FirstBank partners JAN for the National Company of the Year competition
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
FirstBank, as it has done for the past 11 years, will partner Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) to host the National Company of the Year competition (NCOY) 2021, which is expected to congregate star ‘student business teams’ from across Nigeria.
FirstBank says its partnership with JAN reiterates it commitment to innovation and education both of which are vital for Nigeria’s economic growth and nation building.
The NCOY convenes winners of JA Company Regional Competitions to compete for the National Company of the Year Award.
This year, prizes are also on the table as well as an opportunity to represent Nigeria at the JA African Company of the Year Competition (ACOY).
The NCOY competition will be held via Zoom at 10am on Saturday November 27, 2021. Intending participants are to register via the link https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtd-qvqz4pE90NXOHcy-tve6aEXpY_yYAE
The theme of the competition is ‘Innovation with Grit’ and it will see 12 teams from 12 schools pitch their innovations to a team of five guest judges.
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Schools, judges
The schools are
- The Seer Company (Alvana High School)
- Sonic Informatics Company (Heritage Global Academy)
- Nexus Queens Company (Queens School)
- JA Stars (Theological College of Northern Nigeria)
- Amazing Amazon Students (Government Girls’ Secondary School, Abaji)
- KereTerra Company (Secondary School, Etoi, Uyo)
- The Exploit Thinkers (Taidob College)
- Mystic Global Company (Rosa Mystica High School, Agulu)
- PetraMech Tech (Petra Schools)
- The Amazing Inventors (Government Secondary School, Tudun Wada)
- Blue Crystal Company (Methodist Girls School)
- The Artisans (Igbobi College)
Judges at the event are
- Oludolapo Adigun (FirstBank Group Head, Retail Banking Lagos & West)
- Chidimma Okparah (Project Management Consultant at PMIEF)
- Sheila Ojei (Jobberman Head of Communications)
- Gbenga Sesan (Paradigm Initiative Executive Director)
- Simbo Olatoregun (Policy Programs Manager, Facebook in Africa)
The special guest is Lagos Education Commissioner Folashade Adefisayo.
SPARK competition
This year’s event will also feature a SPARK Competition.
SPARK – acronym for Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness, an initiative of FirstBank – reiterates the bank’s commitment to institutionalise kindness in Nigeria by encouraging and amplifying a culture of kindness.
The SPARK competition will feature 15 finalist schools whose Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects align with FirstBank’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability pillars of Education, Welfare and Health, Financial inclusion and Responsible Lending and Procurement.
Future First initiative
“FirstBank’s partnership under its Future First initiative with JA Nigeria Company programme has positively impacted over 100,000 people in different locations across the country in preparing and teaching them how to generate wealth, effectively manage it and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace,” FirstBank Group Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said.
“Our commitment to fostering entrepreneurial development amongst youths is mainly the driving force behind our support of the National Company of the Year (NCOY) and Africa Company of the Year (ACOY) competitions in the past 11 years.”
JAN Executive Director Foluso Gbadamosi explained that the NCOY competition “provides our students with a platform to show how innovative they are while displaying their dexterity and grit especially as it relates to creating sustainable business solutions to problems in their immediate community.
“The students have learned critical skills during the implementation of the Company Programme and we are proud to celebrate them as they compete in the National competition.
“I would like to specially appreciate FirstBank Nigeria for their continued support and belief in the boundless potential of young Nigerians.”
About FirstBank
FirstBank is the premier bank in West Africa and has been the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for more than 127 years.
It boasts over 750 business locations and over 130,620 Banking Agents spread across 99 per cent of the 774 councils in Nigeria, providing comprehensive retail and corporate financial services to more than 30 million customers.
It has international presence through its subsidiaries – FBN Bank (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.
FirstBank promotes digital payment and has issued over 10 million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in Nigeria.
Its cashless transaction drive has garnered 12 million people on its USSD Quick Banking Service through its *894# code and over 4.5 million on its FirstMobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has built relationships with customers focusing on good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management, and leadership.
It has for years led the financing of private investment in infrastructure in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in government privatisation and commercialisation schemes.
It supports investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities in Nigeria, as a competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
Ani-Mumuney lists other accolades won by the bank to include:
- “Best Innovation in Retail Banking in Nigeria 2021” award by The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group.
- “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by The Banker Magazine.
- “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards.
- “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,’” she stresses.
“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.
