Union Bank, one of Nigeria’s most-respected financial institutions, has announced its partnership with Co-Creation Hub to launch the Centenary Innovation Challenge. The launch was announced at a press conference held at the bank’s Head Office on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.
Building on the Banks 100 year’s centenary theme to Celebrate, Impact and Lead, the Centenary Innovation Challenge is a platform that would provide support for young technology startups and businesses to impact their environment and improve the country.
Speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, stated that innovation, one of the core values of the bank, has been the forefront in ensuring the Bank meets and exceeds customer needs and drive social innovation.
“As an Institution we are taking the lead in tackling social problems in communities where we do business in a sustainable way. Last year, we kicked off our first ever internal innovation challenge in the bank – The Annual Case Challenge and we are currently working on implementing the transformational ideas that came through that would allow us provide the simplest and smartest solutions, making our customers’ lives better. We also believe that we cannot tackle these social problems alone which is why today we are partnering with Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) to launch the Centenary Innovation Challenge”.
Speaking with the press during the launch, Lola Cardoso, Head of Group Strategy, Union Bank, emphasized the Bank’s focus on citizenship and sustainability in developing and impacting the society.
She said, “Our approach to corporate citizenship helps us leverage on our heritage as a strong financial institution to support local efforts aimed at achieving sustainable development and driving social change. For the past two years, our approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has focused on three strategic pillars – financial inclusion, agriculture and education and this is the foundation the Centenary Innovation challenge will be built on.”
“We have continued to engage communities across the country, which informs our internal decisions. For sustainability, we are also investing in provision of alternative energy sources and also leveraging on businesses that provide recycle resources. With the Centenary Innovation Challenge, there is no better partner than CcHub as regards our plans moving forward,” Cardoso stated.
In his key note address, Founder, Co-Creation Hub, Bosun Tijani talked about the partnership with the Bank, he said “Based on our work for the past 7 years, we have seen that there are very few credible platforms to leverage on to build sustainable businesses in Nigeria. This partnership with Union Bank for the Centenary Innovation Challenge is important to us, especially in implementing platforms that can help us provide solutions for our communities and the country as a whole”.
Over 98 per cent of support we get is derived from outside Nigeria, so this relationship with Union Bank is our first with a Nigerian financial institution. Clearly, this is a commitment that we would want other reputable institutions to emulate,” he concluded.
