Worried by the challenges faced by the girl-child, Fidelity Bank Plc., on Wednesday, announced a N10 million financial support to build an Information Technology (IT) centre for the Dream Catchers Academy for Girls.
The Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, made the announcement at the bank’s 2022 International Women’s Day celebration in collaboration with blogger, Linda Ikeji, in Lagos.
Onyeali-Ikpe said the bank would support the academy with N10 million for an IT centre and payment for coding of young girls in the centre to achieve their potential.
“We believe this will go a long way to assist the young ladies who need a helping hand while enhancing their knowledge in their area of endeavour,” she said.
Dream Catchers Academy for Girls is a free boarding educational and performing arts academy for orphaned and/or underserved girls.
The academy uses dance, drama, music, visual arts and leadership skills as a tool to help and encourage orphaned, disadvantaged and/or impoverished girls to stay in school while pursuing a purposeful life.
Onyeali-Ikpe also unveiled a special proposition tagged ‘HerFidelity” for the bank’s female customers and clients.
She said the bank under the initiative would be sponsoring five female-led enterprises for the training of apprentices to the tune of N5 million.
“This proposition boasts of exciting features such as capacity building, access to finance at reduced rate, health and wellness programmes, recognition and networking events all designed to help women achieve their potential and I encourage you to sign up for this experience.
“One of the pillars of this new preposition called HerFidelity is capacity building and to this end, we are sponsoring five female-led enterprises today to a total sum of N5 million for the training of female apprentices,” she said.
According to her, the girl child should be encouraged to go to school.
“We need to encourage them to go to school and be judged by their competence and not by compliment only.
“The possibilities are endless. Platforms such as this provide the opportunity to drive the necessary conservations around promoting a world free of gender bias and discrimination.
“A world where women are given the freedom to thrive, grow and fulfil their highest potential,” she added.
The keynote speaker, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, encouraged women to be firm in order to make it to the top.
Ezekwesili urged women to use data to tackle structural issues that stood on their way to the top.
She noted that women should gather data in order to go against some of the biases on their way.
According to her, women should be more interested in data gathering at their individual level by paying attention to what they are bringing to the table.
“Part of the reason women play at the middle level of their career is simply because of performance reward bias.
“Many women end up not getting what is due to them in terms of a reward for efforts simply because of performance reward bias,” she said.
Ezekwesili noted that society would not make sufficient progress until it recognised the value inherent in women against whom a strong bias existed.
Ikeji commended Fidelity Bank for the partnership and the platform to encourage women to pursue their dreams.
“Today is IWD and I’m very passionate about women, it’s a day set aside to celebrate women and it’s important for us to have a gathering to meet each other, network, socialise and have very important conservation.
“Break the bias means for us women to question the norm, the conscious and unconscious things that hold us back from achieving success or going for our goals,” she said.
