In today’s business landscape, sustainability and customer loyalty have become critical components of a company’s success. As a result, various businesses are experiencing increased pressure to involve sustainability efforts in their practices (e.g., via a loyalty program).
Not only can this benefit businesses by building a positive reputation, but it can also foster positive relationships with customers by making a collaborative effort towards significant environmental, economic, and social initiatives. By prioritising these concepts, businesses can drive growth, mitigate risk, and create long-term economic, environmental, and social value. By aligning their values and practices with those of their customers, companies can develop stronger relationships and foster loyalty, which can help to maintain a competitive edge in today’s marketplace.
Also, in attempt ensure a more sustainable future for humanity, the United Nations (UN) established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The collection of 17 interlinked goals that make up the SDGs has been described as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
The United Nations states that achievement of the SDGs requires commitment from governments, civil society and corporations. More stakeholders (including investors, creditors, regulators, and environmental enthusiasts) continue to demand that companies become accountable and prioritize sustainability criteria in the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG).
SUSTAINABILITY AND LOYALTY PROGRAMS
Consumers today are more conscious than ever of the lasting impact of everyday purchases. In fact, research shows that a high number of Consumers maintain that sustainability is crucial when determining whether to stay loyal to a brand
Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that growing environmental concerns have significant impacts on customer spending patterns. For example, a 2020 Mickensey report found that “57 per cent [of customers] have made significant changes to their lifestyles to lessen their environmental impact, and more than 60 per cent report going out of their way to recycle and purchase products in environmentally friendly packaging.
Emotional connections and shared values, especially regarding shoppers’ brand loyalty, go hand in hand. As consumers face growing concern around climate change, social justice issues, and more, they realize their money counts.
According to a 2022 consumer survey by Yotpo, over 84% of global respondents said they are more inclined to buy from a brand whose values align with their own. The world is prioritizing brand values, even more so among future consumers. Over 90% of global Gen Z respondents based their brand loyalty on shared values.
THE MISSING PUZZLE
When asked what business practices or company values would discourage loyalty, the most common answers included: supply chain partnerships with factories that mistreat employees (48% of global respondents) and an affiliation with a big polluter (22% of global respondents). Sustainability now encompasses the entire production process, including the supply chain, the lifecycle of an item, the packaging, and more.
In addition, shared values build a connection that goes beyond a positive association with a brand. Instead, these common values build emotional loyalty, creating a relationship that’s personal and action-oriented.
On the other hand, emotional loyalty goes beyond doling out points or moving shoppers up VIP tiers; it means tapping into that genuine connection shoppers feel toward their favorite brands, and behavioral loyalty is only one piece of the puzzle. Brands need to gain shoppers’ emotional loyalty to catalyze action, and prioritizing shared values is an ideal way to build that emotional connection from the start.
Shoppers have high expectations when it comes to brand loyalty. Not only do they look for top-tier experiences, exceptional customer service, and a genuine connection with a brand, but they need to know that a brand cares about the issues they care about — especially sustainability and sustainable justice.
That’s why it’s essential to build a loyalty program that rewards shoppers for sustainable-centric actions. When brands align their loyalty programs to their shoppers’ values, they drive stronger retention in the long run. In fact, according to Yotpo’s recent survey, loyalty programs make over 60% of global shoppers more loyal to a brand.
Loyalty programs deliver hyper-relevant, personalized experiences that make shoppers feel valued. And, they ensure that customers have these relationship-catalyzing moments in every interaction they have with a brand. Every time a customer interacts with an email, a brand’s website, or an SMS message, it’s an opportunity for brands to personalize that touchpoint using loyalty program data — and an opportunity to amplify their mission and values.
THE NIGERIAN EXAMPLE
Nigeria adopted the SDGs (also known as the 2030 agenda for sustainable development) in 2015 to comply with the global call to put an end to poverty, secure the planet and ensure that every citizen enjoys peace and prosperity by 2030.
Nigeria seeks to further align these priorities in partnership with civil society organizations (CSO) and the private sector, and in 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari presented Nigeria’s voluntary national review (VNR) of progress on the SDGs to the United Nations.
The President shared updates on the nation’s progress towards ending poverty (SDG-1), creating an inclusive economy (SDG-8), health and wellbeing (SDG-3), quality education (SDG-4), gender equality (SDG-5), enabling an environment of peace and security (SDG-16), and partnerships (SDG-17). Since then, one of the questions analysts are asking is how the private sector is playing in all of this.
To this end, some private companies in Nigeria are actually giving their all when it comes to commitment to Sustainability programs. For example:
STANBIC IBTC
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of the Standard Bank Group, is a Nigerian-focused, client-centric, digitally enabled, integrated financial solutions provider whose purpose is to drive Nigeria’s growth and be the leading end-to-end financial solutions provider in Nigeria through innovative and customer-focused people.
As an organisation committed to solutions that drive its clients’ progress, Stanbic IBTC supports sustainable development in Nigeria by doing the right business the right way. Its strategic priorities are transforming client experience, executing excellently, and driving sustainable growth and value.
The company relies on six critical measures of success to assess performance against strategic focus areas. Their strategic value drivers requires that they focus not only on financial performance but also on the client experience, employee engagement, risk and conduct, operational excellence, and positive Social, Environmental, and Economic (SEE) outcomes.
Stanbic IBTC understands the significance of prioritising sustainability as a vital measure of success, and the organisation’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies are aligned with this objective. The shift from prioritising profitability to considering social, economic, and environmental benefits for their stakeholders shows their dedication to sustainability.
They implement practical measures such as energy efficiency programs, cleaner energy solutions, waste management programs, and tree planting initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and make progress towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
In the bid to promote a sustainable environment, Stanbic IBTC takes progressive steps towards making their owned office locations green buildings compliant. Stanbic IBTC is currently constructing a new head office building which has achieved a design-stage green building 4-star rating; this implies that the project is the first new building project in Nigeria to be registered and certified by the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).
As part of its sustainability strategy, Stanbic IBTC has adopted natural solutions such as reforestation and afforestation of trees in conjunction with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation to combat climate change and achieve net zero commitments.
As of December 2022, the organisation has facilitated planting of over 4,218 trees. These trees will sequester about nine metric tons of carbon annually and up to 19 metric tons of carbon by full maturity in almost ten years.
The firm recognises the importance of incorporating ESG international best practices into its business operations to promote sustainability and has implemented robust policies and procedures to manage ESG risks.
Their Corporate Social Investment (CSI) framework focuses on advancing SEE impacts in education, health, job creation, and enterprise growth.
Stanbic IBTC’s efforts have a broader reach across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, and the organisation implements meaningful and impactful CSI projects.
Its commitment to delivering value to stakeholders shines through targeted sponsorships and donations with tangible social, environmental, and economic impacts.
For instance, through their three-year sponsorship deal with the Nigerian Football Federation, Super Eagles players will receive Group Life Insurance and Total Personal Accident Insurance. Female sports correspondents in Nigeria also received gender sensitivity support under this sponsorship.
In November 2022, Stanbic IBTC held the eighth annual Together4ALimb Walk to raise awareness for children living with limb loss and highlight their challenges. The firm’s executives, staff, and partners walked virtually, covering over 1,740km to support the cause, using the “Steps by Stanbic IBTC” App to track the incremental steps. The initiative demonstrates its commitment to promoting social impact through its CSI framework.
Stanbic IBTC recognises that partnerships with clients and other stakeholders are essential to accelerate progress toward achieving global sustainable development goals (SDGs). They remain active in driving sustainability conversations and industry activities that promote sustainable development in Nigeria and globally.
Promoting sustainable and ethical business practices remains a priority, and the progress made thus far in ESG considerations and generating positive outcomes for the environment, society, and governance give a sense of achievement. Stanbic IBTC anticipates fostering positive change in Nigeria and beyond through its unwavering commitment to sustainability.
“It Can Be” is the Mantra that drives Stanbic IBTC to run its business with humanity. On the social front, Stanbic IBTC’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) framework focuses on three key areas: Education, Health, and Economic Empowerment.
The company has departmental CSI projects, where staff members in various departments across the organisation pool funds together, and the organisation match the total funds, for a bigger and more impactful project. They also have the I-Support Fund, driven mainly by voluntary contributions from Stanbic IBTC employees, to meet the dire needs of communities within which they operate.
Through the Employee-CSI, Stanbic IBTC delivers sustainable value to the communities it serves by contributing to their Social, Economic, and Environmental well-being while recognising the interests of relevant stakeholders.
In 2022, staff members across 32 teams executed various employee CSI projects. With matching funds provided by the organisation, of which ₦160.65mn was spent on employee volunteerism CSI projects. In 2021, 34 departments raised about ₦119.93mn for this cause. About ₦20mn was donated under the I-Support Fund in the same year. These CSI projects have impacted over 701,778 people across multiple states in Nigeria.
Through its health initiatives, Stanbic IBTC improves access to healthcare and promotes healthy living in the communities where they operate. They support healthcare institutions, promote health education and awareness, and sponsor medical outreach programs for underserved communities.
The focus is on providing access to quality education and supporting initiatives that promote educational development. Education is a powerful social and economic empowerment tool, so the company invests heavily in educational initiatives. They support scholarship programs, educational infrastructure development, and training programs to promote learning and skills development.
As a socially responsible organisation, Stanbic IBTC birthed the Adopt-A-School programme to improve and enhance quality education for children all over Nigeria. The organisation has adopted Kurba Community Primary School in Yamatu Deba LGA in Gombe State under the CSI initiative. New blocks of classrooms have been built, dilapidated buildings were renovated, and offices were furnished.
In its second edition this year, Stanbic IBTC commenced Digital Skills Empowerment Programme (DiSEP) in 2021 to bridge the growing tech gap in the ecosystem and offer a competitive advantage in the global workforce. Four hundred beneficiaries were trained in digital skills, and 36 were absorbed into the Stanbic IBTC workforce. Stanbic IBTC fully pays for both the training and professional certification. DiSEP further iterates the firm’s commitment to youth empowerment in Nigeria.
Also, recognising the importance and impact of education in the life of every Nigerian youth, Stanbic IBTC launched the University Scholarship Programme in 2019 to encourage hard work and academic excellence amongst Nigerian undergraduates. In 2022, the organisation awarded scholarships to 100 Nigerian youths who excelled in the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and gained admission to universities for the 2021-2022 academic session.
Through a fair screening process, the beneficiaries emerged from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Each successful candidate received scholarships valued at ₦400,000 each, and the grants would be disbursed in tranches of ₦100,000 across four academic years.
The grants seek to provide beneficiary students with the financial support necessary to fulfil their educational aspirations. This initiative further demonstrates Stanbic IBTC’s commitment to supporting access to good and quality education.
Economic empowerment is crucial for poverty reduction and sustainable development. The company creates opportunities for entrepreneurship, skills development, and job creation. Their initiatives support small and medium-scale enterprises, provide financial education and literacy programs, and offer access to finance through loans and other financial products.
Stanbic IBTC’s CSI initiatives are positively impacting the communities where it operates. Their commitment to running their ‘Business with Humanity’ is evident in their holistic approach to addressing social issues and improving the lives of others. By investing in Health, Education, and Economic Empowerment, they promote sustainable development and create opportunities for individuals to thrive.
The United Nations made an urgent call in 2015 for action to tackle socio-economic and developmental issues globally, and Stanbic IBTC continually takes steps to play its part towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Stanbic IBTC has instituted a dedicated sustainability team to drive its coordinated approach to implement sustainability strategies and ensured that its business activities align with the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria. This demonstrates its strategic focus on creating shared values for its stakeholders.
Stanbic IBTC has seven impact areas that drive positive socio-economic impacts. Financial Inclusion, Job Creation and Enterprise Growth, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Africa Trade and Investments, and Sustainable Finance and Climate Change.
In line with their commitment to deepen financial inclusion and contribute to the economic growth of Nigeria, they launched the ‘@ease wallet’. @ease is a platform that provides a unique range of financial services to the informal sector, the under-banked and the unbanked, using the last ten digits of a phone number.
In 2022, 929,176 @Ease wallets were opened, with some of the clients also taking up other banking products and solutions. They have also been re-modelling their branches and ATM locations for easy access to the physically challenged.
As of December 2022, 128 bank locations representing 84% of all active locations and all 38 Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited Locations have been modified. An additional 104 offsite ATM locations are modified for easy accessibility; financial awareness sessions have been conducted for 16,542 participants and collaboration with third parties on financial literacy, with over 6,000 students benefiting from the training.
In 2022, Stanbic IBTC trained 4,577 employees on Operational Health and Safety (OHS) practices; availed credit facilities of about ₦1.19bn to support healthcare service providers; donations and sponsorships valued at over ₦94.47m have been made under the educational sector. Over ₦3.52bn credit facilities have been disbursed to educational service providers.
The Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund (SIIF) was established in 2021 under a ₦100 billion Shelf Program. It operates as an alternative investment solution to bridge the gap between the long-term funding needs of infrastructure project promoters and investors willing to invest in long-term projects.
In September 2021, the fund successfully raised ₦6.75 billion via its Series I issuance, with ₦4.2 billion deployed for a gas project and ₦2.5 billion disbursed towards a healthcare project in May 2022. In addition, total investment placements valued at ₦48.1bn were made on infrastructure projects in 2022.
Stanbic IBTC is future-conscious and equally relevant in the present. By prioritising environmental, social, and governance practices, they set an example for other businesses to follow and positively impact the world around them.
Their sustainability initiatives reflect their Organisational values and reveal their commitment to running their business with humanity. Stanbic IBTC’s efforts create a brighter future for all, building a place where people and the planet can coexist happily.
GUINNESS NIGERIA
Over the past seven decades, Guinness Nigeria has maintained a rich heritage and a great track record of economic growth and strong performance. As the foremost Total Beverage Alcohol company in Nigeria today renowned across the continent and internationally for its high-quality brands, the company is particular about enriching the communities where it operates, sources, sells and lives through investment and positive investment and active participation.
Guinness Nigeria’s Environmental Social and Governance agenda is fully focused on the management of the most material issues within the organisation, the environment, investors, customers, consumers, and the society at large.
This is what the company calls the Society 2030: Spirit of Progress – a 10-year action plan towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals within the company, with communities and for society. It is underpinned by 3 major pillars:
PROMOTING POSITIVE DRINKING
Guinness Nigeria wants to change the way the world drinks for better, by celebrating moderation and continuing to address alcohol related harm, expanding programmes that address under-age drinking, binge drinking and drink-driving.
The company has developed several initiatives and partnerships to help drive this all-important message of moderation over the years, some of which are:
SMASHED – A theatre -in-education programme targeted at tackling underage drinking amongst youth using drama and other interactive educational tools. The initiative is aimed at instructing students that no amount of under-age drinking is safe by providing facts, causes, and consequences of under-age drinking. Smashed launched in the UK over a decade ago and has now been delivered in several countries around the world. Since its introduction into the Nigeria academic space in 2018, the company has reached over 142,000 students aged 13 – 17 across the country. The company piloted the delivery of this programme to hearing-impaired students in Oyo state by employing the services of sign language instructors who interpreted the play to the students. It is the first time in Africa, that this programme has been delivered in this manner.
DrinkIQ (www.drinkiq.com) is Diageo’s global resource created to help people make responsible choices about drinking – or not drinking. The programme is delivered through training, providing information and practical advice online. The platform is designed to educate people on the risks of alcohol related harm and is part of our wider 2030 targets on positive drinking which includes reaching one billion people with a dedicated message of moderation from our brands.
Wrong Side of The Road (www.drinkdriving.drinkiq.com) is the organisation’s latest ‘Don’t Drink & Drive’ initiative. It is an authentic and immersive learning experience which allows users to have an interactive conversation with real drink-drivers, real people, real stories, and real consequences. The e-learning module aims to address the erroneous thinking that it is socially acceptable to drink and drive; it’s a hard-hitting, gut-wrenching real-life experience of everyday people, who took the wrong decision to drive impaired. Guinness Nigeria intends to leverage its long-standing relationship and partnership with key stakeholders in the transportation industry to drive the adoption of this module by driving schools in Nigeria as well running several offline roadshows to drive engagement with commercial drivers and other road users. They reached over 30,000 people with about 20% reporting attitude change towards drinking and driving in the last fiscal year.
Annual Ember Month Campaign in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corp is another platform with which Guinness Nigeria discourages the harmful use of alcohol. During the last quarter of every calendar year when festivities peak and road travels tend to increase, the company runs Don’t Drink & Drive campaigns at strategic motor parks across the metropolis engaging with key stakeholders in the transportation industry educating them about the dangers of driving impaired. Guinness Nigeria also uses this opportunity to provide basic health check services to commercial motor drivers.
CHAMPIONING INCLUSION & DIVERSITY
Guinness Nigeria believes that a most inclusive and diverse culture makes for a better business and a better society, and therefore continues to champion diversity and inclusion across its business, with partners and in communities, to help celebrate diversity and shape a more tolerant society.
The company has continually increased Female representation in its employee base. Presently, 33% of Guinness Nigeria’s Executive Leadership team are women, not to mention Guinness Nigeria’s first female Board Chair in its 73 –year history in Nigeria. Guinness Nigeria also has one of the most gender diverse Boards of all the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange with five highly reputable female Independent Non-Executive Directors out of nine (44%).
Guinness Nigeria pioneered an all- Female STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Commercial & Marketing Graduate program, the 1st of its kind in the sector, to grow its own diverse talent and to contribute to the growth of women in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector.
Guinness Nigeria has a Learning for Life and Skills programme called Plan W, where it facilitates improved employability and economic empowerment for women across Nigeria. This capability building training covers general business skills, business modelling and simple business arithmetic as well as provision of trade assets and seed capital to start off small scale product distribution businesses. This initiative debuted in 2019 and has thus far benefitted 900 women across different geo-political zones in Nigeria. This year, the organisation partnered with Sightsavers, Nigeria to extend the initiative to people living with disabilities.
The Guinness Undergraduate Scholarship scheme provides a platform for the company to support youth development across the country. This year, Guinness Nigeria awarded scholarships to 25 additional students who were successful in the screening process for the fiscal year 2023, bringing the total number of awardees currently benefiting from the scheme to 78. The scholarship covers the tuition and accommodation fees of the beneficiaries. Under this scheme, each beneficiary gets the sum of Two Hundred Thousand Naira Only (N200,000).
Impressively, the organization has an employee volunteering programme Guinness Creates a Smile, another platform for community inclusion where employees come together from time to time to show love and care for the communities around them by visiting orphanages to donate household items, participating in community clean-up programmes. This year alone, Guinness Nigeria employees donated food items and household materials worth millions of naira towards the outreaches in Lagos and Benin. They also visited the Federal Society for the Blind, Oshodi and Ivbiore Primary School for the Blind Benin on Valentines Day to celebrate and show love to the PLWD community.
PIONEERING GRAIN TO GLASS SUSTAINABILITY
Guinness Nigeria recognises that its continued long-term success depends on the people and planet. The company also understands that this success is threatened by climate change, water stress, biodiversity loss and other environmental factors. This is why they have taken it upon themselves to work through the whole value chain – the people, resources and environment that contribute to environmental sustainability, from grain to glass by helping to preserve water for life, accelerate to a low carbon world and becoming sustainable by design.
Preserving Water for Life – Guinness Nigeria’s Water stewardship journey has been a progressive success story since 2020 when its water usage efficiency was recorded at 4.5 (l/l) and has increasingly become more efficient till date.
Today, the company has achieved ∼ 40% reduction in our water usage versus its 2030 Target of 30% less water! The progress recorded so far has been largely driven by several water efficiency initiatives put in place by the company’s operations team, and further enhanced by its recently commissioned Water Recovery Plant (WRP) – a facility which takes treated effluent from its Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and further purifies it, using state of the art technology, to portable water standard.
The recovered water is then applied to other non-product contact processes to reduce the burden of water extraction from underground sources. During an inspection of Guinness nigeria’s Ogba Brewery production site recently, officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) were taken on a tour of the WRP facility, and they could not stop commending Guinness Nigeria Plc on this initiative, according to them, the facility is a ‘first of its kind’ in the entire country to date!
To demonstrate their appreciation of the environmentally friendly Water practices, which has been further enhanced by the commissioning of the Water Recovery Plant, they wrote Guinness Nigeria a commendation letter endorsed by the General Manager of the agency and referenced the alignment of the initiative with Lagos State’s circular economy strategy.
The company is demonstrating its commitment to reduction of energy, water consumption, emissions and waste through investments in new installations such as combined heat and power plants, effluent treatment plants and hybrid solar power installations in its manufacturing plants.
They have also re-stated a global commitment to make all consumer packaging 100% recyclable by 2025 and to enhance the collection of all packaging material by 2030 through its World Without Waste program. The System has trained over 30,000 youths on entrepreneurship and employability skills across different cities in Nigeria in the last five years, constructing or renovating several classroom blocks in over 30 schools and impacting 30,000 students, among other corporate social investment initiatives.
FIRSTBANK OF NIGERIA
In furtherance of its leading role in promoting the socio-economic inclusion of women in society, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, earlier in the year announced its dedication of the month of March to the celebration of women across the world, as it commemorates the globally celebrated International Women’s Day, 2023.
Kicking off the series of internal and activities designed to celebrate women is The First Women Network (FWN), Mentoring, Coaching and Sponsorship Pillar Webinar which held on Friday, 3 March 2023. The event was organized by the Bank’s First Women Network, an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and increase the participation of women at all levels within the organisation.
On Wednesday, 8 March 2023, the Bank joined the rest of the world and celebrated the 2023 International Women’s Day themed: “Embrace Equity” as it convenes its International Women’s Day 2023 event.
As a member of UN Women, FirstBank employs the relevant women empowerment tools including the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Gender Gap Analysis Tool in the process of assessing its performance and provides progress reports that feeds into the WEPs performance indicators. FirstBank has a ratio of about 39%:61% female to men employees while 32% women in management driving a deliberate policy consistent with the WEPs – Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Nondiscrimination.
Also, in order to empower female business owners across the country, The ELOY Foundation, in partnership with FirstBank presents the ELOY Foundation Business Shower, created to support female entrepreneurs on their journey to building sustainable businesses. The support from FirstBank was carried out through the FirstGem loan scheme designed for female-owned or partnered MSMEs and its SMEConnect initiative.
The partnership focuses on key sectors of the economy and designed to have female entrepreneurs exposed to essential business skills like training, networking and the ELOY Foundation Business Toolkit, a compilation of business survival skills nuggets. The business shower availed businesses a platform to pitch their ideas to win seed grants and join the ELOY Foundation Sustainable Empowerment Programme.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 128 years.
With over 750 business locations and over 196,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 30 million customers. The Bank has an international presence through its subsidiaries, FBNBank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been handy at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 12million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 4.5 million people on FirstMobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is always to put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of the first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
In all of this, because sustainability is the key to a better future. Humans rely on natural resources for business, activities, and survival. Ignoring sustainability programs by government and corporate organisations will amount to an act of irresponsibility.
