- The FirstBank CR&S Week is a dedicated week designed to offer opportunities for employees to give
their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic approach; - The FirstBank CR&S Week is held in Nigeria and 7 other countries: United Kingdom, Ghana, DRC,
Guinea, Sierra Lone, Senegal and Gambia; - Since its maiden edition in 2017, the FirstBank CR&S week in 2017 is fast becoming a household
name in the Bank’s host economies.
In furtherance of its continued commitment to impacting the lives of individuals in its host
communities across 7 Countries: Nigeria, United Kingdom, Ghana, DRC, Guinea, Sierra Lone,
Senegal and Gambia. First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced the Fifth edition of its
Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S) week, scheduled for 22- 27 August 2022.
The event which is themed: “Kindness…. A Way of Life” reflects the single-minded purpose to
make a difference in the world by inspiring and institutionalising kindness. SPARK is an
acronym for Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness and it is a values-based initiative
designed to raise consciousness that we can choose to be kind.
The FirstBank CR&S Week is a dedicated week designed to offer opportunities for employees
to give their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic
approach. The CR&S Week will offer employees opportunities to give their time & resources to
defined causes. The Week’s activities are an aspect of the Bank’s Employee Giving &
Volunteering Program, which was instituted to encourage employees to give back to the
community as well as inculcate in them the integral corporate culture of giving.
The Bank held the maiden edition of the CR&S week in 2017 with a focus mainly on three key
initiatives/activities which were giving and visits to orphanages/less privileged homes/IDPs;
career counselling day; and Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) initiative –
which is now Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness. The CR&S week has become more
successful in subsequent years and it is fast becoming a household name in the Bank’s host
economies.
There are five main activities to be implemented during this year’s CR&S Week in Nigeria,
FBNBank UK and across the SSA markets. These activities include SPARK APP, Kind
Comments Day, Visits to orphanage/less privileged homes, SPARK School Engagement, and
Women Economic Empowerment. The major highlight of the Week will be the launch of the
SPARK APP. The app is strategic in the Bank’s journey to institutionalize “A Day of Kindness”
on a national level, and globally position the Bank as a Corporate Citizen in leveraging new
media to drive sustainability practices.
The SPARK App is a sensational application designed to have individuals abreast with the act
of kindness through various kindness-based quotes and inspirational phrases that will be
displayed on one’s phone screen, especially when the phone is idle.
Kind Comments Day is an initiative that focuses on inspiring and encouraging everyone to be
deliberate with the use of kind words in relating or interacting with anyone.
In addition, with Women Empowerment, the Bank will support, VVF patients in need of surgical
operations and also empower them with vocational skills as they integrate back into the society.
The SPARK Schools Engagement will be implemented through the National Competition of
JAN SPARK School Integration. The activity is aimed at rewarding the various participating
students, following their SPARK activity, Through the partnership with JAN, SPARK is
integrated into the JAN Company Program, where students are taught the values of SPARK.
The SPARK schools’ competition has been tied with Company programme regional
competition,ensuring they imbibed the values taught during the training. One of the highlights of
the event is the visit to orphanage homes and the less privileged, across various cities which will
be carried out by volunteers from the Bank.
Speaking on the week, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “The CR&S Week is
another opportunity to strengthen our commitment and extend our reach beyond the
communities where we operate in Nigeria and across our subsidiaries. Over time, our goal has
stayed the same, to create platforms through which our positive impact is felt.”
“For us in the FirstBank Group, beyond saying that we care, we take a step further and show it,”
he concluded.
Through the years of commemorating its annual CR&S Week, FirstBank has impacted lives
across its host communities in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and its SSA subsidiaries. These
impacts comprise the partnership with Lagos State Government on the provision of a Primary
Health Centre at Ijedodo Community, Lagos State; engagements with over 60 charities, Non-
governmental organisations, orphanages, correctional centres, schools and Internally Displayed
Persons (IDP) Camps which resulted in touching the lives of over 20,000 underprivileged
individuals in the society including widows, orphans and children with disabilities.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading
financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 128 years.
With over 750 business locations and over 180,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the
774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail
and corporate financial services to serve its over 30 million customers. The Bank has an
international presence through its subsidiaries, FBNBank (UK) Limited in London and Paris,
FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal,
as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been handy at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over
10million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in the country. FirstBank’s cashless
transaction drive extends to having more than 10million people on its USSD Quick Banking
service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 4.5 million people on
FirstMobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers
focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk
management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private
investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the
Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach,
FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that
are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial
partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 –
2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best
Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker
International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by
Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is always to put customers, partners and
stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and
excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision
“To be the partner of the first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is always to
deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on
our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
Folake Ani-Mumuney
Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications
First Bank of Nigeria Limited
