To reposition for 2016, FirstBank of Nigeria has reviewed some of its corporate social investments in the past few years in critical sectors to fulfill its brand promise, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.
In recent years, corporate organisations have shown growing interest in corporate social responsibility(CSR). Unlike in recent time when their goals were to make sales, maximise profit, now they are concern about making impact on the enviroment through various interventions.
As a result, some companies have made CSR an important part of their brand promise and contribute to national growth in the areas of education, health, agriculture, among others.
In the light of this, several companies from telecommunications, fast moving consumer goods industry, set aside some budgets called ‘corporate social investment’ to support societial needs.
One of Nigeria’s oldest brands, FirstBank of Nigeria recently reveals how much it has supported research in nine higher higher institutions. While reviewing its CSR efforts, the bank stated that with its mission to set the ‘gold standard’ of customer experience, excellence in financial solutions across sub-saharan Africa with vision to be a partner of first choice in building future for people and communities where it operates, it has been promoting educational development in Nigeria, driving and sustaining the economy through academic research.
The bank said it has expressed these brand promises encoded in its mission and vision through the take-off of the Uyo Endowment Fund in Petroleum Engineering, the FUTA Endowment in Computer Science with focus on some of the research done by the Professorial Chair, Dr. B.K. Alese. The latest in social investment is Samuel Asabia Endowment in Business Ethics in the University of Lagos, which is about to take off
The Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, said: “We will always deliver the ultimate ‘gold standard’ of value and excellence. Our financial services knowledge and practices lead the market in ensuring that we understand our customers and surpass expectations to strive for a better way of delivering first-class service and experience.
“FirstBank of Nigeria Limited established its endowment structure to complement the Federal Government’s efforts in the development and advancement of tertiary education in Nigeria. The Endowment Structure necessitates the funding of research projects in federal universities, selected around the six geographical regions of the country. The funds were set up in various departments as approved by the Bank’s Management to facilitate research work in the endowed universities.”
She said FirstBank Endowment Programme was initiated in 1994 has professorial endowments in nine federal universities each located in the different geopolitical zones of the country. Currently, the bank’s total endowment portfolio is N450 million.
According to Ani-Mumuney, the bank engaged its sister company FBN Capital to manage the investment portfolio of the various endowments to ensure maximum yield for each endowment investment in order to promote research and learning in the universities.
“Each Professorial Endowment usually has a professorial chair occupant selected through a rigorous but transparent process to ensure qualified candidates are engaged for the research. Candidates for the Chair are sourced from within the affected Department of the University. He/she may not necessarily be a substantive Professor but not less than a senior lecturer. The University’s representative on the Board of Trustees for the Endowment Fund is empowered to advertise, select and interview candidates and thereafter appoint an occupant for the professorial chair,” she said.
She said some of these CSR projects have impacted on the selected schools for global competitiveness. “Since the launch of the FBN FUTA Endowment Fund, it has witnessed a series of research projects that have resulted in knowledge creation and dissemination carefully articulated in organised public lectures and integrated into policies that have served as solutions to existing peculiar concerns in the country. One of the public lectures was delivered on April, 2014 and themed Security Issues in Nigeria: Getting Ready for The Digital Challenge.
“The bank’s unflagging commitment to promoting educational development through the FBNFUTA Endowment Fund has positioned FUTA as a citadel of excellence in the global competitive stage. This was evidenced in the feat achieved by the FBN FUTA Professorial Chair Occupant and his associates in the Computer Science Department at the Eighth International Conference for Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (ICITST-2013) in London, United Kingdom in December 2013,” she noted.
