Nova Merchant Bank Pledges Support To Women Embracing Technology

NOVA Merchant Bank has pledged to promote gender equality by supporting women who embrace technology skills, especially in our ever-evolving world.

This commitment was made during the 2023 NOVA International Women’s Day (IWD) conference held recently, at the Bank’s headquarters in Lagos.

The IWD conference is part of the Bank’s women empowerment initiative which began in 2020, where women in NOVA converge to discuss gender equality issues and proffer solutions.

This year’s event featured prominent women who have distinguished themselves in their industries by leveraging technology and innovative solutions to drive value in Nigeria and Africa in line with the global theme, DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for gender equality.

The chief-host and executive director of NOVA Merchant Bank, Mrs. Funke Okoya who welcomed participants at the conference, said, “Given the country’s transition to cashless policy, NOVA believes that women can play a significant role in providing innovative ideas to capitalise on the benefits of this disruption by leveraging innovation and technology.”

The chief information officer, NOVA Merchant Bank, Mrs Mabel Irona-Nduka, reiterated the Bank’s stance on female empowerment.

Guest Speaker at the event, Dr Ola Brown who is the founding partner, Health Cap Africa said, “Having tech savvy women in leadership roles means making more profits especially in a hyper-competitive industry such as banking where we must leverage and utilize all legitimate and innovative alternatives to optimize profit irrespective of gender, and this is where embracing equity is important.”

In her own submission, the managing director/CEO, Digital Jewels Africa, Mrs, Adedoyin Odunfa who spoke on protecting the rights of women and girls in the digital space, said 50 percent of women online have suffered some form of online violence and harassment from the responses and nuances.