‘At Union Bank, we remain committed to the arts, talent development’

Union Bank’s commitment to the arts and to talent development in general is as extensive as the bank’s 100-year heritage. The bank recently launched a Centenary Art Challenge and a Centenary Innovation Challenge which again showcased that commitment in a very tangible way. Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, the bank’s head, corporate affairs/corporate communications, throws more light on why talent development and innovation is so important to Nigeria and to the bank, and what current initiatives are being supported by Union Bank in this space.

Wh a t w o u l d you identify as the parameters of Union Bank’s success at this period of its centenary anniversary?

100 years is no small feat for any institution. Union Bank is only one of a handful of companies in Nigeria to attain this milestone and we are incredibly proud of that. While there are certainly many factors that have helped us through our 100-year journey, I would have to pick relevance as a key factor in our success. If a business or an organisation ceases to be relevant to its customers, it will die. Through the years, Union Bank has maintained its value proposition to its customers and played an important role in their lives which built trust and loyalty. That trust and loyalty has translated into the strong heritage we have today as an institution, and will help propel us into the next 100 years. While announcing the centenary anniversary, the bank also unveiled its anniversary theme: ‘Celebrate, Impact, Lead’.

Why this theme and what does it represent for the bank?

For Union Bank, 100 years is no doubt a time to celebrate and reflect on our achievements over our storied history, but more importantly for us, it is about looking towards the next 100 years and laying a solid foundation for the institution to continue to be relevant in the next 100 years. So our three broad themes reflect how we want to mark the year. Celebration with our stakeholders who have seen us through our journey and made it possible for us to mark 100 years is important. Under Impact, we want to continue to actively engage with our communities and to play a significant role in key areas we have identified where we want to be part of providing solutions. Leadership for us means innovation. As I said before, we are looking towards the next 100 years and continuing to stay relevant to our customers. For that we have to be forward looking in anticipating the needs of our customers and making sure we are providing innovative solutions to make life simpler and smarter for them every day. Union Bank launched the Centenary Innovation Challenge and, more recently, the Centenary Art Challenge. Tell us more about these initiatives and what they seek to achieve. These two initiatives go to the core of some of the values we hold as an organisation. For the Centenary Innovation Challenge for which we partnered with Co-creation Hub, our goal is to find young minds that are thinking about how to solve social problems in a sustainable way. We don’t mean sustainability only from an environmental point of view, we actually are looking for social entrepreneurs who have thought about how to build a sustainable business around their solutions to solve some challenging social issues. Through this we can do two things – solve problems and create opportunities for people while doing it. It’s a win-win for everyone. For the Art Challenge, we are once again challenging young minds to be creative. Creativity of any kind, we believe, can lead to innovation and we will continue to be supportive of this space. Nigeria’s creative arts industry is one of the largest in Africa – with a vast pool of talent which has attracted global recognition and awards.

Can this sector play an important role in the development of our large youth population?

The world is currently experiencing a technology revolution. We previously went through a science revolution that changed the world, made many advances in medicine and improved the quality of human life. I think that a creative revolution might be next. As machines replace functions that people currently do today, talent and creativity are what will set people apart next and we need to be prepared for that. Our creative arts industry needs to continue to develop and be at the forefront when the time comes. The sector needs to create opportunities that young people can access and there must be a strategy to promote and encourage creative arts in schools.

Union Bank has been finding ways to engage and support in this space through our support for the Beeta Universal Playwriting competition, sponsorship of the Lights, Camera, Africa film festival, the production of the play ‘Love & Recession’ and, of course, the launch of our Centenary Art Challenge.

For the 2016 Rio Olympics, Union Bank was noted as the sole corporate sponsor of the Nigerian team. What has prompted the bank’s active support for this sector?

Our support for Team Nigeria is an example of how we want to impact our communities and position our bank. We want to be there to answer a call when it is needed and if we can. Union Bank has been an avid supporter of sports and developing talents in sports dating back to its days as Barclays Bank. The Olympics, and sports in general, is unique in its ability to bring people together and unite them in support of one cause – their team. We felt it was important that our athletes be in the best frame of mind when they go out to compete and do their best for our country and hopefully if they are, they will be able to bring a sense of hope and celebration to the entire country. This was what informed our decision to step up. Sports is key to developing our youth and we will continue to provide support in this area.

What advice do you have for other corporate organisations on the need to encourage talent as a means of creating impact?

What role can these institutions and corporations play in encouraging talent and improving communities for sustainable development? While every institution will have its own values and the things they believe are important to them as a corporate citizen, I think it is important for all institutions to start thinking and considering how they can collaborate with others to achieve meaningful impact. We believe that companies should find areas where they agree and where their values intersect and collaborate in order to achieve wider and more sustainable impact in our communities. When we start to collaborate, we will achieve more.