Access Bank Nigeria Plc on Friday held the graduation ceremony and presentation of certificates to the first set of female trainees that were successfully trained on how to drive.
Access Bank said it is committed to women’s empowerment and takes the needs of women seriously which has fuelled its passion for the ‘W-Initiative’.
According to Access Bank, the Ladies Let’s Drive initiative in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Corps is aimed to provide a novel platform for women to attain the necessary driving skills and support to ease their mobility.
One of the many ways women are empowered under this programme is access to driving lessons and certification at discounted prices across the country. This training is deployed by two FRSC-accredited driving schools, AA Rescue Limited and Ace Driving School.
This initiative was launched in July and in the last five months, over 1,800 women have indicated interest to participate and over 120 women have been directly impacted by this initiative.
According to the Programme Coordinator, Oluwadamilola Osoyemi, the driving lessons were held in Abuja and seven states: Akwa Ibom, Benin, Calabar, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, and Port Harcourt.
He explained that the graduation which was hosted to celebrate the success of all the women who had concluded the training and help other women appreciate the credibility and impact of the programme on their daily lives, re-emphasises Access Bank’s commitment to women’s empowerment and positions it as the bank of choice for women of all ages.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Deputy Managing Director, Retail Banking North, Victor Etuokwu, expressed satisfaction that the driver’s training programme conducted by the bank on a quarterly basis, has empowered women in Nigeria to be better drivers, adding that the exercise which started many months ago can add value to the female graduands.
He the graduands to explore the vast and varied opportunities training offers them.
‘’Training and empowering women in Nigeria is something we believe in, and something that we as a bank know is right and genuine for us as a bank and as a business. And banking with them has been exceptionally working for us and in this bank, we are very proud to work with women,” Etokwu said.
