Three accomplished Nigerians and leading authorities in government and finance sectors; Yewande Sadiku, Osayi Alile and Teju Abisoye have jointly enjoined Nigerian women to explore multiple investment opportunities available to build a sustainable wealth that would last generations.

The trio gave the advice at a webinar organised by Polaris Bank on Tuesday in Lagos as part of activities lined up to celebrate the Women’s Month in line with the International Women’s Day celebration with the theme #choosetochallenge. The webinar which held under the aegis of the Bank’s gender-based product, Polaris Pearl, focused on understanding the role of investment in wealth creation and the importance of taking financial responsibility.

According to Ms. Sadiku, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), “For women to attain financial fitness, they have to build passive income and focus on multiple investment streams to realise the future of their dreams”.

Drawing a metaphor, the NIPC Boss and erstwhile senior Investment Banker explained that “In building passive income, you shouldn’t eat your seed, rather, plant it and let it grow to a tree, so you can have many more to eat, plant and grow”.

Using personal examples to illustrate how she built her wealth starting out as a young Banker at age 20, Ms. Sadiku explained that she seized the moment and had a vision of the life she wanted to live and started building passive income through multiple investment windows; setting aside a chunk of her earnings in buying stocks, investing in mutual funds as well as putting away her bonuses and salary increments in fixed deposits, which she later invested in landed properties and real estate.

On her own part, Ms. Alile, who runs Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation, tasked Nigerian women to start saving from the moment they become conscious of the need to attain financial fitness. She urged them not to be in unnecessary competition that brings little or no value in the long run.

“Follow your lane and build a solid foundation that will stand the test of time especially when challenges come,” Ms. Alile advised.

She further reinforced the advantage of starting out children on a solid financial foundation with gifts – in form of stocks and mutual funds - just like she had while growing up, which helped set her up on the right path. She encouraged participants to start their financial fitness journey now and get help where needed.

In her own presentation, Mrs. Abisoye, the CEO of Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, said that at LSTEF, they observed that women-run businesses have a larger impact on the community and society; adding that it is possible for women businesses to drive impact, making a case for empowering women for greater and more widespread economic impact.

She advised young ladies – either in paid or self-employment to start with the end in mind, stating that: “Once you begin with the end in mind, you are bound to succeed ultimately, even as she disclosed that there are multiple sources to fund a Start-Up as a budding entrepreneur.”

“You can grow wealth irrespective of employment status. You can start out with your personal savings and seed money from family and friends. She enjoined participants to start and grow their businesses before exploring the debt financing option. She further encouraged start-ups to use the acronym: S-service, I-impact, S-sales and I-investment as a mantra to ensure success as the eventual outcome.

Earlier in his welcome address, the acting Managing Director/CEO of Polaris Bank, Mr. Innocent C. Ike, explained that that the webinar was put together to address pertinent issues that border on ‘Women and Growing Wealth’.

Mr. Ike noted that women empowerment and development is core to our sustainability goals and a key focus area of “our social investments and business objective as a Bank. We have had some interventions in this area for impact”.

“Our partnership with the International Women’s Society, Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Societal Healthcare Organisation, and a host of others, are all efforts geared towards empowerment of women,” he added.

The webinar which had over 1,000 participants following across multiple social platforms, was moderated by the Group Head, Products and Market Development, Polaris Bank, Mrs. Adebimpe Ihekuna.

According to 2018 Credit Suisse Research Institute Global Wealth Report, women hold 40% of global wealth. The report stated that women's share in wealth rose considerably over the 20th century.

Polaris Pearl is the Bank’s flagship gender-based product designed to cater to the banking needs of the everyday woman, with special focus on Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Homemakers. The account is available in three (3) variants; Polaris Pearl Instant Account, Polaris Pearl Instant Plus Account and Polaris Pearl Account – Savings.

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