Unity Bank Gets NYSC Recognition, Wins Icon of Youth Empowerment Award.
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CAPTION: From left: Mr. Funwa Akinmade, Group Head, Retail, SME
and E-Banking, Mr. Olufunwa Akinmade receiving the Icon of Youth
Empowerment award from the Director General of NYSC, Brigadier
General S. Ibrahim, during the 2021 SAED Festival held in Abuja
recently.
LAGOS.21.12.21. In recognition of Unity Bank Plc’s contribution to the
growth of entrepreneurship among Nigerian youths, the National Youth
Service Corps, NYSC has named the lender “Icon of Youth
Empowerment” in an award presented to the Bank during the Skills
Acquisition & Entrepreneurship Department, SAED Festival held in Abuja
recently.
The NYSC management said it was on record that Unity Bank under the
able leadership of the MD/CEO, Mrs. Tomi Somefun had been
unwavering in its commitment and support for the Skills Acquisition and
Entrepreneurship Development programme of the NYSC as evident in the
Corpreneurship initiative through which businesses of hundreds of corps
entrepreneurs are being funded.
“In view of the foregoing, NYSC Management honours (Unity Bank) with
the award of “Icon of Youth Empowerment” at the closing ceremony
of the 2021 NYSC SAED Festival at NAF conference centre, Abuja on this
17th Day of December 2021,” said the Director-General of the NYSC,
Brigadier General S. Ibrahim, while presenting the award to Unity Bank.
Speaking after receiving the award, the Group Head, Retail, SME and E-
Banking, Mr. Olufunwa Akinmade said: “We are encouraged by this
award to continue to partner with SAED in driving the Corpreneurship
initiative. We believe that the Corpreneurship Challenge possesses the
capacity to unlock the entrepreneurship ingenuity of the youths in
Nigeria.
“We commend the leadership of the NYSC for the award, even as we
appreciate the leadership and the team at SAED for working hard to
make this partnership produce the desired outcome. We are optimistic
that the partnership will be sustained for as long as possible until it has
impacted a critical mass that considerably reduces graduate
unemployment in our nation.”
The Corpreneurship Challenge, which earned the lender the award is a
business plan competition that provides corps members with the
opportunity to pitch their business ideas and stand a chance of winning
business grants ranging from N200,000 to N500,0000 as business capital
while receiving mentorship. =
Unity Bank premiered the Corpreneurship Challenge in 2019, with a
launch in Lagos and in three other states which included Edo, Ogun, and
Abuja, but with the increasing popularity of the initiative among corps
entrepreneurs, the Bank has now extended the programme to 10 states
of the federation including Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Edo, Katsina, Enugu,
Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto and Kaduna.
So far, Unity Bank has invested over N80 million in the initiative, which
has now produced 58 winners since it was launched.
