CITIBANK HONOURS MICRO-ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA August 26, 2013 | Business Day (businessdayonline) Citibank Nigeria Limited honoured 17 Nigerian micro-entrepreneurs during the Sixth Annual Citi Micro-entrepreneurship Awards Ceremony which held on August 15, 2013 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. The event held as part of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Seventh Annual Microfinance Conference and was organised in conjunction with CBN and Growing Businesses Foundation (GBF). The ceremony drew top government officials and dignitaries including the host, CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; Edo State governor, Adams Oshimole; Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi; and Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso. Others in attendance included central bank governors of D-8 countries, representatives from international development agencies and the CBN deputy governor for Economic Policy, Sarah Alade, who presided over the opening ceremony. Managing director and CEO, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Omar Hafeez, delivered a goodwill message at the ceremony where he highlighted Citibank’s commitment to micro-entrepreneurship around the world. Hafeez stated, “In spite of the challenging global financial climate, the Citi Micro-entrepreneurship Awards has held in 28 countries with more than $2,000,000 being awarded by the Citi Foundation to micro-entrepreneurs globally.” While speaking on the Citi Micro-entrepreneurship Awards Ceremony in Nigeria, Hafeez further stated, “This year, in the execution of the second phase of the Citi Microenterprise Development for Rural Farmers Initiative (CMDRFI), Citi has again committed to $110,000 thus extending our support to three additional local government areas in Kano State, Nigeria.” The second phase of the Citi Microenterprise Development for Rural Farmers Initiative was executed in partnership with Growing Businesses Foundation, Kano State Agricultural Development Agency, Development Exchange Centre and Agro-products Merchants in Kano. In his speech, Hafeez said the results of the pilot scheme and the execution of the second phase of the project would enable them to create a model that can be replicated across several local government areas and states in Nigeria. At the awards ceremony, cash prizes were handed out under seven major categories including Best Woman Entrepreneur, Best Micro Business Model, Most Marketed Product, Most Innovative Product, Best Employment Generation, Best Micro Entrepreneur and the Most Innovative Microfinance Institutions. The awards were then presented to the winners and runners-up. Under the Best Woman Entrepreneur, Best Micro Business Model, Most Marketed Product, Most Innovative Product and Best Employment Generation categories, three cash prizes were awarded to winners and runners-up. The winner in each of the stated categories received cash prizes of N200,000 while the 1st and 2nd runners-up received cash prizes of N150,000 and N100,000, respectively. For the Best Micro Entrepreneur and Most Innovative Microfinance Institutions, cash prizes of N300,000 and N750,000 in turn were presented to single winners who had been nominated by their local Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). The Citi Micro-Entrepreneurship Awards programme strives to ensure that micro-entrepreneurs throughout Nigeria and other participating countries are celebrated for their efforts in creating sustainable businesses in their communities. Citibank Nigeria Limited is a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. (Citi). Citibank Nigeria operates 12 branches and has almost 250 employees across the country. Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 10:20:00 +0000
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