FirstBank Joins Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, Reinforces its Commitment to Climate Action

As part of its commitment to sustainable finance and taking active steps towards reducing its carbon footprint, FirstBank has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) to promote sustainable finance, combat climate change and advance sustainable socioeconomic development for the just transition.

PCAF is a collaboration between financial institutions worldwide to enable harmonised assessments and disclosures of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from loans and investments. With more than 530 financial institutions from six continents, the group is rapidly expanding in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Joining PCAF aligns with FirstBank’s broader climate agenda, reinforcing its efforts to contribute meaningfully to global climate goals. By adopting PCAF’s globally recognised standards, FirstBank aims to enhance transparency in carbon accounting and reporting, integrate climate risk into its lending and investment decision-making, and support Nigeria’s transition to a low-carbon economy. This initiative complements FirstBank’s ongoing work on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, underscoring its dedication to responsible banking practices.

PCAF will provide FirstBank with a standardised methodology and framework to measure and report the Bank’s GHG emissions and climate-related risks. By joining PCAF, the Bank’s capability in understanding and managing its exposure to climate risks and liabilities (physical and transition risks) will be enhanced. This will enable the Bank to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to mitigate these risks while leveraging on the opportunities for growth.

Dylan Hauser, regional lead For PCAF Africa said “We congratulate FirstBank on becoming a signatory of PCAF. We are absolutely delighted to have FirstBank on board sharing our commitment to driving positive change and reducing carbon footprints in the region through transparent and accountable practices.”

According to Patrick Akhidenor, Chief Risk Officer, FirstBank, “Joining PCAF is a significant milestone in our sustainability journey. It is not only a demonstration of our commitment to combatting climate change but also a step towards ensuring that we, as a financial institution, are accountable for the carbon emissions our activities finance. We are excited to collaborate with other global institutions in driving meaningful climate action”.

By joining forces with PCAF, FirstBank is poised to champion transparency and accountability in impact of the financial sector’s activities on climate change.

WEMA BANK PIONEERS NIGERIA’S FIRST LICENSED BANKING APP FOR TEENAGERS, ALAT XPLORE APP

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has launched its highly anticipated ALAT Xplore App, a first-of-its-kind mobile banking app designed strategically to empower teenagers ages 13-17 with financial resources and opportunities to give them a head-start towards financial responsibility. The groundbreaking App was unveiled at the official launch event on Saturday, October 26, 2024 in Lagos.

Currently available on the PlayStore or App Store, ALAT Xplore App is breaking new ground as the first-ever licensed Nigerian banking app for teenagers. The App boasts a unique range of engaging, educative and innovative features that make finance management more interesting for teenagers and help them weave financial literacy into their daily lives. The App offers a seamless onboarding experience, savings goals for Teens to save towards specific targets of their choice at any frequency and earn interest, airtime and data purchases, widgets that allow teens customise the App’s interface based on their preferences. The ALAT Xplore App also allows teenagers access a debit card for their use, offering a range of three unique, intriguing and innovative ALAT Xplore Debit card design options to select from, based on their preference.

Built with a unique parental-control framework, the ALAT Xplore App works in connection with the ALAT App, offering a unique experience that allows teenagers manage their finances via the ALAT Xplore App, with parents able to supervise and control the teenagers’ access to onboard on the app, as well as their use of funds. The parent/guardian opens, funds and manages the ALAT Xplore Account for their Teen via the ALAT App. While the teenager can download the ALAT Xplore App on the App Store and Playstore, the parent is required to give approval for the teen to complete the onboarding process on the App. Once the parent/guardian approves, the teenager can log in and use the ALAT Xplore App any time.

To further ensure that the teenagers’ use of the ALAT Xplore App does not interfere with the parents’ overall financial contributions towards the teen’s future, the ALAT Xplore App operates with a wallet account connected to the ALAT Xplore Account. The parent funds the wallet account at their discretion, and the teen can access any amount funded into the wallet account using the ALAT Xplore App; not the entire amount in the ALAT Xplore account. Where teens run out of funds on the ALAT Xplore App, the App offers a smart feature through which they can request money from their parent/guardians in a few clicks. The parent/guardian simply receives a notification telling them how much their teen has requested as well as what they need the money for, with the option of granting the request.

The ALAT Xplore App Launch is guaranteed to be a gamechanger not just in the Nigerian banking and financial services industry, but also for teenagers across Nigeria who will now be able to bank on their mobile phones, manage their finances, save at their pace, spend with debit cards issued in their name, learn efficient finance management and get a head-start in financial responsibility as they journey towards adulthood.

Wema Bank’s MD/CEO, Moruf Oseni, emphasised the importance of inculcating financial literacy from early childhood and teenage years, towards producing more financially responsible adults. “Teenagers stand at a confluence between childhood and adulthood, and while 0-8 are regarded the formative years, teenage years have the capacity to steer the course of adulthood, and it is important that we leverage this pivotal phase to steer teens in the right direction. We had created the ALAT Xplore Account to help parents and guardians build a solid financial foundation for their teens, and the results have been impressive so far. However, we identified an equally important need for these teens to become involved in this journey to financial success, hence the launch of the ALAT Xplore App. The App has been curated intentionally to give teens a head-start in their journey to financial independence, helping them understand the intricacies of finance management and how best to navigate the terrain, ensuring that by adulthood, they are equipped to thrive. The goal is to build more financially responsible adults from the point of being teens”.

“We are excited to launch teenagers across Nigeria into a world of financial possibilities through the ALAT Xplore App, and we invite parents, guardians and teenagers across Nigeria to join us on this thrilling journey. As always, we have been thoughtful in curating this App to serve the needs of teenagers with some parental control as an added measure to guide these teenagers. The big picture for us is to empower teens towards financially responsible adulthood by introducing them to the practicalities of finance management in the most simplified, relatable and realistic way. I encourage every teen to download the ALAT Xplore App and onboard, every parent or guardian to open an ALAT Xplore Account for their teenager on the ALAT App, and every Nigerian to take pride in spotlighting, promoting and adopting this pioneering innovative solution that is set to rejig the industry and empower teens for a productive and successful future. The ALAT Xplore App is a game changer in the Nigerian banking industry and as we did when we pioneered ALAT, we are ushering in a new era of financial inclusion for Nigerians, this time, for teenagers”, Oseni concluded.

The ALAT Xplore App is the Nigeria’s first licensed banking app for teenagers. The App is accessible from any part of the world, allowing teenagers within and outside Nigeria to onboard on the app provided their parents have opened ALAT Xplore accounts for them on ALAT. The intriguing card designs also present a new opportunity for teenagers to own and operate their own debit cards issued in their own name, as they explore on their journey to adulthood.

Teenagers are encouraged to download the ALAT Xplore App on the Playstore or App Store to onboard and request a debit card of their choice. Parents and guardians are to download the ALAT App, open an ALAT Xplore Account for their teens and give approval in-app for their teen to fully onboard.

Polaris Bank trains more than 5,000 journalists pan-Nigeria in 10 years

Polaris Bank Limited, Nigeria’s leading digital retail commercial bank, has empowered more than 5,000 journalists across the country through its yearly media capacity building workshops in the last 10 years.

The 2024 edition of the media workshop, which held on Thursday in a hybrid format, focused on “Integrating AITools in Contemporary Media Practices for Innovation and Excellence.”

Speaking at the event, Rasheed Bolarinwa, Head of Brand Management and Corporate Communications at Polaris Bank, noted that the bank will continue to provide its unwavering support for the journalists and the media as a vital pillar of society.

“We believe that journalists and the media plays crucial role in shaping public discourse and fostering informed citizenship,” Mr. Bolarinwa said. “Our commitment to training journalists across the media spectrum, is rooted in our belief that they (journalists) deserve the best possible support to excel in their profession.”

He said the bank started the media training partnering journalism clinic and holding workshops in various cities across the country. The media clinic which focused on divination of the media, was facilitated by Mr. Taiwo Obe, a veteran journalist.

Bolarinwa disclosed that more than 500 journalists registered for the 2024 edition and expressed the hope that the bank will continue to do more to support journalists and the media by bringing the best faculty to facilitate contemporary issues at its subsequent media workshops.

The programme featured a diverse range of topics, including; creativity, AI tools, and critical thinking. Dr. Chike Mgbeadichie, a Senior Lecturer at the Pan African University, provided insights into the application of AI tools in media practices while Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, Executive Director of the Media Career Development Network, discussed contemporary media trends such as multimedia journalism, fact-checking and data journalism.

Dr. Mgbeadichie noted that at the end of the seminar, participants will be able to reflect deeply on thinking, actions and processes needed to generate ideas, possibilities and actions. He added that journalists should be able to figure out how to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information; know the different AI tools available in the media space as well as understand the benefits of AI tools in contemporary media practices, among others.

Mr. Otufodunrin explained that journalists should be adept at the use of solutions journalism to enhance their investigative capabilities, using new tools such as OSINT, Geo journalism, data analysis, digital forensics, website blogs, social media, newsletters, podcasts e-publishing and social media engagements, among others.

Participants from across Nigeria, both online and in person, expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to enhance their skills. Segun Adeleye, publisher of Worldstage, commended Polaris Bank for its continuous dedication to fostering media excellence in Nigeria.