Empowering Women through CSR

BY Obinna Chima

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become one of the standard business practices for reputable organisations in the country.

It has also helped in enhancing the overall reputation of a lot of organisations, especially in the financial sector where commercial banks strive to outshine each other.

Today, the establishment of a CSR strategy is a crucial component of any bank’s competiveness, in their quest to give back to the society they operate.

That was why as part of its CSR, Access Bank Plc, in partnership with the Field of Skills and Dreams Academy recently trained and graduated a total of 225 women and young girls. The training sessions, which took place in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Calabar.

Beneficiaries from the initiative, which was specifically part of the CSR project of the Retail Operations Group (ROG) of the bank includes rehabilitated street girls, Chibok women in Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs), widows and rape victims.

In 2015, the ROG embarked on a 3-year CSR project aimed at capacity building and empowerment of disadvantaged women across the country for a maximum of three months. The objective was to enable them acquire skills in either catering, fashion or hairdressing.

The training programme also included seminars and business training, which included owning personal accounts, record keeping, customer service, etc. Upon graduation, each trainee were provided equipment such as dryers, industrial sewing machines, make up kits and commercial oven, to enable them start off their small scale businesses.

Speaking during a graduation ceremony for the 225 women held in Lagos, the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, expressed satisfaction with the support given by Access Bank.

“I feel so proud that we are able to touch several people’s life. But I also think we don’t have an option. Somebody once said that 80 per cent of what we are, as individuals today, was as a result of support we got from someone else. So, who are we not to want to reach out and touch other people’s life?

“When I hear about the IDPs today, it touches my heart because we lived there and we all lived like brothers and sister. So, we don’t have an option but to support them, when we see our people being forced out of their homes for reasons beyond their control.

“One of the things we know very well at Access Bank is the fact that when you look at life in general, it is women that help to shape values. When you train a woman, you train a generation. There are people who take us through the core values of life and these are the women, our mothers, sisters and wives. So, we are so proud because this empowerment would help several generations to become better. So, why wouldn’t we reach out to these people? The other thing I wish to say is that all of you that have developed skills should please put them to use,” the Access Bank boss said.

Also, the founder, FSD, Mrs. Omowale Ogunrinde, said it was fulfilling and emotional working with the women.

According to her, the FSD provides skills and training that goes with verifiable success stories. Ogunrinde noted that by providing practical, technical and vocational training, the FSD does it best to ensure that those that go through the training come out successful.

“Together with Access Bank, in the last two years, we have been able to change the lives of these 225 women and their families. We are always happy to work with people who measure our success,” she added. She said the foundation was created out of the desire to add value to young Nigerians and to reduce the number of Nigerians walking the streets aimlessly daily.

“It is true that the economy cannot accommodate the growing number of school leavers. Therefore the number of unemployed people keeps increasing daily. Meanwhile, the needs of industries keep increasing daily because there are very few skilled men and women,” she said.

At the event, testimonies of how the programme changed the lives of participants were received.

There is no doubt that the growing women entrepreneurs in the country could serve as a potential market for banks to grow their businesses, thereby enhancing financial inclusion.

Statistics had revealed that women constitute about 50 per cent of the Nigerian population and it was estimated that women-owned businesses represent about 30 per cent of registered businesses worldwide. Therefore, increasing access to finance for women they will be able to build larger and more sustainable businesses and can contribute more to economic growth.

Owing to this, Access Bank had launched the ‘W’ Initiative‎, which is the bank’s approach to supporting women.

The ‘W’ Initiative, offers privileges for women and their families to access a wide range of loan products and credit facilities; access to the ‘W’ community with helpful advice on family and financial matters; home and family articles and details of special offers; and access to a wide range of discounts, special offers and freebies on health, beauty and fitness.