Zenith Bank, Ford Foundation Honour Unsung ‘Sheroes’ with Power Award
Zenith Bank’s month-long activities to commemorate women’s month climaxed over the weekend with awards to exceptionally resilient women who have impacted lives in their communities.
The event, second of such, had speakers after speakers eulogizing Zenith Bank for its people-centred activities and while also appreciating the Ford Foundation for identifying the Bank as a worthy partner to support women in their peculiar cultural and economic conditions across the world.
Themed “Celebrating Resilience, Leadership, and Generosity” the award recognised 19 women who were selected from the six geo-political zones in trade, petty manufacturing, education, and agriculture. These women demonstrated extraordinary strength, leadership, and impact despite the significant challenges posed by the difficult economic situation in the country.
According to the organisers, the initiative provided a platform to showcase unsung “Sheroes” — everyday women who are making meaningful contributions in their communities and fields. These include market women, small-scale business owners, community leaders, educators, healthcare workers, and many others whose vital roles often go unnoticed.
The sponsors of the event noted that each awardee exhibited excellence in several key areas, including leadership and initiative, community impact, innovativeness and resourcefulness, perseverance, integrity, community trust, and philanthropy.
Among those honoured were Regina Amankulor, a retired nurse empowering young people in Umuode-Nsulu community, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Abia State; Mary Matanmi, Coordinator of the Nigeria Association of Hairdressers, Barbers and Cosmetologists, Lagos State chapter; and Ifeanyi P. Ugwueze, a Guidance Counsellor and Life Coach who continues to thrive despite blindness and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree.
Others include Amina Musa, a trade educator based in Karonmajiji, AMAC, Abuja; Adenike A. Lambo, the Iyaloja of Ilorin; Sadiya Abubakar, an educator in Jibi (Deidei), Bwari Area Council, FCT; and Erikan Idem Andrew, a market woman with significant community impact in Port Harcourt.
Also honoured are Ngozi B. Nwankpa, an Aba-based fashion designer; Hadiza Umar, a Development Specialist based in Kaduna, Kaduna State; Joy C. Ezenwa (aka Mama Amala), a trader at Sabon Gari Market, Kano; Shola Esther Babalola (Mama Sho), promoter of natural honey and founder of the Mama Sho Honey brand in Lagos; Josephine Ugwu, a staff member of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), honoured for her honesty in recovering and returning millions of naira mistakenly dropped by passengers at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, and many others.
The Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Dame Adaora Umeoji, represented by Executive Director, Adobi Nwapa, praised the awardees and reaffirmed the bank’s strong commitment to women’s empowerment.
She noted that “Zenith Bank’s commitment to gender inclusion is not a rhetoric but one of the ethos that the bank holds very dearly”.
In her words, she also said, “Zenith Bank has a 50-50 gender ratio with women occupying strategic positions in the bank’s management and Board up to the current Group Managing Director being the very first female to hold that position.
The Regional Director of the Ford Foundation, Chichi Aniagolu, described the Woman of Power Award as an eye-opener, noting that her team’s journey across the country revealed the vast and often overlooked facets of human potential among Nigerian women.
Both the Ford Foundation and Zenith Bank Plc have pledged to sustain and grow the initiative in the coming years.
Zenith Bank used the forum to notify the women of their various women-targeted products and initiatives, including the Z-Woman initiative, and the Bank’s 19-year sole sponsorship of the NBBF Women’s Basketball League; thus, further highlighting its position at the forefront of women empowerment and economic inclusion across the country.
