Stakeholders in faith-based organisations and education sector have endorsed the two new products recently introduced into the financial market by Ecobank Nigeria, saying they can provide solutions to their needs. The products Ecobank Stewardship Pack and the Ecobank School Bundle are targeted at religious and educational institutions at all levels respectively. The Ecobank School bundle is designed to help educational institutions manage their banking needs more effectively so they can concentrate on providing world-class education. It comprised a bouquet of digital offerings that includes Omniplus/Omnilite, Collegepay, Ecobankpay, Web collections Paydirect, Point of Sale Terminals (POS), NIBBS platforms, EBILLS PAY, Asset Finance and Ecobank School Loan. The Ecobank Stewardship Account on the other hand is designed to help religious organizations run their daily operations smoothly and earn interest at the same time. Also referred to as The Good Steward Pack, its features include: zero monthly maintenance charge and interest rate payable on average monthly balance amongst others.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Prof. Humphrey Adebayo, Vice Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota, commended Ecobank Nigeria for taking the initiative to create the innovative products, stressing that they would add value to the operations of the various target groups. He lauded Ecobank for rising to the challenges of covid 19 pandemic by providing services to the banking public through its various digital offerings, stating that the new products would further free time for them to focus on core roles.

According to him, “The pandemic has disrupted human activities, and changed the perspective of the world thereby increasing the need for more digital and innovative solutions to the problems it created, which will further facilitate the ease of doing of business. Education and religious institutions were highly affected by the lock down, creating a gap in the system. Digital solutions become extremely important for online learning and services with digital financial solutions being helpful with collection. This has helped in freeing these institutions to focus on their core activities. The digital platform provided by Ecobank is efficient and guarantees a high level of security and allow for real time banking services and with minimal downtime. The new Ecobank products will undoubtedly add value to these institutions.”

Alhaji Mohammed Balarabe, a seasoned Banker and chief launcher at the event said the target group would find them useful as they embark on their conventional activities. According to him, “The new normal presents a lot of challenges in almost all aspects of our life in particular, the faith-based organizations and educational institutions because of their conventional way of carrying out activities. In a bid to address these challenges, Ecobank introduced these targeted products that will help tackle them. I believe more will come our way from the Ecobank platform.”

At the launch which doubled as Ecobank Public Sector Stakeholder Engagement Webinar titled “Digital enablement of education and faith: Winning tools for new normal lifestyle”, the products also received endorsement from Mrs. Olabimpe Aderiye, Hon. Commissioner of Education, Ekiti State, Chief ‘Yomi Otubela, National President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and host of others.

Carol Oyedeji, Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria while welcoming guests at the virtual launch was optimistic that the products can effectively assist educational institutions and faith-based organizations through tailor made digital offerings against the backdrop of the new normal lifestyle occasioned by the covid 19 pandemic. She added that “At Ecobank, we are using digital technology to assist businesses for payments and collections, financially include many millions into formal financial systems, and therefore improve lives across Africa. We are indeed making banking easier, more accessible and more affordable across the continent than ever before.”

Moji Oguntoyinbo, Segment Head, Public Sector and Agribusiness, Ecobank Nigeria, said “Ecobank products are designed to bridge the gap and meet funding and other financial needs quickly and efficiently. Education and religion are interwoven right from the onset. Religion institutions have been huge investors in Education. These products are designed to provide secured savings and collection channels especially in the post covid 19 era where digitization is highly helpful to limit the spread of the virus.”.