These activities which stands FirstBank include social and
health intervention as well as support; small business empowerment and
educational support which are all implemented to reinforce the capacity of
individuals and businesses to contribute to national development.
With its over 126 years of business operations in Nigeria –
indeed the first Nigerian company to be listed and broadcasted on CNN 100 club
– the bank has been at the forefront of empowering the young and indigent
elderly citizens, lifting the downtrodden out of poverty and hardships,
rekindling hope, putting smiles on the faces of younger generation of
Enterprenuers through issuance of low and friendly interest credit facility
which transcend to building and promoting the small and medium scale businesses
in the remotest rural areas and urban cities across the Niger.
These are and many more strides have distinguished FirstBank
in Nigeria.
Health Service Partnership With Lagos State Government
To ensure that Lagos Residents at the grassroots across the
state has unhindered access to affordable, effective and qualitative health
care services, the Lagos State Health Management Agency partnered with
FirstBank to utilize its over 13,000 FirstMobile Agents as payment channels for
the Lagos State Health Scheme.
During the flag-off ceremony, LASHMAGM, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba
Said;
“The partnership became necessary to facilitate ease of
health insurance premium transactions for Residents, especially at the
Grassroot.”
Zamba however mentioned that FirstBank was selected for the
partnership in recognition of its effectiveness, efficiency and large
clientele.
For easy access and stress-free payment of Lagos Residents’
health insurance premiums, Firstmonie payment platform was considered the best.
Dr. Zamba explained that the partnership offer opportunity
to pay either N40,000 annually for family plan or N8,500 annually for
individual plan via the Firstmonie Agents.
“Once the insurance premium is paid before 25th of every
month, such enrollee can receive care from the first day of the following month
at any public or private hospital of their choice within the scheme’s network
of Providers”, Zamba clarified.
While commending the Lagos State Government, the Deputy
Managing Director, Mr. Gbenga Shobo said;
“The initiative will have a crucial role at improving the
life expectancy of Lagos Residents whilst promoting their increased
contribution to the growth and development of state.”
FIRSTBANK, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Partnership and
SMES
FirstBank partnered with the Lagos State Employment Trust
Fund (LSETF). The scheme was launched in September by the Lagos State Governor,
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,
Dr. Adesola Adeduntan.
It is designed to cushion the resultant effects of the
Covid-19 on low-cost private schools at an attractive lending interest rate.
While delivering his speech, Dr. Adeduntan said; “At
FirstBank, we recognise indelible roles played by the Education sector in the
growth of any economy and this underscores our partnership with the Lagos State
Government for continuous development of the education services in Lagos State
and the nation as a whole. The commitment by the Lagos State Government
-including this partnership to enable schools is quite commendable as this will
mitigate the challenges caused by the lockdown on the education sector
following the Covid-19.”
The 2019 KPMG’s Annual Banking industry customer
satisfaction survey named FirstBank as the ‘Biggest Mover in the SME Space’. It
also earned the financial institution the most popular Bank among MSMEs for
deposit transactions and credit loan facilities with 20% of SMEs surveyed.
In recognition of the role SMEs play as the engine of the
economy, FirstBank has been at the forefront of having them equipped with the
required knowledge and information with a view to easing their sustainability.
These have been achieved through several SME events including; an SME Business
Clinic train that moved from Lagos to Abuja and Port-Harcourt in February.
The Bank later embarked on virtual SME-based events, in
order to adhere to the social distancing guideline essential to promoting the
safety of every participant in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. These SME based
webinars include SME Business Clinic in May as well as the SME Connect webinar
to promote the growth of education sector held in July amongst others.
The value generated from the Bank’s unprecedented business
support and development activities to the small and medium scale enterprises,
especially the young entrepreneurs across the Niger cannot be quantified.
With its mantra, You First, FirstBank leaves no stone
unturned in putting its customers first as it continues to deliver the gold
standard of value and excellence to the banking and business climate across the
world.