Ecobank, through its Ellevate programme, has partnered Ananse Africa and MasterCard Foundation to train fashion entrepreneurs and creatives in Nigeria, the lender announced in a statement over the weekend. The statement described Ecobank Ellevate as a proprietary service offering designed for businesses owned by women, managed by women and those with a high percentage of female board members or employees, as well as companies manufacturing products for women. Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Korede Demola- Adeniyi, in her welcome address at the hybrid event, which took place at the Ecobank Pan Africa Centre (EPAC) in Lagos, said the bank’s support was in line with its policy to empower and expose local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to the global market.
“This is an innovative impact- driven programme, designed to equip women fashion entrepreneurs with valuable business skills to be better empowered, and to equip them with more skills in their chosen field in fashion. For us as a bank, we are delighted to partner with Ananse and Mastercard Foundation to organize this training program. It aligns with our focus of enabling SMEs to grow their businesses to compete in the global market.
“Remember, we are also using Adire as key driver in the fashion industry. Last year we took adire technology to the global arena; we partnered Ogun State First Lady through Ajose Foundation Adire Market Week which attracted over 1000 local and foreign exhibitors; We organized a successful Lagos Adire Experience and also sponsored Africa Fashion Week London 2022 with an Adire pavilion,” she stated. Demola-Adeniyi introduced to the participants the bank’s various products, services, and digital offerings such as, “Ecobank Mobile app, Ecobank Online, Ecobank Omnilite, EcobankPay, Ellevate, a relationship package to cater for female-owned and femalerun businesses and over 60,000 Ecobank Xpress Point agency banking locations spread across the country, among others.”