Banking
Heritage Bank Partners Customers To Grow Their Businesses
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Due to its desire to partner and create wealth for their individual customers, Heritage Bank took advantage of the customers’ service/appreciation week to organise a business fair that showcases and celebrates the business activities of their various customers.
The fair which took place at 12 Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, last Sunday and Monday, saw various entrepreneurial clientele of the bank displaying their products and services to potential customers.
The event was strategically kick started on Sunday, a work free day, to enable customers alongside their family and friends hang out at the fair.
Just as was obtainable in trade fairs, products were reasonably cheap as they were sold at much discounted prices and prospective shoppers also used the occasion to obtain the contact addresses of sellers.
In her welcome address, the Executive Director, South Bank, Mrs Adaeze Udensi, disclosed that Heritage Bank aims at collaborating with its customers to grow their businesses into generational conglomerate.
Mrs Udensi said, “Our desire is for Nigerian businesses to be listed on the stock exchange and eventually become global brands and household names.
“We believe that businesses like yours are the backbone of the economy because you create jobs and play a huge role in moving our country out of this present recession. I encourage you to rise up to this challenge facing every Nigerian entrepreneur and make our economy vibrant again.”
She stated that the Heritage Bank business fair is where new deals are brokered and partnerships initiated. ‘It is the place to connect’ she said.
According to her, a contact at the fair could lead to a business opportunity tomorrow and shoppers in turn will appreciate the vendors’ home grown businesses and in turn, the vendors would learn more innovative ways to meet their needs. ‘That is why we have created a platform like this, to propel a network of fast growing businesses’.
“Seize this opportunity, network with other vendors that are present, engage our SME consultants at the mini-bank and let us be your guide on the path to global recognition.”
Echoing Mrs Udensi’s speech was the Executive Director, Abuja & North Bank, Mr Ola Olabinjo who hinted that the business fair being organised by the bank is a sure foundation of taking Nigeria’s economy out of recession.
The Abuja North Bank ED remarked that because small businesses are the foundation of every economy, at Heritage Bank, they are more than every ready to ensure that they support them.
“It is not the size of the balance sheet of the bank that grows an economy, but the patriotism of the bank and the small businesses and we are determined to go the long walk with you.”
Full of life and ensuring orderliness at the fair was the Group Head, Customer Experience and Analytics, Kikanya Akpenyi who declared to Independent that she is happy and could only thank God that the D-day has finally come and that the vendors responses to the invitation was fantastic.
“This is the second edition, during the first one, of course, we were still testing the water so, a lot of the planning was a bit rushed. However, this time around, we had much time to plan and that is why we were able to get a bigger space in terms of a more vantage location that would be accessible to a lot of people.”
Akpenyi indicated that the success of the event was hinged on the feedback gotten from the previous edition, leading to more people wanting to be a part of it.
“So, it took a lot of works, getting the vendors, collecting their logos and promotional materials for them. And of course, on our part, trying to put the word out there and then getting all these to happen. About two months of preparation, checking prices, comparing locations and then, we are here today.
“I am excited and happy, I am thankful for the team I have, it couldn’t have happened with just me. Team work is actually the success factor here. So, everyone has put in his and her best. We also got very good support from our management.”
Despite being organized just for the Lagos entrepreneurs, there were also vendors from outside Lagos that graced the occasion and the bank welcomed them with open arm.
The event which was open to all retail segments of Heritage Bank’s clients, according to the organizers, is hoped to be taken beyond the Island, to other metropolitan cities across the country.
“It is all about giving back to our customers, finding ways to support them, as well as appreciating them for their patronage. We are open to feedback as we get the feedback and clamour to do more, we can always adjust.”
Even though plans were made for 50 booths and five extra, the entire 55 booths were booked and occupied by vendors of various products and services who had their sales reps distributing fliers to customers.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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