First Bank to enlighten SMEs on sustainable practices

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, through its sustainability centre, First bank Sustainability Centre, has partnered with Lagos Business School to host a sustainability workshop for Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria. The objective of the workshop is to drive home the need for the SME entrepreneurs to embed sustainable practices into their operations, according to a statement by the bank on Monday. It said the two-day workshop, scheduled to start on August 11, 2015 at the LBS, was designed to enlighten participants that sustainability is not just about the environment, but an important step towards an efficient business model that reduces waste, cuts costs and increases profit. The bank said it would be a veritable platform to discuss how sustainable practices can improve the SME practitioners’ bottom line as well as elaborate on ways to assess and implement more sustainable business methods. The workshop will also explore various funding options that support sustainability and innovation in small businesses, it said.

The Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, described the workshop as one of the bank’s initiatives that aim to engage and support the business enterprises of its stakeholders towards ensuring optimum performance. She said, “We believe that SMEs are at the heart of national development, contributing greatly to the gross domestic product of our country. “As Nigeria’s leading the SME bank, we are focused on empowering SMEs and entrepreneurs towards capacity building and development to contribute to the growth of our economy in providing employment to people, adding to our GDP and repositioning the national economy for sustained growth.” According to the statement, the sustainability workshops for SMEs is a corporate responsibility and sustainability initiative of the First Bank Sustainability Centre, established in collaboration with the Lagos Business School to create, disseminate and apply knowledge, build capacity and promote best practice in Sustainability in Nigeria.