By Ngozi Onyeakusi— Ecobank Nigeria has said its partnership with HerAbility Hub to promote girl-child education is in line with its overall strategy to support the development of the nation’s education sector.  The partnership tagged Somolu school tour with the theme: “ Shattering the Glass Ceiling” featured career seminars, empowerment programmes and donation of diverse education materials to schools in Lagos. Founder, HerAbility Hub, Dr. Omoayena Odunbaku, who commended Ecobank for its support, stressed that the success of the tour would nourish the future of many and transcend the borders that hinder the progress and success of the girl-child.

She explained that HerAbility Hub is a female community platform that provides and integrates career talks channeled towards mentorship of young female secondary school students, film forums that give inspiration and steer critical thinking skills, girl-child empowerment projects that are complemented with civic engagement lessons. Further, she stated that HerAbility Hub advocates for girl-child empowerment by disseminating information that promotes the girl-child’s sense of self-worth and their ability to determine their own choices, providing them with inspiration to break glass ceilings, motivating them to contribute positively to the society especially in the crucial years of their transition into adulthood and equipping them with the right resources to transcend rigid gender norms that undermine their full potentials.

“The school tour was scheduled for four different locations across four days. It was targeted at 1200 participants including 1000 students across 19 Government secondary schools, desk officers, keynote speakers and resource persons. Participation was by representation with a maximum of 50 students (25 male, 25 females) from each of the school. The schools include Igbobi Junior High School. Morocco Shomolu, St Luke’s Junior Grammar School. CMS, Gbagada Comprehensive school, Bariga, Baptist Junior Grammar School, Obanikoro,” she stated.

In his comment, Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Ecobank Nigeria, Jide Sipe said it is in line with the bank’s vision, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme that is dedicated to supporting community welfare, education, and development.  “the guiding principle of Ecobank’s CSR activities is to contribute to the economic development and financial integration of Africa. Our main focus is to give

Our main focus is to give back and contribute effectively to the societies in which we operate. This partnership follows our recognition of the inherent threat of a weak reading culture in Nigeria and its part of our dedicated efforts on literary advocacy amongst youths”.

Further, Mr Sipe noted that Ecobank as a financial institution also fund education and its value chain, including corporate entities and individuals. He called on schools to partner with the bank as their preferred financial institution for payments and collections, noting that Ecobank has demonstrated pedigree and expertise in fees collection, locally and internationally. “We have special loan packages for parents and guardians to enable them pay school fees for their children. Our digital offerings are targeted at reducing the financial burden on parents, students, and schools, and facilitating the ease of payment of fees without hassles.” “The digital offerings include Ecobank Mobile App, EcobankPay and Ecobank Online for contactless fees payment, personal loans and salary advance packages at competitive interest rates, international transfers for offshore school fees payment and affordable remittance offerings. Those who have families abroad who wish to send money home to help with fees can do so at zero charges on the Rapidtransfer app. The bank has also provided the Banking-for-School pack for educational institutions to access working capital and loans.”