WEMA BANK COMMEMORATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2025
Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s
first fully digital bank, ALAT, has commemorated International Women’s
Day 2025 in style, hosting a grand event on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at
its Head Office Facility in Lagos.
The Wema Bank International Women’s Day 2025 Event convened iconic women
from diverse fields and industries to dissect the topic “Harnessing
Innovation & Technology To Accelerate Financial Inclusion for
Women”. Deriving from the global IWD 2025 theme “Accelerate Action”, the
Wema Bank International Women’s Day 2025 event highlighted the need for
implementing an innovative approach to promoting financial inclusion
for all women and forging long term sustainability for women
empowerment.
Among the major highlights of the Wema Bank International Women’s Day
2025 event were the Women Network’s graduation ceremony of the Big
Sister Programme Cohort 2; special performances across music and poetry;
the HeForShe 2025 Awards where outstanding male employees of Wema Bank
who have made outstanding strides in accelerating action towards women
empowerment, were awarded to encourage more men to become pro-women; and
a panel session featuring distinguished women who have been
instrumental in accelerating action for women empowerment.
Moderated by Media Personality and TV Presenter, Olive Emodi, the
session featured three panelists including Dr. Nneka Okekearu, the
Director of the Entreprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic
University, Solape Akinpelu, CEO of Harvest and Tochi Ginigeme, Lead
Deal Matchmaking at Impact Investors Foundation; all of whom provided
invaluable insights and visionary contributions to the perceptive
discussion on addressing roadblocks and leveraging innovation for women
empowerment. This grand event panned out excellently, receiving
commendation from women across Nigeria.
Attesting to Wema Bank’s commitment to women empowerment Chairman, Dr.
Mrs. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola, the Chairman of Wema Bank, highlighted the
Bank’s role in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
towards the global advancement of gender equality. According to her,
““The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Accelerate
Action”, and as the first female Chairman of Wema Bank, my career is a
testament to the impact that can be generated and the change that can be
achieved, when individuals and corporations take decisive steps to
accelerate action for women empowerment. The goal of the 5th Sustainable
Development Goal, ‘Gender Equality’, is to build a world where woman
can thrive without discrimination and oppression, and we must all do the
work to contribute to the achievement of this goal”.
Emphasising the deep-rooted nature of Wema Bank’s commitment to
empowerment, Mr. Moruf Oseni (FCIB), Wema Bank’s MD/CEO commented, “This
mission of empowering lives is one that is deeply rooted in our
identity as Wema Bank. From inception in 1945 to present, we have
carried on the mission of empowering our people. A lot has changed in
the last 8 decades but one thing that has remained constant is our
commitment to inclusion, empowerment and support for women. As a Bank,
we recognise the gender equality gap that exists globally, and we
understand the need for a tailored approach to addressing this
challenge. This is why we launched our women-focused proposition, SARA
by Wema, in 2019, and why we continue to take intentional steps towards
empowering women”.
“Since the launch of SARA, we have banked over 400,000 unbanked women,
disbursed over N75 billion in low-interest loans and over $20,000 in
grants, created over 900 jobs for women, provided market access for
3,000 women, connecting them with over 135,000 customers and generating
over $4 million in sales; and these are just to mention a few. Why have
we been so intentional in the gender space? Because “Accelerating
Action”, for us at Wema Bank, is beyond lip service. We walk the talk
when it comes to women empowerment and today, we are gathered here to
not only celebrate the exceptional impact we have made in empowering
women for 8 decades, but more importantly, raising the right
conversations and driving the right actions as we look ahead to a future
of much greater possibilities. Wema Bank has supported women since 1945
and we celebrate our 80 years anniversary come May 2nd, 2025, we are
more driven than ever to continue empowering women and building a future
where women thrive, where equity is the norm, and where equality and
empowerment are not just ideals but realities”.
Wema Bank has proven itself to be a gender inclusion and equality driven
organisation, going above and beyond to empower women from all walks of
life to thrive, and contributing to the advancement of the global
movement for gender equality.
As Wema Bank counts down to 80 years, the world joins in to celebrate
Nigeria’s oldest indigenous and most resilient bank, pioneering
innovative impact in the African banking industry since 1945 and beyond
2025.
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