IWG Signs Agreement with Bank on New Workspace

Emmanuel Olorunda-Otaru

To meet the rising demands for flexible workspaces in Lagos, the International Workspace Group (IWG) has partnered with the Alternative Bank, a subsidiary of Sterling Bank, with the opening of a new workspace, under the HQ Brand of IWG at the ALT Place, Lekki Lagos.

The HQ Workspace which will be on the second and third floor of the building, is set to open in March next year in Lekki, Lagos. The center will be HQ and other brands.

According to the CEO/Founder of IWG Plc, Mark Dixon, “we are establishing a stronger and much needed footprint in Nigeria with these latest openings. As an important business hub, Lagos is a fantastic place for us to boost our expansion plans. 

“The need for high quality flexible workspaces continues to soar as hybrid working becomes the new normal. We are very pleased to work in partnership with Sterling Bank to develop the brand under a management agreement that will add cutting-edge workspaces to the building.’ Adding, ‘our openings in Lagos come at a time when more and more companies are discovering that flexible working boosts employee happiness and satisfaction, while helping the environment. Our workplace model is also proven to increase productivity and allows for a business to scale up or down at significantly reduced costs.”

On his part, the Country Director of IWG, Mr Ayo Akinmade, said, “The partnership wasn’t just about creating offices for people to use but in collaboration that we expect to endure across Nigeria over the next couple of decades. The vision is to create the space that will be used to be productive but beyond that to enable them to meet their banking needs as they want it and whenever they want it. This is a pilot that we expect to become a norm.”

Also at the occasion, the Sterling Bank MD/CEO, Abubakar Suleiman, said, “What we see here today is part of a holistic thinking for the Sterling Bank Group. The expression of this place is through our subsidiary, The Alternative Bank Limited. This is our interpretation of embedded banking in real life.  

“We think that you can do digital embedding correctly, you have to first embed in physical spaces and that means you have to first find the community or ecosystem where financing improves value for everyone.”