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By Henry Uche
In a bid to show how responsible it has been and as a way of giving back to the society, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, has set aside N32million to bankroll the potentialities of young Nigerians to maximise their dreams and aspirations.
At a press briefing in its Blue Academy in Lagos recently, the the Chief Executive of the Pension Managers, Olumide Oyetan, maintained that best Stars drawn from the categories of Music, Dance, Tech and fashion industry (who are currently displaying their talents at its FUZE Festival at Livespot Entertainment Centre -Lagos) would benefit from this gesture after a thorough and painstaking selection by renowned panel of judges.
According to him, the festival which is free and aims to pull young people with talents (but without financial support to bankroll their talents) and make them independent and job creators would see the presence of Ladipoe, Teni, Wurld and other big names in the Nigerian music industry to thrill youngsters at the festival and provide lots of exciting moments for attendees.
Oyetan maintained that the organisation remains committed to promoting youth development and economic empowerment in Nigeria, saying, “Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers celebrates indigenous talents and helps them explore their creativity and business prowess. The FUZE Festival presents a unique opportunity to reward and support young talented Nigerians from across the country through the talent hunt, while also providing enhancement opportunities for businesses who would be given free stalls to exhibit their wares and produce at the event.”
He revealed that the organisation have been doing many great things to Nigerians across the country as a responsible financial institution as its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) where they invest in people to help them explore their potential for onward value creation. “We are privileged to have what it takes to lift people out of poverty and we shall not hesitate to that that. We’re are looking at where superstars from these categories would emerge. “We believe these sectors will boom in nearest future. So as a responsible organisation, we are always in the lookout to discover, develop and support talents,” he added.
Commenting on the initiative, the Executive Director, Business Development of the Pension Managers, Nike Bajomo, expressed optimism that such opportunity and rewards FUZE holds for young Nigerians. According to her, “The first prize for each category is 5 million, the second prize for each category is 2million, while the third prize for each category is 1million.”
Bajomo affirmed that prior to grand finale, there was a talent hunt where budding stars across Nigeria in the aforementioned categories submitted entries and pre-festival performance as a screening process.
