FirstBank Partners Ekiti State Government on Launch of Innovation Enterprise Support Fund

<h4>FirstBank Partners Ekiti State Government on Launch of Innovation Enterprise Support Fund<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp">OpenLife<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that FirstBank&comma; West Africa’s premier financial institution and the leading financial inclusion service provider&comma; is proud to announce its partnership with the Ekiti State Government in launching the Innovation Enterprise Support Fund&comma; a groundbreaking initiative designed to empower startups&comma; scale tech-enabled businesses&comma; and accelerate innovation-driven economic growth across the state&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The programme provides funding&comma; mentorship&comma; and market access to high-potential enterprises&comma; with a focus on strengthening Ekiti&&num;8217&semi;s innovation ecosystem&comma; creating jobs&comma; and supporting youth&comma; women&comma; and underserved communities&period; Notably&comma; at least 40 percent of the fund has been reserved for female-led enterprises&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Innovation Enterprise Support Fund Initiative is structured as a three-phase programme covering ideation&comma; pre-acceleration&comma; and acceleration for about 60 startups&period; Each enterprise will receive financial support ranging from ₦150&comma;000 to ₦1&comma;200&comma;000&comma; enabling job creation&comma; revenue generation&comma; and market-ready product launches&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Speaking on the partnership&comma; the Managing Director&sol;Chief Executive Officer&comma; FirstBank Group&comma; Olusegun Alebiosu&comma; said &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Entrepreneurship and Innovation are two of our core values at FirstBank&period; We believe MSMEs are enablers of economic growth and for 132 years&comma; we have stood beside Nigerian businesses through every phase of growth&comma; transition and transformation&period; We have remained committed to building stronger business through improved access to finance and capacity building&semi; we created the SME Connect Platform to serve as a digital hub where Nigerian entrepreneurs find the resources to move from vision to value&period; We are excited about this partnership&comma; and we see more than startups&period; We see future industry leaders&comma; employers of labour&comma; and perhaps our next big partners&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The partnership aligns with FirstBank’s longstanding commitment to financial inclusion&comma; SME development&comma; and youth empowerment&comma; with an emphasis on supporting women entrepreneurs&comma; who represent 35&percnt; of Nigeria’s startup cohort&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>FirstBank has been a consistent promoter and supporter of the innovation ecosystem and SMEs in Nigeria&comma; providing notable interventions to help them scale their platforms and businesses&period; The Bank has designed multiple digital platforms for its SME customers to leverage on for business growth and expansion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;