From Left – Union Bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Kandolo Kasongo; Board Chair, Beatrice Hamza Bassey; Chief Executive Officer, Emeka Emuwa; Head Retail Bank and Digital, Lola Cardoso and Head, Corporate Banking Group, Emeka Okonkwo at the launch of Alpher, the Bank’s women proposition in Lagos

It was an evening of glamour, style, inspiration and networking last Thursday, as women (and men) from all walks of life converged at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island. The occasion was the launch of Alpher – Union Bank’s women banking proposition.

Head Corporate Communications and Marketing Union Bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem (right) and Founder, Beeta Universal Arts Foundation, Bikiya Graham-Douglas at the event.

In keeping with the event theme – ‘Take Your Best Shot’, the program 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 fivesuccessful business and career women on how they took their best shot at realising their dreams.

The speakers included 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.

Special guests at the event included the Bank’s CEO, Emeka Emuwa and the Head of Retail Bank and Digital, Lola Cardoso, along with other Executives of the Bank.Other guests included Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-Founder, Sahel Consulting, Frank Aigbogun, Publisher BusinessDay Media and media personalities Beverly Osu, Bolanle Olukanni and Zainab Balogun.

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.

Union Bank 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.

The launch of Alpher is in line with Union Bank’s long-standing commitment to enable enterprise and empower women, their businesses and careers.