FirstBank, the West Africa premier {bank} and {financial} inclusion companies supplier, is thrilled to announce that its Company College, FirstAcademy, has been awarded the Gold Award for Finest Company College in Social & Local weather Change on the World Council of Company Universities (GlobalCCU) Awards 2025.
This extremely acclaimed award recognises FirstAcademy’s excellent dedication to driving social and local weather change studying initiatives, aligning its studying and growth packages with inside stakeholder wants, and selling Company Social Accountability (CSR).
The GlobalCCU Awards is a prestigious, biannual recognition of excellence in company universities, setting the very best customary for the business. With a wealthy 12-year historical past courting again to its inaugural ceremony in Paris in 2013, the awards have persistently honoured excellent Company Universities, studying and growth constructions worldwide. The GlobalCCU Awards have a good time establishments that create exceptional worth for individuals, companies, society and the planet.
FirstBank’s FirstAcademy exemplifies this mission by incomes the Gold Award for Finest Company College in Social & Local weather Change on the 2025 ceremony in Paris, France. This distinction displays FirstAcademy’s dedication to fostering sustainability and environmental duty; creating impactful studying initiatives that transcends conventional company coaching, with broader societal objectives; integrating local weather motion into its portfolio and operations; increasing local weather finance choices and creating a local weather motion capability constructing coaching program.
FirstAcademy was inaugurated in 2012 because the {Bank}’s designated company academy designed to supply structured expertise growth, information administration and tradition change initiatives. One main goal of the academy is to equip employees with the requisite information and abilities required to ship on the {Bank}’s strategic aspirations and to thrive in an ever-evolving work setting whereas contributing to social and environmental duty.
In line with the Founder and Chairman of the GlobalCCU Awards, Annick Renaud-Coulon, “FirstAcademy is an excellent Company College that’s clearly the Finest Company College globally for driving social and local weather change studying initiatives.”
Congratulating FirstAcademy, the Founder and Chairman of the GlobalCCU Awards, Annick Renaud-Coulon, stated “FirstAcademy is a really mature Company College which demonstrates a robust alignment with FirstBank’s imaginative and prescient of accountable banking and sustainable growth, with clear help from senior management and a governance mannequin that strategically connects studying to enterprise priorities. Congratulations to FirstAcademy for setting a visionary customary in advancing significant social and local weather change influence by studying and inclusive capability constructing!”
Within the phrases of Olayinka Ijabiyi, the Appearing Group Head, Advertising and marketing and Company Communications, FirstBank “We’re delighted to obtain this worldwide recognition for our efforts in selling social duty and local weather motion. This award serves as a testomony to our perception that companies could be a pressure for good, driving transformation that extends past revenue to create sustainable and equitable futures for all. FirstAcademy’s packages haven’t solely enhanced worker abilities but additionally contributed to the well-being of society and the setting.”
As FirstBank’s FirstAcademy continues to bridge the hole between company initiatives and group wants, it units a number one instance for company universities across the globe, inspiring others to comply with go well with within the quest for significant change.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Restricted “FirstBank”, established in 1894, is the premier {bank} in West Africa, a number one {financial} inclusion companies supplier in Africa, and a digital banking big.
FirstBank’s worldwide footprints reduce throughout three continents ─ Africa, Europe and Asia, with FirstBank UK Restricted in London and Paris; FirstBank in The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; FBNBank in Senegal; and a FirstBank Consultant Workplace in Beijing, China. All of the subsidiary banks are absolutely registered by their respective Central Banks to supply full banking companies.
Apart from offering home banking companies, the subsidiaries additionally have interaction in worldwide cross-border transactions with FirstBank’s non-Nigerian subsidiaries, and the consultant places of work in Paris and China facilitate commerce flows from Asia and Europe into Nigeria and different African international locations.
For over 13 a long time, FirstBank has constructed an excellent repute for stable relationships, good company governance, and a robust liquidity place, and has been on the forefront of selling digital fee within the nation with over 13 million playing cards issued to clients (the primary {bank} to attain such a milestone in Nigeria). FirstBank has continued to make vital investments in expertise, innovation and transformation, and its cashless transaction drive has been steadily accentuated with just about over 25 million energetic FirstBank clients signed up on digital channels together with the USSD Fast Banking service by the nationally famend *894# Banking code.
With over 43 million buyer accounts (together with digital wallets) unfold throughout Nigeria, UK and sub-Saharan Africa, the {Bank} gives a complete vary of retail and wholesale {financial} companies by greater than 820 enterprise places of work and over 280,000 agent areas unfold throughout 772 out of the 774 Native Authorities Areas in Nigeria.
Along with banking options and companies, FirstBank gives pension fund custody companies in Nigeria by First Pension Custodian Nigeria Restricted and nominee and related companies by First Nominees Nigeria Restricted.
FirstBank’s dedication to Variety is proven in its insurance policies, partnerships and initiatives resembling its workers’ ratio of feminine to male (about 41%:59%; and 37% ladies in administration roles) in addition to the FirstBank Girls Community, an initiative that seeks to deal with the gender hole and enhance the participation of ladies in any respect ranges throughout the organisation. As well as, the {Bank}’s membership of the UN Girls is an affirmation of a deliberate coverage that’s in step with UN Girls’s Girls Empowerment’s Ideas (WEPs) ─ Equal Alternative, Inclusion, and Non discrimination.
For six consecutive years (2011 – 2016), FirstBank was named “Most Worthwhile {Bank} Model in Nigeria” by the globally famend The Banker Journal of the {Financial} Occasions Group and “Finest Retail {Bank} in Nigeria” eight occasions in a row, 2011 – 2018, by the Asian Banker Worldwide Excellence in Retail {Financial} Providers Awards.
Considerably, FirstBank’s World Credit score Ranking was A+ with a constructive outlook whereas rankings by Fitch and Normal & Poor’s have been A (nga) and ngBBB+ respectively each with Steady outlooks as at September 2023. FirstBank maintained the identical degree of worldwide credit score rankings because the sovereign; a milestone that was achieved in 2022 for the primary time since 2015.
In 2024, FirstBank obtained notable worldwide awards and accolades. A few of these embody Nigeria’s Finest {Bank} for ESG 2024 and Nigeria’s Finest {Bank} for Corporates 2024 each awarded by Euromoney Awards for Excellence; Finest SME {Bank} in Africa and in Nigeria by The Asian Banker World Awards; Finest Personal {Bank} in Nigeria and Finest Personal {Bank} for Sustainable Investing in Africa by World Finance Awards; Finest Company {Bank} in Nigeria 2024, Finest CSR {Bank} in Nigeria 2024, Finest Retail {Bank} in Nigeria 2024, Finest SME {Bank} in Nigeria 2024 and Finest Personal {Bank} in Nigeria 2024 all awarded by the World Banking and Finance Awards.
FirstBank has continued to realize large acclaim on the worldwide stage with a number of worldwide awards and recognitions obtained to date in 2025 which incorporates Finest SME {Bank} in Nigeria 2025 and Finest SME {Bank} in Africa 2025 by The Asian Banker; Finest Personal {Bank} in Nigeria 2025 and Finest Personal {Bank} for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2025 by World Finance Awards; SME Financier of the Yr in Nigeria 2025 by The Digital Banker World SME Banking Innovation Awards; Finest Retail {Bank} in Nigeria 2025 and Finest {Bank} for Empowering Girls Entrepreneurs in Nigeria 2025 all by The Annual World Economics Awards.
Our imaginative and prescient is “To be Africa’s {Bank} of first selection” and our mission is “To stay true to our title by offering the very best {financial} companies potential”. This dedication is anchored on our core values of EPIC – Entrepreneurship, Professionalism, Innovation and Buyer-Centricity. Our strategic ambition is “To ship accelerated progress in profitability by customer-led innovation and disciplined execution” and our model promise is at all times to ship the final word “gold customary” of worth and excellence to place You First in each respect.
Olayinka Ijabiyi
Ag. Group Head, Advertising and marketing & Company Communications
First Bank of Nigeria Restricted
