IWD: SARA By Wema Honours Adeoye, Agunbiade, Deji-Kurunmi, Others At 2024 SHE EMPOWERS HER Award
SARA by Wema has recognised and celebrated top Nigerian women, who have empowered and supported the inclusion of women and girls across different generations at the just concluded SHE EMPOWERS HER award.
The awardees at the event include Adesunmbo Adeoye, Entrepreneur and Convener of the annual Inspiring Change Conference; Funke Felix Adejumo, Transformational Coach and Philanthropist; Debola Deji-Kurunmi, Author, Lifestyle Coach, Keynote speaker and public policy advisor and Adebola Agunbiade, Business Finance Expert among others.
SHE EMPOWERS HER award by SARA is part of Wema Bank’s commitment to honour women’s accomplishments. The event is also in commemoration of the 2024 International Women’s Day.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of Wema Bank, Oluwayemisi Olorunshola stated that the Bank’s female-focused proposition, SARA has transformed many lives, providing physical, financial, intellectual and other relevant resources for their personal and professional success.
She said, “Wema Bank recognises the indispensable role of women in shaping a prosperous society. Celebrating women aligns with the bank’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where women can thrive and achieve their fullest potential.”
On his part, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc, Moruf Oseni, reiterated the bank’s commitment to empowering and supporting women. He also stressed the need for inclusion and equity for women in the workplace.
According to him, all hands must be on deck to ensure a good representation of both genders in the workplace. He said that Wema Bank would continue to be deliberate in supporting and promoting women.
Oseni said that the bank earmarked N8.9 billion as uncollateralised loans and also supported Nigerian businesses run by women.
He said, “Let’s talk about their (women) offerings here and why it is important to commit to these. The first thing we need to talk about is why support women. It is extremely important. I have never seen a plane that will fly on one wing.
“It is important to ensure that there is inclusion and equality in the workplace for women. We are very deliberate in Wema Bank, as we make sure we recruit a good number of women.
“We make sure women are guided through their careers. We also ensure we create an enabling environment for them and they are not disadvantaged against the men. But we want to show that we are not just talking about it, we want to put our words to action,” he pointed out.
Speaking on financing women, he said, “Quite several businesses we finance are for women. But it is not just giving them financing, we are making sure that those businesses are successful and they can have societal impact.”
Oseni added that it was important to ensure more women are in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), saying they should be represented in the digital space.