Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Last Thursday will remain indelible in the memory of guests at the official launch of Alpher, the women banking proposition of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, a financial institution that is reputed for class and quality service delivery in the sector.
For those who attended the event, it was an evening of glamour, style, inspiration and networking as women (and men) from all walks of life converged at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos to grace the occasion.
Some of them were Beatrice Hamza Bassey, Board Chair Union Bank; Onyeche Tifase, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Siemens Nigeria; Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, Founder, Pearls Africa Youth Foundation; Toyin Odulate, Founder, Olori Cosmetics and Bikiya Graham-Douglas, Founder, Beeta Universal Arts Foundation.
Others were Union Bank’s CEO, Emeka Emuwa; Head of Retail Bank and Digital, Lola Cardoso; Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-Founder, Sahel Consulting; Frank Aigbogun, Publisher BusinessDay Media; and media personalities like Beverly Osu, Bolanle Olukanni and Zainab Balogun.
The launch of Alpher is in line with Union Bank’s long-standing commitment to enable enterprise and empower women, their businesses and careers as the company has a history of supporting women and women-owned businesses.
In 2019, to reiterate its commitment to women, the bank awarded 40 scholarships to women entrepreneurs to build their capacity through the Enterprise & Leadership Program (ELP) organised by China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in partnership with Leading Ladies Africa.
In keeping with the event theme, Take Your Best Shot, the programme line up was designed to inspire women to rise above their challenges and live their dreams!
A major highlight of the evening was the segment titled Taking my Best Shot, which featured talks from five successful business and career women on how they took their best shot at realising their dreams.
Alpher was initially unveiled at the bank’s 2019 International Women’s Day celebration, and has since then been developed into a fully-fledged proposition, set to change the face of banking for Nigerian women.
The Alpher platform provides tailored support for the individual woman, women-owned and women-led businesses. Women can also benefit from a wide range of financial services, business and career development opportunities and lifestyle discounts.
