CEO of FirstBank, Alebiosu, Reiterates The Positive Role Of Financial Inclusion In Poverty Eradication At UNGA ‘79

<h4>CEO of  FirstBank<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong> <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that in an exclusive interview with Arise TV on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York&comma; the CEO of FirstBank&comma; the premier West African financial institution and financial inclusion service provider&comma; Olusegun Alebiosu highlighted poverty eradication as a pressing concern that should keep international leaders up at night&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Alongside poverty&comma; climate change and gender inequality are equally pressing issues that demand attention and action&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Alebiosu stressed that poverty&comma; in all its forms&comma; stems from lack of access and resources&period; He highlighted that finance is the most critical factor in combating poverty in the 21st century&period; &&num;8220&semi;The easiest way to get out of poverty is access to finance&comma;&&num;8221&semi; he noted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Some of the important discussion topics during the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit according to Alebiosu included innovative financing&comma; sustainable financing&comma; and the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity&period; He stressed the critical need to develop human resources to tackle the widening economic gap between developed and developing nations&period; This emphasis on human resource development echoes the United Nations&&num;8217&semi; focus on sustainable development and equality&comma; particularly in areas such as gender equality&comma; climate action&comma; and living wages&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As a financial expert in Nigeria and Africa&comma; Alebiosu has identified financial inclusion as a key area for FirstBank to address in supporting poverty alleviation under the sustainable development goals&period; FirstBank considers financial inclusion a central part of its business strategy&comma; resulting in the extension of over N36 billion in loans to women in 2023 and the development of a gender market strategy to strengthen the Bank’s women portfolio&period; Alebiosu highlighted FirstBank&&num;8217&semi;s extensive Firstmonie agents’ network in Nigeria&comma; which surpassed 232&comma;000 in 2023&comma; with over 55&comma;000 of the agents being women who continue to offer financial services in their communities as a testament to the power of financing in advancing economic interests and promoting economic development&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Concluding&comma; Alebiosu expressed his vision for the future and said &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;FirstBank will further be entrenched into the fabric of the society&comma; earning a place in the hearts and minds of Nigerians as a Giant advocate for economic development in Nigeria and Africa as a whole&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The UN Global Compact Leaders&&num;8217&semi; Summit is an annual day-long conference that empowers private sector leaders to drive sustainable development and advance the 2030 Agenda&period; The event provides a unique platform for business leaders&comma; UN officials&comma; government leaders&comma; SDG stakeholders&comma; and civil society professionals to converge and explore innovative solutions with actionable insights&period; This year’s edition held in New York&comma; on Tuesday September 24&comma; 2024<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;