Wema Bank Shines at Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards 2024
…Awarded:

• SME Financier of the Year (Africa)
• Platinum Award for Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs (Africa)

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has received two awards of excellence at the Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards 2024 which held in São Paulo, Brazil between September 16 & 18, 2024. The awards received are SME Financier of the Year (Africa) and Platinum Award for Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs (Africa).

The Global SME Finance Forum is the world’s leading, technically oriented and geographically diverse platform focused solely on scaling SME financing worldwide. Managed by this Forum, The Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards is dedicated to acknowledging the effective and successful practices of financiers across the world, honouring the innovative products and services these financiers create for SMEs, recognising the impressive results in expanding finance and services to SMEs, and celebrating these exceptional financial institutions. Wema Bank emerged Africa’s top financier not just for the general SME landscape but also particularly for women-owned SMEs, at the 2024 edition of the annual Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards.

Reputed as the Bank of choice for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Wema Bank received recognition for its commendable track record of developing innovative, sustainable and significantly impactful products, services, solutions and opportunities for businesses of all sizes across Nigeria. The Bank’s impact ranges from affordable financing options and seamless payment collection solutions to access to market, digital solutions for efficient business operation and management, SME Advisory services, and a vast range of products tailored to the needs of businesses across every part of Nigeria. Through its women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema, Wema Bank continues to tailor its SME offerings specifically for women, helping these women build sustainable businesses and access the resources needed to scale and thrive. The Bank further supports overall growth and well-being of these women with affordable to free healthcare packages. It is beyond doubt that Wema Bank is indeed deserving of its recognition as Africa’s top financier for SMEs and particularly, women entrepreneurs.

Expounding on the Bank’s glaring commitment to empowering MSMEs, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, articulated the big picture for the Bank. “MSMEs make up the bulk of Nigeria’s economy and they are critical to not only mitigating unemployment and other macroeconomic challenges but also promoting innovation and significantly boosting the economy towards national development. At Wema Bank, we recognise the potential that MSMEs hold as well as the challenges that threaten the maximisation of this potential, and we have made a lifelong commitment to providing viable, seamless, accessible, affordable, reliable and effective solutions tailored to the needs of businesses of all sizes across Nigeria; especially women-owned businesses. There is a rising need for intentionally inclusive empowerment strategies in not only stimulating growth in the SME sector but also bridging the gap in gender equality, and we have undertaken the responsibility of fulfilling that need. As a Bank, our mission is to empower lives through innovation, and as always, we will continue to seek more effective ways to empower businesses for optimal productivity and sustainable growth”.

“We are honoured by the global recognition accorded to us by the Global SME Finance Forum and as we receive these awards, we reiterate our commitment to providing businesses with the resources they need and a bouquet of intelligent solutions that mitigate prevalent challenges and make business management and operation seamless, maximally profitable and efficient. Thank you to the Global SME Finance Forum for the acknowledgement, and also to our valued customers who continue to entrust the future of their businesses and their financial well-being in our hands. This prestigious recognition honours our unwavering commitment to empowering SMEs and fostering innovation in SME finance, further fuelling our drive to consistently go above and beyond in accelerating growth for SMEs and delivering optimum value to every stakeholder. We are indeed the Bank of choice for MSMEs and women across Nigeria, and we will never relent in empowering women to thrive and businesses to scale regardless of economic fluctuations”, Oseni remarked.

Wema Bank continues to raise the standards of banking and financial services in Nigeria, demonstrating a commitment to generating positive impact across diverse verticals, a dedication to exceeding expectations and a passion for empowering lives and businesses for success.

Businesses interested in accessing the Bank’s tailored range of finance options and business-centric solutions are encouraged to visit https://wemabank.com/smes or send an email to [email protected] to get started.

Tony Elumelu, Cindy McCain, Address Africa’s Youth Unemployment, Hunger Crisis at UNGA79

 Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), hosted a reception with Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), to highlight youth unemployment and hunger in Africa, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly meetings, in New York City. The gathering convened philanthropists, entrepreneurs, change makers, policymakers and global leaders.

Dialogue centred on two pressing themes, fundamental to Africa’s transformation: providing a lasting solution to hunger and the transformative potential of entrepreneurship to eradicate poverty on the continent.  With over 7,500 of Tony Elumelu Foundation entrepreneurs drawn from the food sector, the link between sustainable access to food and entrepreneurship was clear. The event was also an opportunity for WFP, once again, to highlight the “forgotten” humanitarian emergencies ongoing in Africa, including Sudan and the DRC, where WFP is delivering in the most challenging of environments. McCain detailed WFP’s efforts to mitigate hunger in global conflict zones, including Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine. Both McCain and Elumelu underlined the urgency and the need for novel approaches, going beyond short-term fixes, and creating sustainable, empowering solutions. Hunger in Africa is often a direct consequence of climate change and Elumelu reiterated the need for an equitable approach to climate and sustainable energy across Africa.

The event also served to introduce WFP’s exclusive philanthropic initiative, spearheaded by McCain, which aims to unite global leaders in the pursuit of Zero Hunger. “We are at a pivotal moment where global hunger has reached alarming levels, fuelled by conflict, economic instability, and the climate crisis. WFP is supporting communities in need across the globe, but we cannot do it alone. Political and private sector leaders must step up now. We need bold action and innovative partnerships to turn the rising tide of humanitarian needs. If we all join hands in the fight against hunger, we can achieve our shared ambition of a better future for all,” said McCain.

Elumelu spoke of the vital role entrepreneurship plays in fostering stability, growth and purpose. He said: “Entrepreneurship creates economic resilience and plays a critical role in preventing crises. 783 million people are affected by hunger worldwide – this is a humanitarian issue, a global crisis. At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we empower young African entrepreneurs who will build resilient economies from the ground up and drive sustainable change, ensuring prosperity even in the most fragile contexts.”

Again, Isiaka Facilitates Instructional Materials For Secondary Schools In Ifo—Ewekoro Federal Constituency

Solanke Ayomideji Taiwo

The House of Representatives member of Ifo—Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka has again facilitated the distribution of instructional materials to Senior Secondary Schools in Ogun State.

The Distribution was facilitated through National Institute For Education Planning in conjunction with Funism Global Service Limited provision of instructional materials for Secondary Schools.

The material distributed were textbooks, desktop and laptop computers, projectors, notebooks, modern blackboards, mathematical sets, drawing boards, Public Address system, Plasma Television among others to Ifo and Ewekoro Local Government Amebo Newspapers NG. learnt.

The beneficiaries of the instructional materials were Anglican Grammar School, Openly Ifo, Ifo High School, Ifo and Nawarudeen Grammar School, Solu in Ifo local government area. In Ewekoro, Ifedapo Community Comprehensive School, Availability, Papa High School, Owu Community Secondary School, Elere Adubi respectively.

During the distribution, Rt Hon Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka who was on oversight function was ably represented by Chief Abiodun Folarin, he extended the gesture of Hon Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka to the beneficiaries, noting that the empowerment of Ifo and Ewekoro is the priority at hand.

“Hon. Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka will not relent in his empowerment programme for his constituency, he choose it as his priority and we are in the season of ensuring our people in Ifo and Ewekoro get something doing, the idle hands is the devils workshop, that was why we have ensure Motorcycles, Sewing machines, Grinding machines, Tricycles were adequately distributed to equip our people and give them daily earnings.” Said Abiodun Folarin

Meanwhile, some youths and undergraduates were given training on Fabric and Trade in July and after the training they were all given cash to kickoff their respective businesses and most of them are doing extremely well in their new careers.

Construction of blocks of classrooms and laboratory was also facilitated by Rt. Hon Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka and most of the buildings are near completion in Ifo and Ewekoro Federal Constituency.

Isiaka admonished the management of the secondary schools to make good use of those materials and inbibe in maintainance culture to enable the instructional materials last longer and serve it purpose to the students.