 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 three consecutive years, 2012, 2013 and 2014, FirstBank wasnamed 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.
