Quick Takes
Keystone Bank Empowers Women
Keystone Bank Limited said it held the reins of the women empowerment segment at the recently concluded International OkpeKpe Road Race. The Okpekpe Road Race - an annual 10 kilometre marathon organised by Pamodzi Sports marketing Nigeria Limited, in partnership with the Edo State Government is recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). It attracts competitors from all over Africa.
The acting Managing Director of Keystone Bank, Mr. Hafiz Bakare stated that the bank was committed to supporting initiatives that empower women and youths. He explained that this was in line with the pillars of the Bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), adding women are the bedrock of social and moral values and as such support for programmes like this was not only significant but essential.
As part of the Women Empowerment Programme sponsored by Keystone Bank, 10 indigenous women were trained and provided with start-up kits in various vocational skills.
Speaking at the event, the Group Head, Oil & Gas (Corporate Banking) at Keystone Bank, Mrs. Nnenna Kayode-Lawal said: “Beyond being one of our CSR pillars, the focus on supporting women in the society stems from the fact that women remain the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.”
Union Bank Supports Creative Arts
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc said it recently partnered performance art production company, iOpenEye Production, to present the stage play -Love & Recession to creative arts lovers.
Inspired by Femi Osofisan’s popular stage play, ‘The Engagement’, Love & Recession serves to celebrate the dynamism and resourcefulness of Nigerians in times of economic slowdown.
According to a statement from the bank’s Head, Corporate Affairs/ Corporate Communications, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem: “Union Bank has a history of supporting talent and creativity, because we believe that it is key to economic empowerment for Nigeria’s populous and highly enterprising youth.
“Through talent development, which is one of the strategic pillars of our community investment, we work to build capacity and foster individual and community creativity in areas including social innovation, sports, and creative arts.”
The cast of the play included Keppy Ekpenyong, Ikponmwosa Gold and Omonor Somolu. The play, which was produced by Ifeoma Fafunwa, was part of activities to celebrate Union Bank’s centenary anniversary.
Ganduje,j Others for DBI’s Matriculation
The Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, will on Wednesday this week, witness the first matriculation ceremony of Digital Bridge Institute. The Federal Ministry of Education and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) had last year, given the DBI the green light to operate as an Innovation Enterprise Institution.
According to a statement signed by the administrator of the institute, Dr. Okechukwu Adinde, the license enables the DBI to run two-year programmes in the specialised areas of software engineering, computer hardware engineering, networking and systems security, telecommunications technology and multimedia technology.
“The first set of students were admitted into the programme for the Kano and Lagos Learning Centers in the current2016/2017 academic session. On completion, graduands will be awarded a National Innovation Diploma (NID) equivalent to Ordinary National Diploma (OND) with which they can pursue higher studies in related fields in the university via direct entry admission,” the statement said.
Established in 2004 by NCC, the DBI has, over the years, become the leading provider of capacity building in telecommunications and information technology in Nigeria and beyond. The curriculum of the programme is uniquely designed with 30 per cent classroom instructional work and 70 per cent practical laboratory and workshop experience to offer students a rich blend of theoretical knowledge and practical skills.