By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As part of its efforts to deepen financial literacy and inclusion, as well as give adequate information on the plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce new Naira notes of N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations into the system, Ecobank Nigeria recently went to some markets in the country to sensitise traders on the new policy taking effect from December 15, 2022.
At the Agege market in Lagos, the Head of Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs Korede Ademola-Adeniyi, informed the traders of the importance of taking charge of their finances.
She also sensitised the traders, youths, and market women on important developments in the financial space, such as the redesign of some denominations of naira notes as well as recent policies of the CBN.
At the sensitisation, which was part of activities to market Ecobank Day 2022, the participants also received lessons on the benefits of agency banking and how to use Ecobank’s various digital platforms, with the bank receiving positive feedback on its products, services, and digital offerings.
In attendance at the training sessions was the Head of Human Resources, Adewuyi Kunle, the Head of Agency and Direct Banking, Nike Kolawole, and regional managers, including its partner, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF).
Other markets visited by the employees of the financial institution included the Gate/Agodi Market, Ibadan; the Cattle Market in Obinze, Owerri and the Fruit market, D-line Mile 3 market in Port Harcourt.
This year’s event was themed Financial Inclusion for All, Leave No One Behind and enabled the bank’s staff to simultaneously engage hundreds of traders and youths and provide them with access to financial knowledge and tools.
Ecobank Day is an annual event which was first held in 2013, focusing each year on a specific theme. These have been Education for young people in Africa (2013); Malaria prevention and control (2014); Every African child deserves a better future (2015); ICT education in schools and improving maternal health (2016); Safe water management (2017); and Orphanages (2018).
Ecobank Day then had a three-year campaign on Non-Communicable Diseases, with a focus on Cancer (2019), Diabetes (2020), and Mental health (2021).