September 30, 2014 has been set aside for the workshop for Women owners of SMEs in Nigeria sponsored by FirstBank Sustainability Centre. The workshop, according to the institution, is aimed at promoting and empowering entrepreneurship and financial inclusion amongst women through FirstBank’s SMEConnect Series.

According to a statement, the event which is scheduled to hold at the FirstBank Sustainability Centre situated within the Lagos Business School, Lekki Lagos, South-West Nigeria, is themed ‘Sustainability:The New Growth Strategy for Women-owned SMEs’.

The workshop is designed to further equip women for enterprise development, promote best practice, learning and sharing among other topics. The workshop would focus on sustainable entrepreneurship and provide a road map on how women entrepreneurs can contribute to socio-economic development as strategic partners.

Gbenga Shobo, Executive Director, FirstBank, said that the workshop series flagged off last year is organised to stimulate economic development, especially for women. He stated that “FirstBank would continuously drive SME expansion and provide small businesses with a platform that will enhance the sustainable development of their businesses in addition to funding.”

Folake Ani-Mumuney, Head, Corporate Communications, FirstBank, observed that the workshop will amongst other things enable women-led SMES to competitively meet demands of financial success while positively impacting society through embedding sustainability thinking in their business strategies.

Facilitators at the event include Dr. Chris Ogbechie, Director, First Bank Sustainability Centre, and Mrs. Olubunmi Adebiyi of the Financial Inclusion Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, among others.

•Photo shows FirstBank GMD Bisi Onasanya.