The management of United Bank has expressed its commitment to driving financial inclusion. Michael Akerele, Regional Head, Unity Bank said at a recent seminar on “SME Financing: Issues and Challenges”, that that bank has through its agency banking increased financial literacy and resource management in financially excluded regions of Nigeria.
He disclosed that United Bank has embraced the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to him, the Bank has used the ABP to support over one million smallholder farmers towards the cultivation of rice, cotton, soya bean, and sorghum and sesame seed.
Akerele said that through the ‘Corpreneurship Challenge’, Unity Bank has contributed towards the empowerment of Nigerian youths by making grants to members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme across the federation. He noted that another product he identified as “The Unifiers”, the bank has been empowering the youths in the universities and colleges of education. “We are committed to providing grants towards the actualization of great ideas,” he said.
BY CHINEDU OBIKE