Business
Women Entrepreneurs Laud Ecobank’s Enhanced Ellevate Initiative
Women entrepreneurs and professionals have commended Ecobank Nigeria for its continued commitment to supporting women‑owned businesses through its Ellevate proposition, following the launch of the Enhanced Ecobank Ellevate Proposition (Ellevate 2.0) in Lagos.
Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of the pan‑African financial services group Ecobank Group, unveiled the upgraded programme at an event themed “Her Voice. Her Power. Her Growth.” The gathering featured inspiring conversations and practical insights from accomplished women in business and professional leadership.
Delivering the keynote address titled “The True Woman Power: Strength Rooted in Identity, Resilience and Purpose,” Adenike Ogunlesi, Founder of Gatimo Limited and Creative Director of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, praised Ecobank for its longstanding support for women entrepreneurs. “When I was seeking a loan facility many years ago to grow my business, Ecobank was the institution that supported me when others turned me down,” she shared.
She encouraged women to embrace self-awareness, resilience, and purpose as the drivers of long‑term success.
The panel session featured Bode Abifarin, Founder & CEO of Strata Advisory; Titilayo Adesoga, CEO of Village Farms Commerce and Exchange and Subuola Oyeleye, Founder of Beaty Hut Africa, each sharing powerful reflections from their personal and professional journeys.
Bode Abifarin spoke on the courage required to evolve as a leader, emphasizing the importance of adaptability, intentional growth, and embracing new opportunities despite challenges. Drawing from her extensive leadership background, she highlighted the need for women to own their transitions and step confidently into new seasons.
Titilayo Adesoga encouraged women to rise above limitations by taking ownership of their personal and business narratives. She shared candid experiences about overcoming barriers, the power of resilience, and the strategic thinking required to build sustainable enterprises. Her message focused on confidence, perseverance, and staying rooted in purpose.
Subuola Oyeleye inspired attendees with her story of building a thriving beauty brand through creativity, consistency, and understanding her customer base. She highlighted the importance of authenticity, innovation, and investing in quality reinforcing that women can build globally competitive businesses from Nigeria.
Welcoming participants, Ayo Osolake, Head of Premier Banking & Wealth Management at Ecobank Nigeria, who represented the Managing Director/Regional Executive, Bolaji Lawal, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to advancing women’s economic participation.
“Ellevate by Ecobank reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs, who remain key drivers of economic growth, innovation, and job creation,” she said.
She explained that the enhanced proposition has now evolved into a bank‑wide offering, providing women with improved access to credit integrated digital payment and cash management solutions, capacity‑building program, expanded market access through the Ecobank SingleMarketTradeHub, and Ecobank’s digital platform connecting businesses across Africa
Also speaking, Victoria Igun, Ellevate Manager, Ecobank Nigeria, described the enhanced program as a strategic step in strengthening women’s access to finance, Access to Market, and Networks.
“This enhanced proposition creates stronger pathways for women entrepreneurs and professionals to build sustainable businesses and translate ambition into lasting impact,” she said.
Ecobank Nigeria continues to support women‑led enterprises through platforms such as Adire Lagos, Oja Oge, +234Art Fair, Lagos Pop‑Up Museum, SME Bazaar, and the Design & Build Exhibition, which provide visibility, market access, and growth opportunities for women‑owned businesses.
FirstBank and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) have concluded plans to bridge housing deficit and empower citizens with credit to own their own homes of choice in any of the 36 states of the Federation plus Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This is through the FirstBank’s MREIF mortgage loan product, which has proved to be an opportunity waiting for Nigerians to grab.
This laudable initiative considers the importance of shelter to Nigerian citizens especially low and middle income earners that have to save for years before they can build for themselves. It aims at delivering homes to those who would apply without stress, putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians now, and during retirement.
Through MREIF, FirstBank will provide eligible customers with access to loans of up to N100 million with a repayment period of up to 20 years, at an attractive interest rate of 9.75% per annum. This is less than the usual interest rate on regular loans which sit at about 27% or more today. The repayment duration of 20 years makes the loan attractive for customers without stress.
The mortgage facility is available to salary account holders, business owners, and diaspora customers.
Interested customers are required to visit the Bank’s website: https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/personal/loans/mreif-home-loan/ where they can find detailed information and begin their journey toward homeownership.
Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has concluded plans to host a high-level virtual webinar focused on helping public institutions to strengthen revenue systems, improve fiscal transparency, and build smarter digital structures for collections, oversight, and accountability.
This event, with the theme, Digital Fiscal Transparency: Unlocking Sub-national Opportunities for International Partners, is billed for Tuesday, March 24, 2026,
The programme is expected to bring together a cross-section of public sector leaders, development institutions, heads of parastatals and agencies, as well as financial experts, to explore practical solutions for stronger public finance management.
It is expected to offer timely insights into how modern revenue infrastructure can help institutions improve efficiency, drive accountability, and support better fiscal outcomes.
The webinar will address key issues facing many public institutions today, including revenue leakages, fragmented collection channels, weak visibility into revenue performance, poor reconciliation processes, and the growing need for more transparent and technology-driven systems.
“As public institutions seek ways to improve internally generated revenue and strengthen public trust, there has been a renewed focus on fiscal transparency.
“This is particularly important in the face of recent macro and micro economic developments with many public sector agencies under pressure to do more with limited resources,” the Divisional Head of Public Sector at Fidelity Bank, Mr Richard Madiebo, said.
“It is against this background that we have conceptualised this session with a particular focus on how digital platforms can support structured invoicing, seamless collections, payment automation, contractor disbursement transparency, real-time revenue oversight, amongst other pertinent areas of revenue mobilisation and administration in Nigeria,” he added
“The webinar forms part of our commitment to provide practical solutions that support public sector transformation and stronger sub-national development. This is in line with Fidelity Bank’s mandate to help individuals to grow, businesses to thrive, and economies to prosper,” Mr Madiebo further disclosed.
Interested participants may register at www.fidelitybank.ng/publicsectorwebinar.
Access Bank Plc and King’s Trust International (KTI) have formally signed a strategic partnership agreement to expand opportunity, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods for young people across Africa.
The partnership agreement was signed by Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, for Access Bank, and Will Straw, CBE, Chief Executive Officer of King’s Trust International, on behalf of KTI.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by senior leaders and representatives from both organisations, alongside distinguished guests including Aigboje Aig‑Imoukhuede, CFR, Co-Chair, King’s Trust International Africa Advisory Board and Chairman, Access Holdings Plc; Ofovwe Aig‑Imoukhuede; Co‑Chair, King’s Trust International Africa Advisory Board, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The partnership brings together King’s Trust International’s expertise in youth development with Access Bank’s pan‑African reach and long‑standing commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth. Through this collaboration, the two organisations will work to equip young people with the skills, confidence and support needed to build successful futures through employment and entrepreneurship.
Under the agreement, Access Bank will support the delivery of King’s Trust International programmes that empower young people across several African countries, supporting them to gain skills and find pathways into meaningful employment and self-employment across Africa.
Speaking at the signing, Will Straw CBE, Chief Executive Officer of King’s Trust International, said: “This partnership with Access Bank reflects a shared commitment to unlocking the potential of young people across Africa. By combining our experience in youth development with Access Bank’s scale and leadership across the continent, we can create meaningful pathways to opportunity and long‑term impact.”
Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, added: “At Access Bank, we believe that empowering young people is fundamental to Africa’s sustainable growth. Our partnership with King’s Trust International reinforces our commitment to entrepreneurship, job creation and inclusive development, while enabling us to play a purposeful role in shaping the continent’s future.”
The partnership marks a significant milestone in advancing cross‑sector collaboration to address youth unemployment, foster entrepreneurship and drive inclusive growth across Africa.
