Africa’s retail giant, Access Bank Plc, has made a firm commitment to continually providing support and empowerment to women working in the event industry.
The financial institution expressed this during a symposium with female professionals. The discussion revolved around the theme of ” Stepping into the spotlight, empowering women in the event sector,” which took place yesterday at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos.
Access Bank emphasised the critical role of women in this sector, highlighting the need to provide support for their advancement and prosperity through avenues such as financial aid, mentorship initiatives, and networking platforms.
Speaking at the roundtable discussion for women within the event sector, the group head of Women Banking at Access Bank Plc, Abiodun Olubitan, said the whole purpose of the W initiative is to empower, connect, and inspire all women in the event industry.
“The industry has proven to control over $2 billion annually, and we think that it is something that we need to pay attention to. They probably had not been in the spotlight before, so we are bringing them into the spotlight.
“We have different representatives of the association. From DJs, caterers, and decorators to the planners, masters of ceremonies, and anyone else you could think of.
“As a bank, we don’t want to offer them something that does not exactly meet the needs of their market. We want them to also share with us what they would prefer to have. And this is the essence of this roundtable discussion so that we can support their businesses to grow faster than one probably would on its own.
“Most of the people talk about loans and training, which we have at Access Bank. However, we might not call it a loan for caterers. But a big umbrella body of loans, which we call the W-Power Loan, is available for market expansion or business expansion, as the case may be, and that is why we are not trying to bring it to their attention.”
