Business
FirstBank’s Ibukun Awosika Becomes President of IWEC Foundation’s Board of Directors
The International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation (IWEC) has announced the appointment of Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika as the new President of their Board of Directors. FirstBank is Nigeria’s Premier and Leading financial services provider.
Mrs. Awosika was elected to replace Miguel Valls, former President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and president of the IWEC Foundation, who passed away last month. “The Foundation is very excited to announce the appointment of our new president,” stated Ruth A. Davis, IWEC Chairwoman and distinguished former U.S. Ambassador. “Ibukun Awosika has been a solid, steady presence at IWEC since its inception, and she is also a past IWEC awardee. Ibukun has not missed one IWEC Conference since 2008 and has lent her voice and experience not only to our conferences, but to our meetings after joining our Board in 2017. We are delighted that our Board of Directors voted on her appointment, and we’ll introduce her as our president at our upcoming 12th Annual IWEC Foundation Conference in New Delhi, on November 10th.”
The Foundation’s 2019 Conference will focus on “Connecting Women Businesses Globally: Leading the Way to Innovation and Integration”. The event would be hosted locally by the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), which represents over 5000 women entrepreneurs and professionals across India. This year, IWEC welcomes 39 awardees from 18 countries, with a combined revenue of over US$5.7 billion among all awardees to date.
IWEC Foundation Vice Chair, Carmen Castillo, CEO of SDI International, adds: “Ibukun has demonstrated a significant commitment to IWEC over the years. Her breadth of knowledge extends from being an entrepreneur running SOKOA Chair Centre Limited, to overseeing the board of directors for the renowned First Bank of Nigeria Limited. We are looking forward to her wise counsel and to continuously drive IWEC globally as a source of support, connection and impact for women business owners all over the world.”
Ibukun Awosika heads Nigeria’s premier bank, and she is also the founder and CEO of the Chair Centre Group, an association of large companies in the manufacturing, retail, and financial security services. Mrs. Awosika further holds seats in the corporate boards of Cadbury Nigeria, Digital Jewel Limited and the Convention on Business Integrity, and she is a former chair of several other enterprise boards.
Ibukun is a graduate of Chemistry from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria, an alumna of the Chief Executive Program of Lagos Business School, the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Wharton’s Global CEO Program, and the IESE and China European International Business School (CEIBS). Ibukun is a multiple award-winning entrepreneur and the first Nigerian recipient of the prestigious International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award as a nominee of the US Department of State in 2008. Ibukun is also a best-selling author and motivational speaker.
Ibukun was just honoured last month with the International Friendship Award presented at the IESE Business School by the Queen of Spain.
About the IWEC Foundation
IWEC is a New York-based international economic empowerment organization exclusively for women business owners, formed in 2007 with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State. In addition to the State Department, its founders include the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), FICCI/FLO Chamber in New Delhi. IWEC’s mission is to develop a global business network for successful women entrepreneurs, helping them gain and expand access to international markets by presenting a platform to exchange knowledge, experience and connections, and to promote dialogue among women entrepreneurs and business leaders throughout the world.
Fidelity Bank Plc has reported a strong financial performance for the first quarter of 2026, with gross earnings rising by 37.9 per cent to N434.95 billion, driven by growth in its core banking operations.
The unaudited interim report and accounts for the three months ended March 31, 2026, released on the Nigerian Exchange, showed that the bank’s gross earnings increased from N315.42 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Interest income grew significantly by 22.8 per cent to N314.48 billion in Q1 2026, compared with N256.10 billion in Q1 2025, reflecting expansion in the bank’s core business activities.
With net interest income standing at N180.97 billion, the bank posted a profit before tax of N92.48 billion for the period. Profit after tax settled at N74.47 billion, while earnings per share remained strong at N5.69.
The bank also recorded notable improvements across key balance sheet indicators. Total assets rose above the N11 trillion mark to N11.35 trillion as of March 2026, compared with N10.46 trillion recorded at the end of December 2025.
Customer deposits increased from N6.89 trillion to N7.38 trillion during the review period, while shareholders’ funds rose by 27.5 per cent from N1.09 trillion in December 2025 to N1.39 trillion by March 2026, supported by earnings growth.
The Q1 performance further strengthened the bank’s earnings outlook following the successful completion of its recapitalisation programme in 2025.
The bank had earlier posted strong full-year results for 2025, recording growth across major income lines and balance sheet metrics.
According to its audited financial statements, gross earnings rose by 45.6 per cent from N1.04 trillion in 2024 to N1.52 trillion in 2025. Interest and similar income increased from N803.1 billion to N1.11 trillion, while fees and commission income grew by 44.7 per cent to N113.4 billion.
Net profit after tax for the 2025 financial year stood at N242.4 billion.
Total assets expanded by 18.6 per cent to N10.46 trillion in 2025 from N8.82 trillion in 2024, while customer deposits increased by 16.1 per cent to N6.89 trillion.
Net loans and advances, however, declined slightly by 2.4 per cent to N4.28 trillion, which the bank attributed to repayments of matured obligations by customers.
The bank also strengthened its capital position in 2025, with eligible capital rising to N561 billion, above the N500 billion regulatory requirement for banks with international authorisation.
Capital Adequacy Ratio improved to 30.94 per cent in December 2025 from 23.47 per cent recorded in December 2024.
Commenting on the results, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said the Q1 2026 performance reflects the resilience and strength of the bank’s business model.
She stated that the successful recapitalisation exercise and the bank’s ongoing expansion had positioned Fidelity Bank for stronger growth and improved returns.
“We are on a stronger footing and confident that we will set new growth records that are reflective of our legacy and the future we are working on,” Onyeali-Ikpe said.
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has deepened its longstanding relationship with the academic community and reaffirmed its commitment to innovation, youth empowerment, and nation-building by commissioning the UBA Innovation Hub and Business Office at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
The landmark facility was commissioned by the Group Chairman, UBA, Tony Elumelu, represented by Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, supported by other senior executives of the bank and members of the university leadership, led by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos.
The commissioning marks another defining chapter in the enduring relationship between UBA and one of Nigeria’s foremost institutions of higher learning. The project also reflects UBA’s historic connection with the University of Lagos and Nigeria’s education ecosystem.
UBA was the first bank to establish a campus branch in Nigeria in the 1960s, pioneering financial inclusion and institutional banking support within the nation’s higher education environment.
Adding a personal dimension to the occasion, UBA Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, himself an alumnus of the University of Lagos, described the commissioning as both symbolic and strategic.
“Returning to my alma mater for this commissioning makes this moment particularly meaningful. Universities remain the birthplace of ideas, innovation, and future leadership. Through this investment, UBA is reaffirming its belief in young people and in the role institutions like the University of Lagos will continue to play in shaping Africa’s future.”
He added that UBA’s philosophy of empowering people and building institutions remains central to its growth agenda across Africa.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, who emphasised that Elumelu remains “a son of the university”, commended UBA for sustaining a relationship built on impact, innovation, and institutional support.
“The Group Chairman of UBA, Mr Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu, CFR, one of Africa’s most celebrated entrepreneurs and philanthropists, is, in the truest and most meaningful sense, a son of this University,” Ogunsola said.
Ogunsola continued, “The intellectual rigour, the ambition, and the broadness of vision that he would go on to demonstrate as he transformed a struggling bank into a pan-African institution of global stature, that fire was sharpened here.”
The newly commissioned four-floor complex has been designed as a shared platform that promotes collaboration between academia and industry. Under the arrangement, UBA will operate its dedicated Business Office within the facility, providing direct access to innovative banking services, financial advisory services, enterprise support, and engagement opportunities for students, faculty, and the wider university community. The remaining floors of the complex will serve broader institutional and developmental purposes for the University’s use.
Also speaking, UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, noted that the Innovation Hub and Business Office represent an intentional investment in talent, enterprise, and future economic transformation.
“UBA continues to create platforms that connect knowledge with opportunity. This facility will provide students and the university community access to ideas, networks, innovation support, and financial services that help unlock potential and prepare future leaders for a rapidly changing world,” he said.
In another major highlight of the event, the University of Lagos announced the renewal of UBA’s sponsorship and support for the Professorial Chair in Finance, further strengthening collaboration between academia and industry and advancing thought leadership, research, and professional excellence in financial studies.
Alawuba stressed that the UBA Professorial Chair remains the bank’s most enduring academic contribution.
“Our most enduring academic contribution remains the UBA Professorial Chair of Finance, established in January 1972 as the first-ever Finance Professorial Chair in a Nigerian university. It was designed to strengthen finance education, deepen banking research, and support thought leadership in Nigeria’s financial sector. I am pleased that the Executive Management of UBA has approved an additional ₦61.67 million to further strengthen the Endowment Fund for the Chair and sustain its work through the current professorship tenure.”
The commissioning of the UBA Innovation Hub and Business Office reinforces the bank’s broader mission of enabling sustainable development through strategic investments in education, entrepreneurship, technology, and human capital across Africa.
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening diaspora engagement, advancing healthcare development in Nigeria through the introduction of its healthcare investment proposition to the Nigerian-American medical community at the 2026 ANPA Carolinas Symposium held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The ANPA Carolinas Symposium, hosted annually by the South Carolina and North Carolina Chapters of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), convenes over 170 physicians and healthcare professionals for medical and scientific dialogue on issues impacting communities across North America, the Caribbean, and Africa, particularly among people of Nigerian descent.
Speaking at the event, UBA’s Head of Diaspora Banking, Anant Rao, made a compelling case for structured diaspora participation in Nigeria’s healthcare transformation, encouraging attendees to expand their contribution beyond remittances toward long-term institution-building.
“The financial infrastructure required to connect your success abroad to sustainable institutional impact at home has not been intentionally designed for diaspora healthcare investors until now,” Rao said.
During his presentation, Rao introduced the ANPA–UBA Diaspora Healthcare Investment Platform — a professionally managed investment vehicle designed to channel diaspora capital into specialist hospitals, diagnostic centres, telemedicine infrastructure, and medical training institutions across Nigeria.
“Every dollar invested delivers a dual return — creating value for investors while contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s healthcare future. We now have the regulatory framework, banking infrastructure, governance structures, and institutional commitment to make this possible,” he added.
Under the proposed structure, UBA will serve as custodian and structuring bank, while United Capital Asset Management, one of Nigeria’s leading asset managers with over ₦1.2 trillion in assets under management, will act as fund manager.
As part of deepening engagement with the Nigerian-American medical community, Rao also proposed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UBA and the two ANPA chapters. The proposed collaboration is anchored on six strategic pillars: preferred banking offerings for ANPA members; quarterly financial education sessions; the joint Healthcare Infrastructure Fund; a dedicated ANPA Wealth and Legacy Desk; access to group-rate family healthcare plans through Avon HMO; and a UBA co-matching contribution framework to support qualifying impact vehicles under the Pearl Endowment Fund.
The initiative represents a further expansion of UBA’s diaspora value proposition, which currently includes Non-Resident Nigerian (NRN) accounts in multiple currencies, fixed-income and dollar-denominated investment solutions through United Capital, elder-care trust solutions under the Homeland Anchor Care Trust programme in partnership with Avon HMO, and private wealth management offerings tailored to senior diaspora professionals.
The 2026 ANPA Carolinas Symposium marks another milestone in UBA’s strategic engagement with the diaspora community and reinforces the Bank’s long-held belief that diaspora capital can play a transformative role in accelerating healthcare and infrastructure development across Africa.
