Diamond Bank Plc., Nigeria’s leading retail bank, will be the lead sponsor of the 24th edition of the Nigerian Universities Games Association (NUGA) competition. The event, which will hold between February 12-22, 2014 at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, will attract over 60 universities and 7,000 athletes that will feature in 15 different sports, including Track & Field, Badminton, Basketball, Chess, Cricket, Handball and Judo. Others are Hockey, Football, Swimming, Table tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis and Volleyball. According to Mrs Ayona Trimnell, Head of Corporate Communications, Diamond Bank Plc, the bank’s support for the event is part of its sponsorship programmes targeted at supporting the dreams and aspirations of Nigerian youths.
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Alphamead Facilities and Management Services Limited, Nigeria’s leading facility management company, has concluded plans to host key players in Nigeria’s retail sector to a one-day seminar. During the event, the company will be partnering with Cluttons LLP, a limited liability partnership of Chartered Surveyors, based in the United Kingdom, to offer a free one-on-one management consultancy for all levels of retail projects in Nigeria. The event,with the theme “Adopting Global Best Practices For Retail Centre Development And Management In Nigeria”,will hold on Tuesday, February 4, 2014, atEko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Geared towards creating an avenue for financiers, current and potential mall owners, developers and retail managers to share their experiences, the event will offer ample opportunity for grooming in the areas of offering consultancy services and managing retail centres, based on successful models in Europe and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
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The Minister for Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has called for new strategies to support the Small and Medium Entreprises (SME) sector as government looks to positively impact the entire economic value chain. The minister made the call while receiving top executives of Diamond Bank Plc, a leading player in the Nigerian Retail Banking space, led by the Bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Alex Otti. Speaking at the event, the minister said, “The SME sector in Nigeria currently employs about 25million people and accounts for about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Despite recent growths in the economy, government realizes that economic growth that does not reach the SMEs cannot make any meaningful impact. Diamond Bank has played a pioneering and leading role in growing not only the banking sector but also the Nigerian economy through its activities with SMEs, and government is willing to partner such professionals with proven experience in the sector to develop the entire economic value chain.” While presenting the bank’s blueprint on Improving Access to Finance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Otti recommended that a fund should be set up to take care of identified equity finance gaps. He also called for a risk-sharing guarantee to support the unsecured lending portfolio of banks that have established methodologies for assessing, disbursing, monitoring and collecting such loans.
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More support has come the way of leading retail bank, Diamond Bank PLC in its drive to provide adequate support for Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in West Africa. This time, the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has entered into an agreement with Diamond to support the bank’s lending to small businesses in the region to the tune of USD 25 Million. Speaking at a press conference held after the partnership agreement signing ceremony, Executive Director –Retail Banking, Diamond Bank PLC, Mr. Uzoma Dozie, said the Bank was delighted by the partnership as it was an indication that the Bank’s support for MSMEs is laudable and that the Bank would continue to provide more support for the vital business segment. According to the Chief Executive Officer, African Guarantee Fund, Mr. Felix Bikpo, “In Africa, majority of the economic growth is trade driven. Once trade is backed out, we have little or nothing. AGF is positioned to drive real economic development that takes Africa back to what it was in the past where a lot of its growth was driven at the local level. What we are doing in the AGF is to partner with like-minded institutions to provide adequate support for MSMEs to function actively in the sector. We are glad to partner with Diamond Bank as we have found their MSME support strategy to be the right one.”
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Avon Quality ForumMrs. Adesimbo Ukiri, the MD/CEO of Avon Healthcare Limited, a leading Health Insurance company in Nigeria, has called for improved partnership between Hospitals and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Ukiri, who was speaking at the De Renaissance Hotel, Lagos, during the first edition of the Avon HMO’s Providers Quality Forum, a special training and awareness programme organized for staff of Hospitals under the Avon network, described hospitals as key players in the success of health insurance in the country. She said: “We believe that hospitals have a crucial role to play if Nigeria is going to take Health insurance to the great heights that we all want. HMOs can make all the promises in the world to enrolees, but it is through the hospitals that they (enrolees) will experience our service. In a sense, you can say that the hospitals are the taste of the pudding for enrolees. But we also understand that historically, HMOs have not partnered with hospitals the way they are supposed to. At Avon HMO, our hospitals are our partners, and that is why we are taking the lead in forging a mutually beneficial partnership with our care providers through this event.” Also speaking during the event was Dr. Banjo Oni, Head, Providers Services Unit, Avon HMO. While expressing delight at the huge turnout at the event, Oni stated that the Forum was the first in a series of engagements intended to improve the quality of the service delivery that Avon enrolees enjoy from hospitals under the HMO’s network.
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Diamond Bank PLC, a leading player in the Nigerian Retail banking space, has announced the name change of its flagship savings account in a bid to cater to a larger section of the public. Hitherto known as ‘Diamond SavingsXtra’, the account has now been renamed ‘DiamondXtra’. Commenting on the name change, Head, Corporate Communications of the Bank, Mrs. Ayona Trimnell said, “The name change was informed by the need to change a wrong perception on the target market of the Diamond SavingsXtra account. Over time we found that people perceived the account to cater to only the lower mass market segment, a wrong perception. With the name change we wish to communicate to everyone that the account is open to everyone who is willing to put away some money for the rainy day, as well as enjoy a number of rewards for saving.” DiamondXtra account is a special savings account designed for individuals who want to build up their savings gradually. It is an interest-yielding savings account which allows the deposit of both cash and third party cheques. In addition, DiamondXtra account holders receive a chequebook and an ATM card with which they can withdraw from their account at any Diamond Bank branch. It is a simple and straightforward savings account that comes with a low minimum opening amount of N5,000.
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Diamond Bank PLC, a leading player in the Nigerian Retail banking space, has announced a Year-end special draw, under the DiamondXtra Reward Scheme, to reward loyal customers of its DiamondXtra account. The Draw will hold at the Iron and Building Materials Market, Orile Iganmu, Lagos, on Friday, December 27, 2013. At the Year-end special draw, 35 customers would win N1million each, 1 customer will win N2million and the luckiest customer will win Salary4Life (earns N100,000 every month for 20 years). Commenting on the draw, Head, Corporate Communications of the Bank, Mrs. Ayona Trimnell said, “The DiamondXtra account is a special savings account designed for individuals who want to build up their savings gradually. It is an interest-yielding savings account which allows the deposit of both cash and third party cheques. In addition, DiamondXtra account holders receive a cheque book and an ATM card with which they can withdraw from their account at any Diamond Bank branch. It is a simple and straightforward savings account that comes with a low minimum opening amount of N5,000.” The DiamondXtra Reward Scheme is currently the longest running reward scheme in Nigeria. It was launched in July 2008 in a bid to encourage a savings culture and also to reward customers for their loyalty. The draws are held weekly (every Friday), monthly (every last Friday of the Month) and to mark special occasions as determined by the Bank.
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Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Silverbird Television (STV) and Brila FM have been appointed as the lead broadcast partners in Nigeria for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Optima Sports Management International (OSMI). OSMI is the rights owner of the exclusive Free TV media rights for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and other FIFA events in the Nigerian Territory. The media rights include TV, Radio and Mobile. Speaking at the OSMI Sponsors Dinner held in Lagos, Mr. Rotimi Pedro, CEO, OSMI, said the choice of the stations was due to their pedigree, coverage and wide experience in similar global sports events. He said: “Our vision as a company is to make premium sports programmes available to the majority of Nigerians without paying for them. The forthcoming World Cup will not be an exception. It doesn’t matter where an average Nigerian lives, we plan to make the World Cup transmission available to him.
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Chicken Republic, a world class Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) and proudly Nigerian brand, has recorded remarkable progress in the upgrade of its outlets across the country. The project, which involves a total internal and external make-over of all Chicken Republic’s outlets nationwide, was initiated in a bid to give its teeming customers a whole new brand experience. The exercise has so far been completed in numerous chicken outlets including Lekki Phase 1; Chevron Axis of Lekki; Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island; Awolowo Road, Ikoyi and Coker Road, Ilupeju, all in Lagos. Also wearing the new look are outlets at Aminu Kano Crescent and Adetokunboh Ademola Crescent Wuse II, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Explaining the reason behind the massive renovations, Mr. Deji Akinyanju, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Chicken Republic, said it is was in response to consumer feedback for a modern and fresh ambiance. He said: “The renovations are our way of responding to the desires of our teeming and enlightened customers across the country and beyond. Our aim is to offer them more contemporary restaurant environments that are welcoming and comfortable. This way, our customers can sit back and relax as they enjoy our soulfully spiced chicken”.
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Optima Sports Management International (OSMI), the 2014 FIFA World Cup terrestrial TV broadcast rights owners for the Nigerian territory, has promised to deliver exceptional value to the viewing and listening audience, with the introduction of match commentaries in Pidgin English. According to Mr Rotimi Pedro, CEO, OSMI, this innovation is driven by the need to give the Nigerian audience a unique experience that resonates with them. He said: “OSMI’s driving philosophy is to make premium sports programmes available to Nigerians on free-to-air television. We don’t believe that Nigerians need to pay; either for cable subscription or at viewing centres, before they watch their darling teams and players play at the World Cup. That’s why we have to put our resources behind our dream. Nigerians will watch the 2014 World Cup matches free on terrestrial stations. “Besides broadcasting the matches on terrestrial television, OSMI will also deliver match commentaries in Pidgin English, a language commonly spoken by a good number Nigerians. This is the first in the history of sports broadcasting in the country and we are proud to be at the forefront of giving the Nigerian audience a valuable, special and unforgettable viewing experience.
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Diamond Bank Plc, a major player in commercial banking in Nigeria with...
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In a bid to improve overall customer experience and to foster an...
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