The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Heritage Bank

  • ‘Heritage Bank to sustain growth, profitability’

    Heritage Bank has restated its commitment to sustainable growth and profitability, notwithstanding the  prevailing adverse macro-economic environment.

    The bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Communications. Fela Ibidapo,, said  “Its ambition to emerge as a systemic important bank in the Nigerian banking industry remains its underlying corporate growth strategy.”

    Ibidapo said,  the foundational element of its growth strategy: People, Partnership and Process have been re-calibrated to match the rapidly changing needs of its customers especially as it deploys full steam retail banking franchise.

    In a statement over the weekend, he said the bank was on a growth track and was not unmindful of the headwinds facing the domestic economy, adding that it is very optimistic that the Heritage Brand will continue to soar over the current economic tide through its collective efforts to remain an enduring institution.

    Ibidapo said the bank would continue to grow by appealing to key client segments especially in the retail space and also focus on under-penetrated banking segments while building loyalty amongst the bank’s existing customer base.

    The statement said the bank was committed to building an enduring and resilient banking franchise in the country, remarking that in the midst of the seemingly stormy realities presented by events within the political and economic environments, the bank will continue to pursue its strategic aspiration of not only being stable but also being sustainable in earnings and profitability in its growth plan.

    He said  the bank is committed to deploying its resources towards the delivery of innovative banking solutions to its customers as well as create and transfer wealth to all its stakeholders.

  • Heritage Bank partners WATIF on sub-regional integration

    Heritage Bank Limited, Nigeria’s most innovative banking service provider, has partnered with the first edition of West Africa Trade and Investment Forum: Conference and Exhibition on sub-regional integration of economies of West African countries in the areas of agriculture, education and skills, manufacturing and information communication technology (ICT).

    Mr. Olugbenga Awe, Group Head, Agric and Exports of Heritage Bank, said the bank was involved in the project because, “it speaks to its commitment to the development of Nigeria and its commitment to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) as well as its commitment to agriculture.”

    He said the bank’s partnership with the organisers of WATIF “is just a continuation of a process it started as part of its commitment to SMEs which are the bedrock of the economy, because they (SMEs) employ labour and in terms of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) they are the future of the economy.”

    Besides this, Awe was also a keynote speaker in a roundtable discussion on agriculture, which recommended soil quality and seed quality for improved agricultural output, mechanised farming and cluster blocks to enhance value in terms of pricing of agricultural commodities.

    Other recommendations include the use of technology, creation of market hubs, setting up of website for farmers to upload information about their products and standardisation of products across the sub-region among others.

    Earlier in her address of welcome, Mrs. Michele Branco-Aiyegbusi, Director of WATIF, “WATIF 2018, themed “Enhancing Collaboration for Regional and Economic Impact” could not have come at a more auspicious time, as it comes right on the heels of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement signed a few days by 44 African countries in Kigali, Rwanda.

    She expressed the hope that genuine efforts towards integration and economic collaboration would not only bring about a boost in the economic standing of Africa globally, but indeed opportunities for growth and development of the sub-region.

    She remarked that with the focus of the maiden edition of WATIF on four sectors, the forum has been able to pool into the discourse industrialists and key drivers from these sectors who they hoped would be open minded in addressing the issues and barriers to trade and development in the sub-region.

     

     

     

  • Heritage Bank, Seki partner to showcase Nigeria’s cultural heritage

    Heritage Bank Plc has partnered with Yibo Koko in association with Bolanle Austen – Peters Productions to showcase some of Nigerian cultures to the world through presentation of a dance drama known as Seki in Lagos.

    The event, which held at the popular Terra Kulture Arena, was graced by members of the diplomatic corps, bank officials and lovers of arts.

    It featured notable celebrities like Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda Coker, Ibinabo Fiberisima, Julius Agwu, Ovunda Ihunwo, Peace Christian, Deborah Job, Opereke Jamabo Foh and Mercy Albert among others as casts.

    Speaking on Heritage Bank’s involvement in the project, the bank’s MD/CEO, Ifie Sekibo, said, “Heritage Bank is doing this to preserve the culture of our people; the wealth of the people is in our culture. Heritage is what makes us who we are. So, it is that heritage we are preserving so that we can transfer it from generation to generation.

    “We know this is entertainment industry and is a very big industry out there and there are so many ways we can capture the essence of who we are, our tradition, our values and this is what they are conveying through this dance drama.”

    Seki, which is created and directed by Yibo Koko, a notable film maker, is a pantomimic dance drama, which traces the America tap dance to the indigenous people of the lower Niger Delta area of Nigeria and it is fused with cultural heritage.

    On what inspired the dance drama, Koko, who used to be the head of production of African Magic with Multichoice, said the idea “is to start our own thing without necessarily relying on the white race for the interpretation of our culture.”

    He said Seki, “is to show how rich we are as a people, how we can embrace our culture that it is not fetish but is colourful, beautiful and wonderful and something we can sell to the world.”

    On why it was performed in Lagos, the director said, “It is to showcase what we have at first to a large audience so that they will not always associate the Niger Delta region with militancy. There are lots of positive things for them to come and witness in the region.”

    Seki, the dance drama which was originally created in 1998 as, Owu-Amaputi, was an official entry to the 10th anniversary of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.

    “It is a collaborative rhythmic agreement of dance patterns of different ceremonial dance groups predominantly from the Okrika, Kalabari, Bonny and Ikwerre ethnic groups in the lower Niger Delta Area of Rivers State, Nigeria,” Koko said.

    The dance groups include Owembe Dancers, Pioru/Ogwein Dancers, Ojongowu Dancers and Ikule Pamba Owu Dancers.

  • #BBNaija: I didn’t have a childhood- Bambam

    #BBNaija: I didn’t have a childhood- Bambam

    Current Head of House, Bamike, also known as Bambam, disclosed that she did not have a childhood.

    She said this today after the Heritage Bank task, where the housemate made their presentations through their representatives from their teams (White, Blue and Green)

    The housemates who dispersed immediately after Biggie let them go; divided themselves into two groups.

    Rico, Cee-C, and Tobi prepared lunch while the other group of Bambam, Teedy-A, Miracle, Tobi and Leo debated different arms of Nigerian Defence, focusing more on the Navy, Army and Air force.

    Also Read: BBNaija: Bambam and Teddy A finally get down

    Miracle who could not hide his excitement of fighter jets spoke about his desire to fly a jet as an Air force Marshal in times to come.

    Bambam spoke up after revealing to other housemates that her Dad was a retired Naval Officer.

    She also attested to the fact that she had less of a childhood as her father was always on the go.

    “I didn’t have a childhood. My father was being transferred from one place to another,” the petite housemate enthused.

     

  • Heritage Bank partners MultiChoice on BBNaija

    Heritage Bank Plc has partnered MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, owners of the DSTV and GOTV brands to bring the third season of the Big Brother Naija entertainment to viewers across Africa and beyond.

    The Big Brother Naija 2018 was launched with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as the host. The programme has 20 house mates battling for the winning prize of N45 million which include a cash gift of N25 million and SUV Jeep among others. The theme of this year’s edition is “Double Wahala.”

    The host said one of the innovations in this season was that viewers could give housemates secret tasks to do and some lucky viewers could win cash prizes of N1 million during the duration of the show.

    The house mates will stay at the Big Brother House for the next 85 days to entertain viewers and the show promises to show case a lot of drama intrigues and romance.

    Speaking at the live streaming of the opening session in Lagos at the weekend, Group Head, Corporate Communications of Heritage Bank, Fela Ibidapo,  said, “When the last season of the reality show was about to start, some of us did know what we were getting into. We are back here again because last year was successful.’’

    He said Heritage Bank believed in creativity and innovation and expressed appreciation to MultiChoice for the opportunity to be part of this edition of the show.

    About 20 house mates were invited to the house in the third season of the show which began last Sunday night, with four of them debuting in a reality show for the first time in their lives.

  • Heritage Bank wins award

    Heritage Bank wins award

    Heritage Bank Plc has won the inaugural Nigeria Sustainable Banking Award convened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “For Sustainable Transaction of The Year in Agriculture.”

    The award which was in recognition of its outstanding success and leadership in Nigeria’s sustainable development in 2017 was presented to the bank recently during the Bankers Committee meeting held in Lagos.

    Managing Director,Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo in recognition of the award said, “We are highly honoured to be awarded by the regulator as one of the most supportive financial institutions to the Agric sector, which is a key sector of the economy and this validates the hard work and success story of the bank to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.”

    According to him, Heritage Bank has continued to compliment the efforts of CBN by making funds available to both individuals and corporate organisations in their efforts to increase agricultural output.

    He explained that the bank has taken the front seat in financing critical agricultural projects in several states in the country, especially in Oyo, Kaduna and Zamfara States.

    Sekibo explained, “The Award is in recognition of what we are doing with Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) a subsidiary of Wilmar International in supporting Oil Palm industry and Triton Aqua Africa Limited (TAAL) involved in aquaculture and reforestation projects.

    “Being a bank with sustainability as part of our DNA, our relationship with BPL that has sustainability as one of its core values provides a natural fit. The project is being implemented in full compliance with all relevant national legal requirements in Nigeria, following best international management practices, including compliance with requirements of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).”

    The bank’s Group Head, Agriculture Finance, Olugbenga Awe explained further that the Heritage Bank is currently implementing an Outgrowers Scheme that is sustainable, fair, adapted to the local context and that will positively impact on the lives of the rural poor.

     

     

    “The objective of the Outgrowers Scheme is to improve the livelihood of rural people, increase the product supply of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to BPL and to help close the palm oil deficit in the Nigerian market with commitment to the ‘No Deforestation and No Exploitation policy’,” he said.

     

     

  • Heritage Bank, Group partner on pageant

    Heritage Bank, Group partner on pageant

    Heritage Bank Plc has partnered with Folio Media Group, publishers of the Daily Times, to organise the 60th anniversary of Miss Nigeria and the 2017 edition of the beauty pageant.

    Miss Ehiguese Mildred Peace, representing Adamawa State, emerged   Miss Nigeria at the grand finale of the beauty pageant held at Eko Convention Centre in Lagos. Miss Rita Chinedu, representing Delta State and Miss Benjamin Anne Ufuomanefe, (Ondo State) were first and second runners-up.

    Miss Cross River, Ana Victoria Lawrence emerged as Miss Emerald Queen, after winning the task organised by Heritage Bank, which centred on assessing the contestants on their knowledge, complement, fluency, articulation, appearance based on ingenuity and creativity of the Nigerian contemporary hairstyles. Whilst, Miss Ifidon Sarah representing Edo State Miss Onyeabo Amarachi representing Abia State, emerged first and second runner ups, respectively.

    The award given to her, which was an artefact (African queen bronze head in a moulded box), speaks of African culture and symbolic of the Bank’s pride of its heritage.

    Miss Nigeria focuses on issues that affect Nigerian women; she is an ambassador of culture, of purpose, of the environment. The ambition of the new beauty queen is to provide medical and psychological help for women who are victims of rape as well as empower them.

    Speaking with journalists immediately after the crowning of the new pageant queen, Fela Ibidapo, Head of Corporate Communications of Heritage Bank said, “We are partnering with Folio Group to empower women”, adding that this is what the Daily Times used to be known for and we wants to help them to revive it.

    “Our involvement in this is not because of beauty per se, it’s primarily to empower ladies and women generally; to encourage them to always put in their best in whatever they do to make a living.”

    Ibidapo agreed that the impact of the initiative might not be so visible in the short-term period, but he was so optimistic that it would impact positively on their contributions to the nation-building process in the long run.

    Also speaking, chairman of Folio Media Group, Mr. Fidelis Anosike said the group would use the Miss Nigeria pageant to create a strong female platform, remarking that the group has signed a partnership deal with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) over the next five years to tackle the scourge of human trafficking.

  • Heritage Bank wins award

    Heritage Bank Plc has won the inaugural Nigeria Sustainable Banking Award convened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “For Sustainable Transaction of The Year in Agriculture.”

    The award which was in recognition of its outstanding success and leadership in Nigeria’s sustainable development in 2017, was presented to the bank recently during the Bankers Committee meeting held in Lagos.

    The Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo in recognition of the award said: “We are highly honoured to be awarded by the regulator as one of the most supportive financial institutions to the Agric sector, which is a key sector of the economy and this validates the hard work and success story of the bank to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.”

    He said Heritage Bank has continued to compliment the efforts of the CBN by making funds available to both individuals and corporate organisations in their efforts to increase agricultural output.

    He explained that the bank has taken the front seat in financing critical agricultural projects in several states in the country, especially in Oyo, Kaduna and Zamfara States.

    Sekibo explained, “The Award is in recognition of what we are doing with Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) a subsidiary of Wilmar International in supporting Oil Palm industry and Triton Aqua Africa Limited (TAAL) involved in aquaculture and reforestation projects.

    “Being a bank with sustainability as part of our DNA, our relationship with BPL that has sustainability as one of its core values provides a natural fit. The project is being implemented in full compliance with all relevant national legal requirements in Nigeria, following best international management practices, including compliance with requirements of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).”

     

     

    The bank’s Group Head, Agriculture Finance, Olugbenga Awe explained further that the Heritage Bank is currently implementing an Outgrowers Scheme that is sustainable, fair, adapted to the local context and that will positively impact on the lives of the rural poor.

    “The objective of the Outgrowers Scheme is to improve the livelihood of rural people, increase the product supply of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to BPL and to help close the palm oil deficit in the Nigerian market with commitment to the ‘No Deforestation and No Exploitation policy’,” he said.

     

     

  • NYSC partners financial institutions to secure soft loans for members

    NYSC partners financial institutions to secure soft loans for members

    The National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) on Monday said it partnered some financial institutions in the country to provide soft loans for corps members to start business.

    The Director-General of the corps, Brig. Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, told newsmen on the sideline of his visit to the 2017 NYSC Batch B Stream I Corps members at Wamakko Orientation Camp in Sokoto that the loan would help the young corps members.

    Kazaure said “we introduced skills acquisition programmes to improve the capacity
    of corps members and to key into Federal Government’s programmes of diversifying the country’s economy.

    “We thought that our corps members need soft loans to enable them to start a business and earn a living during and after their service year.

    “NYSC, therefore, entered into partnership with some financial institutions like Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), Heritage Bank and Bank of Industry to secure loans for corps members at single digit interest rate.”

    The NYSC boss said the loans were for corps members to start small scale enterprises from the grassroots and practically expand the knowledge gained during their skills acquisition programme in the service year.

    Kazaure added that NYSC would establish a skills acquisition centre in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country, with the aim of ensuring that corps members got the skills they required.

    He commended the Sokoto State Government for providing peaceful atmosphere for members serving in the state and urged them to reciprocate the gesture.

    The NYSC Coordinator in Sokoto State, Alhaji Musa Abubakar, thanked Kazaure for the visit to the camp and commended the corps members for maintaining discipline.

    NAN

  • Heritage Bank plans loans for creative industry

    The creative artistes, who participated in this year’s edition of Lagos Comic Con, got a booster from Heritage Bank Plc as the financial powerhouse allayed their fears over inaccessibility of funds for operators in the industry.

    Speaking at the 6th edition of Lagos Comic 2017, held at NECA House, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, Chubike Agu of the Corporate Communications Department of Heritage Bank; commended the audience at the annual event for their perseverance despite all hurdles against them.

    Agu disclosed that at Heritage Bank, our quest to create wealth across the nation is sacrosanct. According to him, Heritage Bank is known for its paradigm, Timeless Wealth Parter, and it is living up to it; as it gives due financial support to the various sectors of the nation’s economy.

    He stated that Heritage Bank developed interest in Lagos Comic Convention; whose sixth edition held this year; because of the economic potential abound in the industry. Agu noted that with the degree of expertise exhibited by the participating artists in the areas of comics, animation, and gaming film, the future is bright for the creative industry in Nigeria.

    Ayodele Elegba, the Convener of Lagos Comic Con (LCC) and Founder, Mustard seed Communication International; explained that the motive of organising the event is to empower the participating creative artists and others.

    Our target audience, he stated, includes “The entrepreneurs, artists (both veteran and young), and even prospective investors. We do this with keen eyes on the desired future we are building together and not forgetting, even for a second, to always be worthy representatives of our rich cultural heritage in the message of our arts.”

    The annual event, which had as its theme this year, Empower, Heritage and Future, has grown from 300 guests in 2012 into Africa’s biggest geek event with over 3000 visitors in 2016. No fewer than 5000 people attended the programme this year.