Sustainability has been our watchword for nearly a decade and half at Access Bank. It is ingrained into our vision as a bank. Over time, we have turned our sustainability statements and targets into actions and positive impacts. Also, sustainability has enabled us to turn the challenges of the business environment into opportunities. As an institution, we have become more resilient, and better able to weather the business cycle and off-cycle crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Our business model has evolved over time in line with our sustainability principles and best practices.

Unity for the common good was the highlight of our sustainability commitment in 2020, especially in the face of a pandemic that was a serious threat to live and livelihood. COVID-19 also threatened to erode the progress that has been made over many decades of fostering development. Access Bank’s partnership and work with the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) was significant in combating the health and socio-economic challenges that came with the novel coronavirus outbreak. Our membership of the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA), the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, and the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles are a few examples of how we joined forces with other prestigious organizations to continue the work of fostering a more sustainable world. Collaborations are an integral part of the work we do. Our belief in the saying that “there is more power in unity” was validated.

The unforeseen social impact of the pandemic in 2020 inspired us to innovate in order to protect our employees whilst providing optimal value for our clients. Through our business continuity plan, we were able to navigate the downturns of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have come out of it stronger, more dynamic, and armed with vital lessons to improve our business operations and become more crisis-ready. As evidence of our resilience, Access Bank increased the number of its individual and corporate clients by 21% and grew its gross earnings by 12% in the year 2020. One of the ways we achieved this was through our agency banking model, “Access Closa Agents”.

Through our employee volunteering and our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, we supported diverse social and economic projects. People living with disabilities, children in orphanages, and the elderly were some of the groups of people that benefited from these initiatives. We also continued our tradition of giving grants to other non-profit organizations through Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation.

Access Bank’s environmental footprint was at an all-time low in 2020. A high percentage of our reduction of emissions was due to the COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the federal government. We have also optimized our processes. Our use of resource-efficient systems in carrying out our business activities also helped to reduce our ecological footprint.

The year’s challenge was an opportunity for us to remodel our business. We resolved that our response, rather than the crisis, should have a long-term effect. Our sustainability journey has continued through periods of boom and bust in the global economy and external shocks in the domestic economy, and we have always emerged stronger.

In 2020, we continued to prioritise the creation of long-term value for our stakeholders. As we continued to deliver on our commitment, we also continued to earn both local and international recognition. During the year, Access Bank became the first commercial bank in Africa to be sustainability certified under the prestigious Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative (SSCI) of the European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD). The bank was nominated and won the Karlsruhe Global Sustainable Finance Award, and other awards like the Sustainable Bank of the Year from the International Investors Awards, and SME Friendly Bank of the Year from Brandcom Awards.

This is Access Bank’s 2020 sustainability report. It is the thirteenth consecutive report of the bank’s business activities and operations in relation to its sustainability strategy. This report highlights material topics that are important to the bank’s stakeholders and to Access Bank as a business. It details the bank’s efforts towards sustainability, both to its internal and external stakeholders, and for the period January to December 2020 as well as the first half of the year 2021.

This report builds on our efforts from previous years, and shows our progress in year 2020. It details how we have, as an institution, navigated our way through the global crisis of the reporting year. Through this report, we share how we have evolved and risen up to the challenge. We also show here our commitments and alignments to national and international standards while charting our own unique sustainability journey.

The report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. It also integrates the reporting requirements of other sustainability standards like the UNGC, and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI), using data from the reporting year. Underpinned by these standards, this report discusses topics that are material to the Bank’s stakeholders and intersect with our business goals, as presented in the Materiality Matrix. It is essentially a comprehensive report of our non-financial activities for the calendar year 2020 and H1 2021.

Our aim with this report is to provide a rich picture of our values, mission and impact in our world today. It is a document of our sustainability, and through it we share our journey with our stakeholders and the world.

We are still in the middle of a health crisis that is unprecedented in its scale of social and economic disruption. The world has not experienced in the last one hundred years the human and economic costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Massive loss of lives and livelihoods, financial collapse, and economic contraction have defined the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic brought despair in its wake. As a financial institution, we had to reassert what matters most, which is lives.

In 2020, I had the privilege of leading the Board of Directors of Access Bank. We had to encourage, and charge, our employees to provide optimal services to our customers at a very challenging time. We also resolved to partner with other institutions and the government in delivering a robust response. Of great importance were the communities where we serve, and we had to mobilise both human and financial resources to serve vulnerable groups and preserve livelihoods. All these were done while still ensuring that we maintain our position as the leading financial institution in Nigeria.

The social dimension of the Bank’s policies became much more important during the year. The need to scale up actions was urgent. Our immediate response to the pandemic was two-fold. The first was to unleash the Bank’s business continuity plan, our emergency response during a crisis or disaster. In tow was galvanizing private sector leaders to form the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID). Through CACOVID, we were able to support the federal government’s response to the pandemic. Once these operations were going on, we had to target other assistance at vulnerable groups in our communities as part of our CSR commitments.

We urged and supported our customers and vendors to adhere to the COVID-19 control protocols as laid down by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The safety and wellbeing of every member of our stakeholder groups was very important to us. These efforts paid off as there was no incident of COVID-19 transmission at any of our physical locations during the pandemic. We are grateful to our customers and vendors for following the safety protocols without which the situation would have been different.

2020 was otherwise an exciting year for us at Access Bank. The Bank became the first commercial bank in Africa to attain the prestigious sustainability certification under the Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative of the European Organisation for Sustainable Development. The invitation-only SSCI certification programme was only open to reputable financial institutions around the world that have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability. We are very honoured that our sustainability journey has brought us this far and this effort is receiving due recognition and reward.

Despite the major downturns of the year, it was nevertheless a successful one for us as our agency banking grew to N5 billion in daily transactions from N2 million. This is a laudable feat creditable to our “Access Closa Agents.” The mission of our agency banking is to bank the unbanked population of Nigeria. During the year, we launched the Access Mortgage Advantage Product in partnership with other financial institutions and Eko Atlantic. Access Bank also acquired Kenya’s Transnational Bank, 100 percent shareholding and its 28 branches across the country, the economic hub of the East African region.

The Board of Access Bank will continue to provide the Bank support and direction for strategy and operation as we continue to grow our footprints, improve profitability, widen coverage, and enhance sustainability peformance.

2020 was full of highs and lows. We express our condolences to families who have lost loved ones to the pandemic. We are delighted at the development and emergency use authorisation of the COVID-19 vaccines in record time. This inspires hope and a sense of scientific breakthrough.

We are optimistic about 2021 and excited at the prospects of new development in technology, medicine and other frontiers of research. At Access Bank, we are committed to financing the future economy and are looking forward to unlocking the possibilities of the next years and the next decades.

Thank you.

Mr Paul Usoro, SAN – Chairman

Mr. Usoro is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the founder and Senior Partner of the law firm of Paul Usoro & Co. He has over 30 years of law practice experience and is acknowledged as a highly experienced litigator and communication law expert.

He is also a member of the National Judicial Council and Body of Benchers. He represented Access Bank as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc. Mr. Usoro holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ife (1981) and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982. He joined the Board of Access Bank in January 2014 and currently chairs the Board Human Resources and Sustainability Committee, and Board Technical Committee on Retail Expansion. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board Risk Management Committee.

Mrs Anthonia Ogunmefun

Mrs. Ogunmefun is the Managing Partner of Kemi Ogunmefun Law Off ice, a Canadian-based private legal practice specialising in immigration law, family law, real estate and corporate law. She served as the Chairperson of the Governance Committee of Kinark Child and Family Services, a major Canadian childcare trust, and is a Non-Executive Director of LOC Nominees Limited.

Mrs. Ogunmefun obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Lagos in 1974. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1975 and the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2004.

She was appointed to the Board of Access Bank in April 2011 and is the Chairman of the Board Risk Management Committee and Vice Chairman of the Human Resources and Sustainability Committee.

Mr. Iboroma Akpana – Member

Mr. Akpana is the Managing Partner of Solola & Akpana, one of the leading commercial and oil and gas law firms in Nigeria. He is a consummate corporate and commercial lawyer with a career spanning over two decades. Mr. Akpana has a proven track record of academic excellence. He graduated as a top student in Law from the University of Jos and obtained a master’s degree from Harvard Law School. He is a Notary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Based on his work, he was recognised in the Chambers Global 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions as a ‘Leading Individual’ in Nigeria in its Corporate and Commercial section. Similarly, the International Financial Law Review 1000 ranked him as a ‘Leading Lawyer’ in Nigeria in its 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions while the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa profiled him as a ‘Recommended Individual’.

Mr. Akpana is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Nigerian Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales. He joined the Board of Access Bank in March 2017 and currently chairs the Board Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and Board Credit and Finance Committee. He sits on the Boards of AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited and Contracting Plus Limited.

Mrs Ifeyinwa Osime – Member

Mrs. Osime is a versatile and result-oriented professional with over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and commercial legal practice at management and board levels. She has deep knowledge and experience in the management of administrative, legal, and company secretarial functions in financial and other related institutions.

She has championed and established a special needs programme that is actively involved in the management and care of children and young people with special needs. She is currently engaged in legal practice with Macpher son Legal Practi-tioners, a Lagos-based law firm. Mrs. Osime is an Independent Non-Executive Director of WAPIC Life Assurance Company Limited and a Non-Executive Director of Smartbase Services and AIP Global Limited.

Mrs. Osime was the former Chairperson of PHB Healthcare Limited, a former Director, Bank PHB Plc (now Keystone Bank Limited) and a former Director of Insurance PHB Limited (now KBL Insurance). She was the Company Secretary/ Legal Adviser of African Development Insurance Company Limited (now NSIA Insurance) between 1989 and 1997.

Dr Okey Nwuke, FCA – Member

Dr. Nwuke has over 28 years of experience in finance and corporate governance working with top corporates and leading commercial banks in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, an honorary member of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a member of Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners.

He has garnered considerable expertise in credit analysis and bank financial management through professional training as a Chartered Accountantant, from relevant training programmes as well as on the job training. He was an Executive Director in Access Bank from 2004 to 2013 and served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank’s subsidiaries in Rwanda and Burundi. Dr. Nwuke was a pioneer Non-Executive Director of Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, representing Access Bank.

Dr. Nwuke’s key competencies include finance, strategy development and execution, organizational restructuring and transformation, leadership and change management. He joined the Board of Coscharis Group in August 2014 and is currently responsible for the strategic drive to position it for sustainability. He currently chairs the Shareholders’ Audit Committee of NASCON Plc and sits on the Boards of Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited, First Ally Asset Management Limited, Claritus Limited and Simply Gifts and Interiors Limited.

Dr. Nwuke’s key competencies include f inance, strategy development and execution, organizational restructuring and transformation, leadership and change management. He joined the Board of Coscharis Group in August 2014 and is currently responsible for the strategic drive to position it for sustainability. He currently chairs the Shareholders’ Audit Committee of NASCON Plc and sits on the Boards of Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited, First Ally Asset Management Limited, Claritus Limited and Simply Gifts and Interiors Limited.

Dr. Nwuke’s key competencies include f inance, strategy development and execution, organizational restructuring and transformation, leadership and change management. He joined the Board of Coscharis Group in August 2014 and is currently responsible for the strategic drive to position it for sustainability. He currently chairs the Shareholders’ Audit Committee of NASCON Plc and sits on the Boards of Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited, First Ally Asset Management Limited, Claritus Limited and Simply Gifts and Interiors Limited.

Mr Herbert Wigwe – Member

Mr. Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants. He spent over 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc where he managed several portfolios, including financial institutions, large corporates and multinationals. He left Guaranty Trust Bank as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director. He was appointed Group Managing Director/ CEO effective January 1, 2014.

Mr. Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants. He spent over 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc where he managed several portfolios, including financial institutions, large corporates and multinationals. He left Guaranty Trust Bank as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director. He was appointed Group Managing Director/ CEO effective January 1, 2014.

Mr. Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants. He spent over 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc where he managed several portfolios, including financial institutions, large corporates and multinationals. He left Guaranty Trust Bank as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director. He was appointed Group Managing Director/ CEO effective January 1, 2014.

As the Chairman of the Board Committee on Sustainability, I have had the incredible opportunity of being a part of Access Bank’s sustainability journey. For over a decade, Access Bank has led the sustainability space in the financial sector in Nigeria.

Our commitment to sustainability is integral to our organization. It pushes us to think deeply about the future: how do we protect the environment, what should be our contributions to development in our communities, and what economic impacts should we pursue as an institution?

All through the year, the strength and resilience of our operations, systems and values were tested by the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we came out with better and more efficient systems, and we have remained unwavering in our values. To further strengthen our sustainability knowledge and impact across our organization, we launched the Access Sustainability Academy. The academy is designed to increase awareness around sustainability and to empower our employees and communities with the knowledge and skills to promote sustainability.

We understand the significance of our institution and the influence we wield in sustainable finance. Access Bank is at the heart of the Nigerian financial markets. As a big institution, we have many roles, which include serving our diverse clients, setting high standards for operational excellence in the industry, promoting ethics and integrity, and achieving superior results for our stakeholders. We also understand that our businesses benefit from a stable and growing economy, and we have to contribute towards this. Access Bank’s Green Bond, which is cross-listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), now Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), and Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), was a pioneering achievement and an important milestone in fulfilling our sustainability vision of promoting sustainable finance.

Our future success will depend on seeing today’s challenges and turning them to opportunities and harnessing them for sustainable growth. During the pandemic, our emergency response plan helped us to maintain optimal service delivery despite the lockdown. Our partnership with the Coalition Against COVID-19 strengthened our relationships with other industry stakeholders and leaders in other sectors. The success of CACOVID proves right the old saying: “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” Our work impacted communities across the country, saved lives, and helped vulnerable families and groups to get by during the pandemic. We are proud of what we achieved with the Coalition and intend to continue to strengthen the relationships for future interventions.

We are grateful to our numerous employees who ensured that banking activities ran smoothly despite the difficulty the lockdown posed. Their resourcefulness and innovative skills ensured that our organizational targets were met and exceeded. For the commitment of our employees, Access Bank was recognized and rewarded with prestigious awards like the Best CSR Bank by Global Brands Awards, Best Digital Bank in Africa by Asian Banker Awards, Best Brand in Sustainability and SME Friendly Bank of the Year by Brandcom Awards, Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement by Karlsruhe Global Sustainable Finance Awards, and Outstanding Female Friendly Bank of the Year by Awesome Communications.

With these awards and recognitions, we are motivated to do more in our sustainability journey. We look forward to the opportunities that year 2021 will bring, as we remain committed to creating sustainable value for our stakeholders.

Thank you.

Year 2020 brought significant changes to our lives, in more ways than we could ever have imagined. The COVID-19 pandemic created immense socioeconomic uncertainties globally. We had to summon the resilience, dedication and innovation of our teams, as well as our partnerships, to respond to the combined public health and economic crisis. I am happy to report that we were quite successful with our responses. Our core values as an instituton were instrumental to our stellar, overall performance in a year that was very difficult indeed.

We had to pivot quickly in order to maintain the high productivity of our staff, in full consideration for their safety and wellbeing and those of their families. This entailed a majority of our staff working from home. Our technical and human resources teams ensured this was a productive new experience.

Access Bank continued to provide excellent services to our numerous and diverse customers, while complying with the national COVID-19 guidelines. We have always seen the success of our institution in the context of how well we deliver on the economic opportunities in the countries where we operate, support the communities we serve and the society at large, and foster environmental sustainability. These became more crucial in 2020.

Access Bank has continued to support government’s response and communities in mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic. We demonstrated our industry leadership with the work we did in partnership with other prestigious organizations through the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19. Our continuing work through CACOVID aims at achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for ensuring good health and wellbeing, no hunger, and building partnerships. Access Bank broadly subscribes to the entire 17 SDGs.

We donated N1 billion to CACOVID and provided technical and operational support to the government in the f ight against the coronavirus. We also provided food and hygiene items, clean cookstoves and clean fuels, and livelihood support to vulnerable families and individuals, including artisans, in our communities. I am especially proud of the intervention of the Access Women Network. The bank-wide women group raised funds to feed over 500 affected families.

COVID-19 hard lockdown, which caused many industrial activities to shut down, especially during the first half year, brough about cleaner atmospheric air as its unintended consequence. The operations of Access Bank likewise recorded dramatically lower environmental impact, as the bank leveraged technology to deliver services to our customers, connected with our stakeholders, and most staff worked from home. Emissions per employee dropped to 1.56T from 3.95T and fuel consumption decreased by 64%. The initial challenges of transitioning from the “old normal” of working from the office, to working from home, was overcome and the bank now maintains an equilibrium in balancing changes in work schedules across all our cadres.

In line with our vision to become an exemplary sustainable Pan-African bank, during the year, we acquired Transnational Bank Kenya Limited. We witnessed a phenomenal increase in innovation within Access Bank, and additional millions of customers subscribed to our digital platforms and products. Engagements on our non-traditional channels also dramatically increased. The bank has put in place safeguards in enhanced cybersecurity to address the risk that comes with more digitalisation and online banking.

Apart from the aforementioned environmental gains during the lockdown, COVID-19 also inspired a leap towards the achievement of our financial inclusion targets. Optimised with relevant tools, our agency banking division recorded a 1,600% growth in 2020. We are proud to note that our customers’ deposits increased to N8 trillion in 2020, and we also recorded a 27% increase in the number of our individual and corporate clients. This growth has further strengthened our commitment to bringing financial services, whether through traditional or digital means, to the unbanked.

We are excited to say that Access Bank, as an institution, thrived during a very difficult year. We attribute this to the unflinching loyalty of our employees and customers, to whom we are grateful. Our growth strategies are also yielding results. Our commitment to creating shared value for all our stakeholders stands strong. In 2021 and beyond, Access Bank will continue to be a force for good in society. We will continue to strive to maintain our exemplary status as a sustainable and prosperous global brand of African origin.

Thank you.

The Access Bank 2020 Sustainability Report is an evidence of the bank’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and to its various stakeholders: shareholders, customers, employees, communities, regulatory bodies, and suppliers across Nigeria and beyond. This reporting activity also demonstrates and reinforces the bank’s vision and leadership in sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

2020 was marked by a significant enhancement of our digital value proposition to customers, along with the strengthening of inter-personal and human relations. Innovation is part and parcel of Access Bank’s corporate culture. This has helped us through the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have emerged bigger, stronger and wiser as an institution and as a brand. Activities that are geared towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals have become an integral part of our day-to-day activities. The SDGs have helped us in channelling our resources to the things that matter most, and guided our decisions to invest in initiatives that have the highest positive impacts on society.

In 2020, the bank continued to promote and develop the quality of its largest and most important resource: the employees. An excellent labour relations has been a strategic asset for the bank for years. As part of our human capital development efforts, Access Bank continued to train employees and managers through courses that are relevant to their job functions and personal and professional development.

Most of our employees worked from home during the year due to the pandemic. Personnel whose job functions were vital to the running of the bank were moved to branches closer to their homes. This was done to enhance compliance with social distancing. We also created more contact centres around the country to enable the virtual resolution of customer complaints and issues. All COVID-19 protocols were strictly adhered to by the bank.

We recognise the importance of small- and medium-sized businesses in creating jobs and contributing to economic growth. The bank continued to serve as a leading credit provider for this segment, along with services that are specifically tailored to the needs of the businesses. Access Bank’s deep commitment is reflected in enhancing the value proposition, creating innovative products, and providing ongoing financing and consulting to this customer segment.

During the year, the bank’s Project Structured Finance Group successfully raised EUR60 million on-lending facility to support small and medium enterprises (SME) projects. The bank also provided grants to individuals and micro-businesses that were negatively affected by the aftermath of the EndSARS protests.

As part of our belief in the strength of unity, we galvanized private sector leaders to launch the Coalition Against COVID-19. Through CACOVID, we assisted the federal government in the development of isolation centres; we helped to train frontline health practitioners and provided them personal protective equipment (PPE); we also provided respirators and medical equipment for patients.

We maintained our memberships with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) Steering Committee.

One of our objectives as a financial institution is to help in building a financially literate society, given that financial literacy is rarely taught in schools. We pioneered a gamified financial e-learning platform. This assists children in gaining prudent financial management knowledge. This gaming platform was well accepted among households, as it kept the children entertained and educated during the COVID-19 lockdown, when schools were also closed.

We are also interested in the physical wellbeing of our community. Every year, we host the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon. During the 2020 marathon, which held on February 8th, nearly three weeks before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Nigeria and more than a month before the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the disease outbreak a pandemic, we raised awareness on HIV/AIDS in partnership with a health-focused non-governmental organization. During the exercise, 3,235 people were tested for HIV/AIDS for free.

In the following pages, we present many other facts and figures that provide a very clear picture of what sustainability means for us. Sustainability is far from being a secondary or temporary consideration. For us at Access Bank, it is a concrete, long-term commitment that has been at the core of what we have been doing for many years and that will remain an integral part of our activities into the future.

Happy reading.

Thank you.

Nature of Ownership and Legal Form

Commercial Banking Division

Customer Management

Core Business Sectors & Locations

Covid-19 and Business Continuity Framework

Human Capital

Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Future Outlook

Business Banking Division

Our Value Proposition

The Business Banking Division provides customised financial solutions and administrations to clients with a yearly turnover of up to N5 billion. We refer to such customers as “distinction clients.” Over the years, the Division has demonstrated a solid commitment to the growth and development of private businesses, especially through the arrangement of credit capital and novel business uphold arrangements. The Division is organized to enhance SME organizations across various sectors of the economy, providing solutions that suit each market segment, and with a unique affinity for women-led organizations.

We serve 15 key areas labelled "Centre of Excellence”, to be specific:

Our Products and Programs

We believe that our success is predicated on the prosperity of every one of our SME clients. Accordingly, our customised solutions are designed to address the particular needs of our customers in the 15 areas of excellence. To meet the financial support needs of our clients, we offer the following solutions:

• Tailored Financial Advisory Services.
• Capacity Building Opportunities.
• Business Networking Hubs
• Timely Market Information.
• Flexibility

The CBN Creative Industry Financing Initiative

This is a N22.9 billion financial intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) targeted at businesses in the creative and entertainment industries, including Movies, Music, Fashion, and Information Technology. The financing is offered at a concessionary interest rate of 9% per annum with a repayment period of 10 years. We have disbursed over N1.6 billion of this facility.

The CBN Health Sector Loan

This is also an intervention fund by the CBN to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and support businesses operating in the Healthcare industry. Up to N2.5 billion could be disbursed to healthcare businesses to upscale their production. We have disbursed over N1.7 billion under this facility.

Instant Business Loan

With the development of the volumes of our business, we envision a developing requirement for credit offices to help our clients’ organizations. The Instant Business Loan is a digital product that provides quick access to financing for SMEs.

Webinar Series

The webinar series is facilitated to provide support to clients in the various business areas. The monthly online courses address different subjects that equip participants with knowledge of the macroeconomic environment and practical skills for operating their businesses. The facilitators are subject-matter experts from within and outside the bank. The sessions are interactive to enhance exchange of ideas and sharing of experience.

Our Other Products

Other products offered by the Business Banking Division include the Platinum Credit Card, DBA Variations Accounts, SME Gold Current Account, and the MPower Biz Account. These products offer specific solutions to our numerous clients who are eligible to attend our regular training programs, online courses and workshops organised for the benefit of the account holders.

Facepay

This is a payment solution designed for our merchant customers. The product was developed in line with our recognition of the importance of cutting-edge technology and innovation to the longterm success of our customers.

FacePAY uses facial recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) for authentication to provide secure, consistent and helpful means of making payments. The innovative system integrates the novel facial recognition technology with the Bank Verification Number (BVN) to authenticate clients.

Access Bank is the first bank to deploy this system in the Nigerian financial services sector and is poised to enjoy the first-mover advantage of the innovative system, even as we continue to develop solutions to help SME owners to grow their businesses.

Emerging Businesses

The Emerging Business segment, which caters to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), is an enhancement to our retail business model following the merger with Diamond Bank. 2020 was a year like no other with a myriad of challenges. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdown, quarantine and social distancing from the end of March. Later in October, there was the nationwide protests and civil unrest, tagged EndSARS.

The economic impact of the pandemic also led to a sharp depreciation in the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar. All of these events directly affected and impacted the MSME sector, which is the bedrock of any economy. There are over 41.5 million MSMEs in Nigeria; they generate 48% of the GDP and contribute 84% of total employments in the country.

The tough experiences of 2020 presented opportunities for innovation and growth. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the shift from the brick-andmortar model to digital banking and finance. Embracing this new shift, we remained unrelenting in our passion for MSMEs and our quest to see them grow and prosper. Our doggedness earned us multiple awards, such as the Euromoney’s Award for Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs 2020, Global Brand Awards for Best SME Banking Brand, and Brandcom Award for SME Friendly Bank of the Year.

Our Support for MSMEs

Access Bank is always at the forefront of providing innovative solutions to support MSMEs at various stages of their businesses. Our innovative solutions for the segment include:

Lending

We have leveraged best-in-class MSME-specific credit assessment methods, which enable us to lend with ease. Using the cash flow lending methodology, we lend to MSMEs with good credit report and those that keep proper accounting records. Over the past 12 months, we have supported economic growth by helping over 18,000 thriving enterprises to grow and create more jobs through our provision of over N38 billion ($105 million) in financing. More than a third of the beneficiaries of this lending methodology are women-led/owned MSMEs who have accessed finance through our award-winning W-Power Loan for women – a discounted financing priced significantly below market lending rates.

We also have the Instant Business Loan, which is available on our Quickbucks that allows pre-qualified customers to access funds quickly.

Capacity Building

Our Learning Management Platform, the AccesSMEZone is the first of its kind in the Nigerian banking industry and gives our MSME customers 24/7 access to information and webinars from the comfort of their homes/businesses. It houses over 100 free courses on various business topics including Book-keeping and Financial Management, Human Resources, Taxation, etc. We have over 120,000 SMEs on-boarded on the SMEZone.

Business customers have also benefited from MSME clinics, capacity-building programmes, networking opportunities and discount offerings. We recorded an increase in the reach of our capacity-building programmes to 25,000 beneficiaries this year.

Testimonials and feedback from our post-event surveys show that our Beyond Banking offerings have hugely impacted our SMEs business.

Social media platforms are tools for making business sales, which have further been boosted due to COVID-19. In recognition of this, Access Bank developed a secure payment platform Swift Pay, which makes accepting payment from customers via social media platforms a lot easier. This digital payment solution platform enables customers of MSMEs to make quick, easy and secure payments on social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp). This facilitates increased profitability for business owners as well as improvement of customer service, saving them the stress of going back and forth with customers on verifying payments and avoiding getting scammed.

In partnership with the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Lagos State Government in Q1 2020, we funded the development of a shared facility for the Fashion industry with the sum of N50 million.

The facility is a fashion hub where entrepreneurs can have access to end-to-end machines for design, printing, sewing and embroidery of various kinds of clothing and accessories.

The Fashion industry is a key revenue-generating segment in the Nigerian economy. However, the players in the segment are unable to scale up production and distribution to the mass market at lower costs due to financing and infrastructure challenges (electricity and transportation networks), as well as the lack of a robust value chain of raw materials to finished products. The shared facility is, therefore, a necessary and timely intervention to scale up this industry.

Strategic Partnerships

To enable us to truly support MSMEs even beyond our expertise/scope, we enter into strategic alliances with experts in various fields to provide essential business services needed by MSMEs to thrive. These partnerships involve:

• Legal practitioners: to provide Business Registration services at discounted rates. Over 5,000 businesses have been registered to leverage these partnerships.
• Facebook Trainings: to provide pieces of training on digital marketing and Instagram for Business. MSMEs have been trained for free leveraging this partnership.
• Medical Credit Fund (a Dutch NGO headquartered in the Netherlands): to provide technical assistance to MSMEs in the Health Sector as well as facilitate the attainment of international quality standards. Over 700 health care facilities have benefitted from this partnership.
• Web designers: to provide discounted website service. Over 50 websites have been developed on this platform.

Our Covid19 Support for MSMEs

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected businesses of all kinds, particularly MSMEs. To support the continuity of our SME customers’ businesses, we took a four-pronged approach:

Digital Beyond Banking Services

• We transitioned all our Beyond Banking services which were in-person activities to virtual, holding our business webinars and clinics every month online.
• We also developed a workplan for the SMEs newsletter. The publication is an intervention series to help MSMEs survive amidst the pandemic.
• Our ‘Ask an Expert’ Q&A online blog was also developed on the AccesSMEZone
• Our website service was also enhanced to accommodate the increase in requests.
• Over 25,000 customers were impacted by our Digital Beyond Banking COVID-19 support.

Moratorium on Loan Repayments

A 90-day moratorium was granted to borrowing customers that were adversely affected by the pandemic.

Access to Working Capital Finance

• We provided easy access loans for supermarkets/ grocery stores and SMEs in identified resilient sectors. Over N3 billion was disbursed to these SMEs.
• In partnership with the CBN, Access Bank championed the CBN Health Intervention Fund, with over N7 billion already disbursed.

Regular Engagements with Businesses

All4one Recovery Program

The All4one business recovery initiative is a N50 billion interest-free initiative by Access Bank to support businesses that have been directly affected by the nationwide civil unrest, resulting in business losses. The initiative was developed to provide funding to affected businesses to mitigate the losses suffered by them. Over N3 billion has been disbursed so far to affected businesses.

Private Banking

Robust Customer Engagement, Channels and Xclusive Plus Proposition

Business Development Group

Agency Banking

Access Bank, through the Access Closa Agent Network, has changed the financial inclusion landscape across Nigeria, providing ease of access to financial services to millions of Nigerians through our network of over 52,000 agents spread across every community in Nigeria, increasing financial services touchpoints to areas where these services were either difficult to access or unavailable. The monumental growth in the number of our agent locations in 2020 has helped ensure that our customers, and indeed customers of other banks, have access to financial services in an easy, safe and convenient manner.

In 2020, we also made it easier to locate our agents by branding over 10,000 agent locations, and in partnership with Google, our agents can be easily located by simply searching ‘Access Closa Agent’ on google maps. The Closa Agent Network has created thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly across the entire agency banking ecosystem in Nigeria. It has also greatly improved the income levels of thousands of local businesses who have partnered with Access Bank to drive our financial inclusion strategy. Our Agents have become brand ambassadors for the Access Bank brand.

The growth and wide acceptance of our agent network were characterised by the surge in daily transaction values from N2 million in January 2020 to N5 billion by end of December 2020. We also recorded over 1,600% growth in revenue. From N43 million in January, revenue grew to over N700 million by December 2020.

Number of agents as of energy-efficient December 2020

Geo-Political Zone	2020	2019	2018
FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY	4,419	1,874	672
NORTH-CENTRAL	6,833	2,734	668
NORTH-EAST	3,729	1,316	551
NORTH-WEST	7,311	2,192	635
SOUTH-EAST	6,560	1,325	323
SOUTH-SOUTH	7,309	2,956	589
SOUTH-WEST	16,256	6,348	2,320
Total	52,417	18,745	5758

Corporate and Investment Banking Division

Corporate and Investment Banking Division

We are organized to serve the largest companies and corporate clients across Africa, many of whom are multinational entities operating within these sectors: oil & gas, telecommunications, food and beverages, cement & metal fabrication, transportation, and financial institutions. With a team of sector specialists, we provide a comprehensive range of financial services and products to these clients.

Our overall objective is to help our corporate clients increase their revenues or reduce their operating costs, thereby improving overall performance. Our execution strategy is around integrated support of the unique value chain of each corporate client, deepening relationships and connecting our clients with the capabilities and solutions they need to drive their businesses. We take pride in building strong relationships with our clients with extensions to their stakeholders which enables the delivery of our strategy in line with long-term values and in a sustainable way.

Today, our workforce of over 200 members support over 500 key clients from three locations in Nigeria (Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja), seven business locations across Africa, and a business office in London.

Business Performance

The Corporate and Investment Banking Division had a stellar performance in 2020. Overall, we achieved a growth of N550 billion in customers’ deposits and over N62 billion in loans and advances primarily from the Corporate Banking sector. In the Corporate Banking business, we have continued to place emphasis on low-cost deposit mobilization, and improved deposit retention as a means to further improve deposit mix and cost of funds. The Division delivered broad-based adjusted revenue growth across all industry-focused segments, such as Treasury and Global Markets, Project and Structured Finance, Oil & Gas, Cement and Metal Fabrication, Transport and Logistics, Telecoms & Power, FMCG: Beverages & Personal Care, FMCG: Food & Trade, and Financial Institutions, in 2020. This performance has been helped by positive results from the restructuring we carried out.

In 2019, we created our Client Service Team (CST), which has since been supporting the relationship teams in serving our corporate clients from the perspective of Trade, Collections, Suppliers, and Government Payments in form of taxes and levies, as well as corporate payment for utilities.

Performance from our Treasury and Global Market reflected ongoing economic uncertainty and spread compression with added market volatility. The latter worked in our favour in strong returns across various products.

2021 Outlook

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant disruption for our staff, corporate clients and their value chain, particularly in Nigeria. We continue as a business to support all our engagements during these trying times. We acknowledge that these are difficult times and we are poised to continue to attend to the difficult questions concerning our clients’ businesses.

Financial Institutions Group

The Financial Institutions Group at Access Bank has distinguished itself as a highly driven group that thrives on Creating Shared Value (CSV), which is important to our customers and beneficial to the markets and industries in which we operate. Having strategically positioned itself to set sustainable standards, the group’s product portfolio is well aligned with the Bank’s sustainability goals, thereby ensuring ethical and environmental standards are maintained in all its processes and business dealings.

Acting in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we continue to explore new avenues for strategic multi-stakeholder partnerships, influence positive market transformation, contribute meaningfully to a prosperous and sustainable economy, and provide long-term value for our clients.

Trust and commitment to our business play a central role in the effectiveness of our value creation. This understanding has been a crucial factor in strengthening and preserving the relationship between the Bank and our customers. Our success in consistently delivering value to clients, despite operating in a highly competitive market, has been guided by our vision: “To be the world’s most respected African bank.”

In this unusual time, given the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Institution Group swiftly began collaborating with other teams within the Bank to onboard its customers on the Bank’s existing digital platforms, while providing adequate technical support. Due to the nature of our customers’ complex and confidential transactions, the team ensured adequate due diligence was taken on all transactions and they were executed promptly.

To maintain competitive edge in a fast-changing world, where new technologies are causing disruptions in various economic sectors, the group strategically partnered with fintech companies to automate some of its operations. In 2020, the team also partnered with Eko Atlantic developers to officially launch the Access Mortgage Advantage product. These are a few of the initiatives we have put in place to position the Financial Institutions Group, such that it is run on the fuel of innovation. We are creating innovative remote working solutions to meet the demands of our expanding stakeholders who cut across various industries and sectors.
Some of the innovative solutions we developed in 2020 include:

Mortgage Financing

Our Mortgage team leverages industry knowledge coupled with professional insight built on a good understanding of our client’s businesses. In 2020, we launched a strategic partnership with a real estate firm for the allocation of about 100 units of 3-4-bedroom apartments under the mortgage scheme for customers.

Insurance Advisory service

This entails the provision and management of excellent products and services to the Insurance industry. Following our 2019 success in developing the Insurance Compare Application, we partnered with a fintech company to automate operations for premium collection and claims and policy administration for one of its top insurance customers.

Correspondent Banking Service

The Correspondent Banking Team partners with institutions to automate the initiation, processing and conclusion of transactions. In 2020, we catered to the settlement needs of major merchant and microfinance banks, including over 30 Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). We also initiated and concluded new correspondent banking relationships in 2020.

Capital Markets Operating Services

Our team leverages banking knowledge with specialist insight and a thorough understanding of our client’s businesses. The team provides Investment Management services with competitive returns in both Naira and Foreign Investment. It also provides robust liquidity and structure large and customized hedging solutions. The unit manages firms within the following groups: Asset managers, Stockbroker, Trustees, Registrars and Prime Brokerage.

Fixed Income Prime Brokerage

This unit provides a settlement platform to facilitate proprietary trades (specific to volume, rates and maturities) consummated by registered counterparties. In 2020, we availed over N100 billion trading lines for our customers to take positions in specific pre-qualified FGN bonds to help exploit market volatility.

Client engagements

To address the challenges faced by our stakeholders, we ensure continuous interactions and engagements with them to recognize and understand the issues that are of great importance to them. This has helped in enhancing the successful relationship with our clients, thereby consolidating relationships and improving our business performance.

Over the next few years, Access Bank will strive to be the clear leader in the Nigerian banking industry, with a strong global franchise and a universal payment gateway, solidified by a robust capital base and best-practice governance structures. Within the Financial Institutions Group, we will continue to support this vision and continually work towards being the point of reference in the Nigerian banking system.

In 2021 and beyond, we will look forward to continuing the delivery of impactful solutions for ensuring the success of our clients. We hope to achieve these objectives through tailored solutions based on fresh thinking, innovation, and a highly integrated partnership approach. As an excellent team of highly skilled Relationship Managers, we will continue to operate an agile
product and service framework to meet the ever-evolving needs of our clientele using the most sustainable approach.

Project Structured Finance

The Project Structured Finance (PSF) Group is a leading and evolving solutions provider repositioned to support the Bank’s clients by providing a full range of tailored financial solutions that include financial advisory, project finance, debt arranging and agency services.

The expert engagements of the team, deliberate collaborations with Strategic Business Units of the Bank, and strong relationships with several local and international Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), serve as the springboard for the Group’s exceptional business engagements and delivery.

In the year under review, the group successfully raised EUR60 million on-lending facility to support SME projects in Nigeria; US$160.5 million Trade Finance Facility to provide financing support to eligible sectors; and US$35 million on-lending facilities to support renewable energy and energy-efficient projects among other strategic deals and transactions. In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive to increase the flow of low-cost credit to various sectors of the economy, the Group in a collaborative effort with the respective relationship teams, sourced and deployed over N75 billion in intervention funds in favour of eligible projects. Similarly, the Group raised N70 billion Tier II facility from Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to support MSMEs and the Bank’s flagship retail banking programme: the ‘W’ Initiative.

Treasury Group

Access Bank’s long-term strategy of diversifying its business remained a key factor for the bank’s successful performance in 2020 as the firm generated meaningful contributions from its traditional trading practices as well as from structured products.

The Business concentrated on increasing trade volumes on Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange transactions, with our dedicated sales team fo cused on providing better support to our Corporate and Business Banking units as well as deepening existing relationships with our International counterparties.

Despite the significant headwinds experienced in the global economy during the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we deployed our diversified portfolio of product offerings, including FX Forwards, OTC Futures, and Swaps to meet our clients’ needs in the evolving FX environment.

Similarly, through our suite of tailored fixed income services, which include prime brokerage, repurchase agreements (REPO), and other yield-enhancing products, we solidified our top position as a primary dealer market maker in the Nigerian fixed income market.

A key milestone during the year was the recognition of our positive impact in the development of the Nigerian fixed income, currencies and derivatives markets that resulted in promoting market liquidity, integrity, and transparency. To this end, we maintained our position on the top bank for Treasury Bill volumes on the FMDQ league table.

We remain the most active bank for cross-border derivative transactions in Nigeria, with executed trades of about US$1 billion in 2020 via credit-linked notes, total return swaps and repurchase agreements with counterparties such as Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank London, ABSA, and Rand Merchant Bank, despite the tight market liquidity during the year.

We aspire to be the market leader in all countries where Access Bank maintains a presence by offering innovative products and creating platforms to develop market disruptive solutions for our customers, while proactively managing risk and capital to deliver sustainable shareholder value.

Digital Banking

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the speed at which innovation occurred and Access Bank rose to the challenge. Access Bank has maintained the lead in financial innovation in the banking industry notwithstanding the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial service providers were expected to keep providing services to customers with minimal or no disruption in the wake of the pandemic. The Bank showed this capability by applying its exceptional digital channels to deliver optimised and uninterrupted services to the customers during this difficult time.

In line with our five-year strategy to become Africa’s Gateway to the World, we recognize the need for innovation in the path towards business sustainability. Digital innovation has become a core driver of the ongoing success of any company in the 21st Century, which is why leveraging digital for scalable transformation has become inevitable. This transformation can be witnessed in the disruption that has been experienced across different sectors where startups are challenging incumbents and taking their market share and revenue lines.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the importance of digital channels. Access Bank witnessed a spike in the volume of digital transactions and experienced an unmatched rise in the number of customers that signed up to our digital channels during the lockdown. This shows how much digital acceleration was catapulted by COVID-19.

The pandemic presented an opportunity to continue to innovate and deliver value to our over 40 million customers. In the year under review, we innovated and delivered the following Digital products:

Access More

Access Bank released a revamped next-generation mobile banking application, named Access More, in March 2020, in line with our strategy to provide an all-inclusive platform that offers value for smartphone users in Africa. Access More focuses on providing interactions beyond conventional mobile banking, which includes understanding and incorporating the desires and lifestyle of consumers into banking.

As the name implies, the platform provides ‘More’ than regular mobile banking services.

The features of the mobile banking application include but are not limited to Nearby Payments (QR, Face Pay and contactless), Access Reward (customers earn points for transactions on the app and can redeem it at a later date), Instant Loans (No documentation, no collateral), Access Africa – transfer to our African subsidiaries, Instant Account Opening, Bill Payments, Funds Transfer, Investment, Cheque Management and many more.

FacePay

FacePay is Africa’s first and one-of-a-kind facial recognition payment solution that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to build capabilities. This app allows a customer to turn up at any participating store or Access Bank branch to access banking services or pay for goods and services. No card, phone or cash is required. Face- Pay enables seamless and secure merchant payments, reduces queues and turnaround time at branches through instant verification of customers, and promotes financial inclusion, thereby providing value to an underserved market.

Access Rewards

Access Reward is a unique and first-of-its-kind digital loyalty program in Africa. It is a digital instant reward and loyalty platform that incentivizes customers to make payments with the AccessMore app. Customers earn points that can be redeemed on the mobile app. Access Rewards increases customer engagement and utilization of digital channels through gamification.

Fast Orders

Fast Orders is an innovative Quick Response ordering solution that enables customers to make contactless sit-in, take-out, and online orders in restaurants and other merchant locations. The solution provides an innovative acceptance method for merchants and reduces in-store queues while on the part of consumers, it provides convenience.

WhatsApp Banking

WhatsApp Banking is integrated with the current framework for WhatsApp and can be used instantly for a wide range of services. Our WhatsApp Banking solution leverages social media influence to reach millions of prospective customers through transactional banking services. Account Opening, BVN Checks, Balance Enquiry, PayDay Loan and profile update are part of the features.

Payday Loan

Payday Loan is an instant loan application platform that offers loans to both Access Bank and non-Access Bank customers. Loan eligibility is dependent on the average monthly salary and it is also a specified percentage of the borrower’s monthly salary. Customers can access the Payday Loan product through various digital platforms, such as USSD (90111#), mobile banking, Internet banking, ATMs, WhatsApp Banking and QuickBucks loan app. Repayment is 30 days or salary payment date, whichever is earlier. To scale the product, we partnered with salary processors to grant loans to over two million potential customers.

Tamada

Our Artificial Intelligence Personal Banker, ‘Tamada’ is a conversational and transactional chatbot, capable of chatting with customers on random topics and providing their transactional needs. Tamada now provides an expanded range of features, from regular banking services (account opening, bill payment, intra- and inter-bank transfers, etc) to weather forecast, sports update, traffic update, investment advice, cash-out services, news update, customer support live chat, etc.

Africa FinTech Foundry

As part of our drive to lead the fintech space in Africa, the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) engage
stakeholders in the ecosystem through various programmes designed to entrench our lead in the financial industry.

Hackathon

In furtherance of our sustainability journey and innovation, in 2020, Africa Fintech Foundry held a successful in-house hackathon to create innovative solutions in response to the distinct challenges faced in some of Nigeria’s leading sectors. Some of the solutions are currently being built and will be ready for deployment in the next financial year.

Also, we upskilled the development workforce through the Azure OpenHack upskilling workshop, aimed at deploying scalable and optimised services. At our hackathons, we utilize the creativity and talent of a large community of developers and experts to solve problems across different sectors and industries.

Outlook for 2021

Africa FinTech Foundry Roundtable

The Africa Fintech Foundry Roundtable: Let’s Talk Resilience 2020/2021 was our event that brought technology giants in their industry together to discuss the losses and gains of 2020 and offers expert opinion on what businesses need to do to become winners and become more resilient in 2021.

The Big Tech Show

The AFF Tech Show Series will showcase happenings in the tech industry and how it affects every fabric of the society. It allows Africa Fintech Foundry the advantage of networking opportunities and expands its ecosystem. It is a vibrant, fresh, entertaining discussion covering tech trends, debates, uncovering tech myths and lots of laughter.

Voice Verify

Voice Verify is a cutting-edge voice verification solution that uses the unique features of a customer’s voice for a wide range of use-cases, which include verifying a customer’s identity and reducing turnaround time while they make calls to the
contact centre, and for verifying a customer’s voice for transactions.

2021 Disrupt Conference

Disrupt is positioned to be the largest technology conference in Africa bringing together innovators, tech enthusiasts and other industry experts to discuss emerging trends and proffer solutions to problems. The conference presents a platform for next-rated technology start-ups to come together to showcase their current buzzing technology ideas alongside other strategic stakeholders in the technology space, ranging from Venture Capitalists, to Start-up founders, and thought leaders.

The conference will include:

• Keynote addresses, fireside chats, masterclasses, demos and exhibitions.
• Interactive panel discussions on current topics which include Securing Seed and Growth Funding, The Future of Gaming and Artificial Intelligence, RegTech, and Disruptive Banking.
• Masterclasses on Artificial Intelligence, Payments, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, and Digital Transformation.
• World-class speakers and a phenomenal array of exhibitors who are industry and thought leaders in the technology space.

Categories of Economic Value		2020
Direct Economic Values Generated	Revenues	764,717,441
Economic Value Distributed	Operating cost	326,508,608
	Employees’ wages and benefit	73,173,176
	Payment to providers of capital	23,104,397
	Payment to government	19,912,434
	Charitable donations	2,603,664,782
	Economic Value Retained	252,396,881

Access Bank complies with legal requirements in the tax jurisdictions where we operate by dealing with tax and tax authorities professionally, and in a manner guided by proactive tax planning for efficiency and mutual benefit to the business and tax authorities. Our tax strategy is approved by all the heads of all the relevant business units and the Group Managing Director. The Chief Financial Officer oversees compliance with the tax strategy.

Our Tax Strategy embodies timely and accurate compliance, following regulatory requirements as well as the bank’s reporting standards and policies. The aim is to have a stable and sustainable tax charge in the financial statements, prevent further costs from additional liabilities and penalties, and maintain a positive relationship with our tax regulators.

We have developed standard operating procedures across all possible tax types to guide our compliance with relevant tax regulations and tax framework. We also carry out regular training for tax stakeholders to reiterate the need for effective tax management and relevance as regards tax matters. Periodic reviews of our various taxable products and services are also conducted to ensure that taxes are accurately captured and penalties as a result of under remittance are avoided.

Our risk appetite is also embodied in our approach to tax risks. We identify tax risks from internal and external factors by capturing all information on the risk while encouraging and creating awareness of tax risk management throughout the Group to ensure adequate identification of tax risks. Various factors determine our response to managing risks, such as the ease and cost of mitigating the risk, its potential impact on the business and alternative mitigation processes.

We address risks through a combination of risk response strategies: Avoidance, Sharing, and Reduction; and after the response strategy has been identified, the risk is continuously monitored via a Tax Risk Register to ensure that the desired response is successfully implemented and updated for changing tax risks. Our Internal Audit Unit and external tax consultants also carry out regular audits to review our tax compliance and adherence to the tax framework. Unethical and unlawful behaviours are also reported in line with our whistleblowing policy.

We ensure that our disclosures are complete and adequate through various review and approval stages. We also engage our external consultants to further certify the completeness and adequacy of our tax disclosure. We have been issued a Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) for the latest financial year, 2020. This is official proof that taxes assessed on income have been fully paid.

The tax team also collectively engages internal stakeholders during periodic meetings where internal stakeholders are trained on current tax matters while providing and receiving feedback. External stakeholders are also engaged on a basis of full disclosure, with a high level of responsiveness and dealing with enquiries in a timely manner and efficiently.

In thousands of naira	Bank		Bank
Gross Earnings	December 2020		December 2019
Interest expense
Foreign	(54,293,516)		(54,084,352)
Local	(100,242,201)		(139,845,670)
	480,328,053		382,417,817
Net Impairment (loss) on financial assets	(39,650,580)		(22,694,279)
Net Impairment loss on other financial assets			1,638,801
Bought-in-materials and services
Foreign	(6,340,427)		(4,615,091)
Local	(212,301,421)		(146,744,603)
Value Added	222,035,624		210,002,645
Distribution of Value Added
To Employees: Employees costs	54,590,721	25%	60,712,847	20%
To government: Government as taxes	10,156,549	5%	9,097,722	8%
	222,035,624	100%	210,002,645	100%

In thousands of naira	Bank		Bank
Gross Earnings	December 2020		December 2019
Interest expense
Foreign	(54,293,516)		(54,084,352)
Local	(100,242,201)		(139,845,670)
	480,328,053		382,417,817
Net Impairment (loss) on financial assets	(39,650,580)		(22,694,279)
Net Impairment loss on other financial assets			1,638,801
Bought-in-materials and services
Foreign	(6,340,427)		(4,615,091)
Local	(212,301,421)		(146,744,603)
Value Added	222,035,624		210,002,645
Distribution of Value Added
To Employees: Employees costs	54,590,721	25%	60,712,847	20%
To government: Government as taxes	10,156,549	5%	9,097,722	8%
	222,035,624	100%	210,002,645	100%

Our Corporate Philosophy

Our Vision

To be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.

Our Mission

Setting standards for sustainable business practices that unleash the talents of our employees, deliver superior value to our customers and provide innovative solutions for the markets and communities we serve.

Our Core Values

Excellence

• Surpassing ordinary standards to be the best in all that we do.
• Setting the standard for what it means to be exceptional
• Our approach is not that of excellence at all costs- it is excellence on all fronts so that we deliver outcomes that are economically, environmentally and socially responsible.

Innovation

• Pioneering new ways of doing things, new products and services, new approaches to customers
• Being first, testing the waters and pushing boundaries
• Anticipating and responding quickly to market needs with the right technology, products and services to achieve customer objectives

Leadership

• Leading by example, leading with guts
• Being first, being the best and sometimes being the only
• Challenging the status quo

Passion for Customers

• Doing more than just delivering excellent customer service
• Helping people to clearly understand how our products and services work
• Treating customers fairly. Building long-term relationships based on trust, fairness and transparency

Professionalism

• Putting our best foot forward in everything we do, especially in high-pressure situations
• Consistently bringing the best of our knowledge and expertise to the table in all our interactions with our stakeholders.
• Setting the highest standards in our work ethics, behaviours, activities and in the way we treat our customers and, just as importantly, one another

Empowered Employees

• Based on shared values and vision
• Developing our people to become world-class professionals
• Encouraging a sense of ownership at individual levels, whilst fostering team spirit and commitment to a shared vision.

Our Winning Formula

As a sustainable financial institution, Access Bank recognizes its role in promoting responsible environmental stewardship, stimulating socially responsible development and engaging in fair ethical practices. Our management approach to sustainability is predicated on best practices and covers the core areas of sustainability: people, planet, and profit for our business and the businesses and interests of our stakeholders.

Based on these major areas, we continuously improve our activities in spheres that have an impact on these bottom lines. These include but are not limited to community investment, environmental sustainability, human rights, employment standards, customer satisfaction and relations, high impact products and services, and ethical supplier relations.

As a global enterprise leading the way to a more sustainable future, Access Bank is focused on sustainable banking that would lead to inclusive economic growth in our countries of operations. We commit to environmentally responsible and socially relevant corporate practices, and are guided by our core values: Excellence, Leadership, Passion for customers, Empowered employees, Professionalism, and Innovation. These values are informed by the need to have a cohesive, strong, and vibrant team. Our business fundamentals are built on a solid foundation and composed of sound ethical principles.

We continue to set the pace in sustainable finance in Nigeria and Africa through our delivery of value-adding products and services which improves the economic and social progress of the local communities where we operate. Our commitment to sound sustainability practice also means we continuously monitor the socio-economic and environmental impact of all our stakeholders. We are at the vanguard of sustainability regulation and thought leadership.

Access Bank has various policies in place that guide our activities and help us achieve the set goals in these areas of interest. Our policies help us drive home our values among everyone connected directly or indirectly to our institution. They cover topics such as good corporate governance, respect for human rights, progressive labour practices, fair operating practices, responsiveness to consumer issues, good community relations, low carbon footprint, financing sustainable development, among others. Our strict adherence to these policies is one of the ways we ensure we remain a “responsible” corporate citizen

Our People

Access Bank has built a significant repertory of human capital. We understand that human capital is crucial for organisational success. Therefore, we nurture and preserve the best talent. We encourage and motivate our people to develop themselves to reach their full potential. We focus on building stronger teams of talented people as we recognize that continuous personal improvement and job satisfaction are important to attracting and retaining talents.

Everyone plays a key role in the Bank; we encourage teamwork amongst employees; we also encourage a commitment to excellent performance and productivity. We provide platforms for nurturing long-term relationships with customers. Our culturally diverse staff reflect the richness and uniqueness of the countries we do business in.

Our Customers

We offer a range of solutions to our customers from the most basic to the most sophisticated of financial services and we ensure that our customers’ requirements are always met
through the most cost-effective and convenient methods. Access Bank has a banking solution to cater to every customer’s need, underpinned by a focus on client relationships. We continuously monitor the opinions of our customers and their experiences with Access Bank. This enables us to know where we can improve our service offering and calibrate customer loyalty towards the Bank.

Community

We understand that to ensure our business continues to thrive, we have to support the productivity of society and other businesses around us. We strengthen the people and businesses in the local communities where we operate by supporting various projects, organizations, and events that are focused on making a positive difference. Our priority areas of support include Health, Education, Sports, Arts, and Environment.

Environment

We ensure to carry out our activities and businesses in innovative ways that reduce the bank’s negative environmental impact. We continue to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings, manage our water and waste, and find innovative ways to impact our environment positively. We are also constantly reminded of the social and economic consequences of climate change and its increasing impact on our customers and clients. By recognizing and understanding these issues, we can manage risks and capture new market opportunities.

Conclusion

To maintain our position as the number one bank in Nigeria, Access Bank will continue to strengthen its global franchise and become a universal payment gateway that is solidified by a robust capital base and best-practice governance structures. This commitment is reflected in various aspects of our business processes. We are also committed to ensuring we monitor the social and environmental risks of our financing activities and measure our environmental footprint.

We demonstrate our continued dedication to financial sustainability, responsible and inclusive finance, and sustainable development through our strategic partnerships and collaboration with very important institutions. Responding sustainably to the business needs of our local
communities and providing innovative solutions that help improve communities are the reasons we are in business and continue to upscale our positive impact.

At the heart of our strategy is the strong belief that we can finance the future of our numerous stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders. The markets in which we operate are among the most challenging in the world, with multiple developmental issues. Whilst these challenges create opportunities, we are devoting our resources to achieving results and making an impact through the power of finance. As a result, we promote access to banking along with social inclusion, while contributing to the development of the communities where we are present and preserving the environment.

In line with our sustainability vision, which is “To Be the Most Sustainable and Respected Bank in Africa, financing and facilitating brighter futures for all our stakeholders through innovative services and best-in-class operations”, we continued to lead the frontiers of sustainability in the financial services sector. Our unwavering commitment to sustainability ensures that we continuously build long-term value, and embedding sustainability in our business processes and practices guides us in being more transparent, accountable and responsible to all our stakeholders.

We empower individuals, businesses, institutions, and governments with funding solutions and advisory services through our wide range of financial products and services to facilitate growth. We also cater to the needs of the vast number of the unbanked population through our specially designed products that enable financial inclusion to be fostered in Nigeria and Africa.

In our commitment to a clean environment and the fight against climate change, we continue to invest in innovative technologies and techniques that promote the efficient use of resources and help us to manage risks

2020 Milestones

We broadly improved on our 2019 milestones. For example, we enhanced the Access More app to block accounts immediately when fraud is detected in them.

The following are milestones that we reached in 2020.

• Our pioneering green bond cross-listing was borne out of a partnership between Nigerian Stock Exchange, now Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), and Luxembourg Green Exchange.
• Access Bank became the first commercial bank in Africa to achieve sustainability certification under the SSCI program of the European Organisation for Sustainable Development.
• We launched the Access Sustainability Academy.
• Access Bank pioneered the deployment of gamified e-learning program amid the COVID-19 pandemic for children.

Our Partnerships and Memberships

At Access Bank, we believe that to properly maximize our resources and to effectively leverage the strength we have, we have to collaborate across industries and with other organizations with a common vision to make the world more sustainable through the work we do. Our partnerships offer us the opportunity to join several other leading organizations to facilitate change on a large scale and at the highest levels of authority. Through these partnerships, we are identified with sustainable change across the world.

We are part of both international and local organizations that are at the fore of sustainable change in our world today. We, together with other members, are creating a world of peace and prosperity while taking actions to advance our social goals. Our memberships and partnerships are listed below.

Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative

The Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative (SSCI), driven by the European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD), as one of its major program areas, is a holistic, robust, evolving, and locally-sensitive set of standards to make value- driven financial institutions more resilient and profitable. It enables institutions to create new income streams and thrive for the long term in an ever more volatile world.

SSCI provides new opportunities for mobilizing funds to finance businesses and projects creating high social and environmental impact. This initiative is currently available only to selected network members who have demonstrated their capacity in adopting new standards and top management commitment to sustainability.

In July 2018, Access Bank became the first African commercial bank to be nominated to undergo the SSCI certification process. The Bank also became the first African commercial bank to be certified under the program in September 2020, achieving the highest level of certification in the rigorous sustainability standards.

The certification requires the implementation of tasks across eight modules that cut across the entire spheres of the institution and its activities. Implementation is documented and monitored on the online platform, Sustainability Standards Implementation and Management System (S-SIMS).

Apart from co-creating the standards, since its ceritification, Access Bank has continued to support financial institutions implementing SSCI by sharing its experience with the community. The Bank participated and presented at the SSCI Zimbabwe High-Level Meeting.

Based on the foregoing, and its broad sustainability commitment, Access Bank was pre-qualified to participate in the EOSD Financing 4.0 Initiative. This initiative creates a platform for financial institutions, investors, savers, project developers/owners, and project sponsors to come together and connect towards the finance of technologically driven and innovative projects.

United Nations Environmetal Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)

The UNEP FI is a collaborative initiative between UNEP and the global financial sector. UNEP FI works with its full range of partners to promote sustainable development
through the financial industry players. Over the years, Access Bank has worked closely with UNEP FI on several initiatives and played a key role in the development of the Principles of Responsible Banking (PRBs). Access Bank officially became a Founding Signatory to the PRBs in September 2019.

In 2020, Access Bank remained an active member of the UNEP FI, participating in several initiatives and serving on two Working Groups in 2020: Reporting; and Target- setting: Financial Inclusion (Access Bank serves as the sub-group Lead); and Gender Diversity and Biodiversity. Access Bank continues to contribute to the conversations on the Next Steps for the Principles as regards Reporting and Target-Setting.

We remain committed to the Principles of Responsible Banking, reporting and publicly communicating our progress.

Alignment with the Principles for Responsible Banking (UNEP FI)

The Principles reinforce Access Bank’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that inform our Sustainability Strategy, targets, governance mechanisms and commitment to transparency. To communicate the progress achieved with respect to the PRB, we have adopted the UNEP FI - PRB self-assessment reporting template shown below. Assurance of our alignment to the Principles is not currently available, however, our 2020 Sustainability Report is subject to limited assurance.

Access Bank and Labour Practices & Human Rights

Since becoming a signatory to the UNGC, Access Bank has been conducting its business following the UN body’s principles. Our sustainability team collaborates with various representatives of other strategic business units to examine the implementation of these principles across all units, especially our strategic business units liaising with vendors/suppliers. This enables our sustainability culture to influence and engender sustainable practices in our supply chain, thereby reducing the risk of our suppliers and vendors being involved in environmentally unsustainable and socially irresponsible practices.

Also, by incorporating inclusivity in our recruitment policy, we have been able to foster creativity and resourcefulness among our employees and at the same time, ensure that everyone’s right to be hired, irrespective of gender, age, race, and religion, country of origin, disability and sexual orientation, is upheld.

Access Bank and the Environment

We have made efforts to combat climate change by curbing our greenhouse gas emissions. Our efforts include reducing our diesel consumption and supplementing our power supply with solar power across various business locations. We have also consolidated efforts to reduce our water consumption, reduce our paper use, and also reduce our waste taken to landfill sites.

We have kept our business travels to a minimum by embracing the use of available technology to hold meetings that will otherwise require the physical presence of participants. The Bank has several initiatives that ensure that our clients and suppliers contribute to a low carbon economy. To guarantee compliance by our clients and suppliers, we have included environmental impact assessments and audits of prospective projects in a bid to reduce our carbon footprint.

Access Bank and Anti-Corruption

Our Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) Policy includes the rules of conduct that must be followed by every employee of Access Bank. Quarterly training sessions are facilitated for employees to emphasize our commitment to the global fight against corruption. In 2018, we invested in an anti- corruption tool developed by a third party. The tool aids us in assessing anti-corruption risk and showing areas that should be improved.

Access Bank and the UNGC Local Network

To further reiterate our commitment to environmental stewardship and responsibility, Access Bank continued to serve on the new Board of the UNGC Local Network as a Board Member. The
Bank contributed to the efforts of the Local Network to evaluate its existing programs as well as address general concerns about the new mandate from the Global Compact as it relates to Nigeria.

Progress on UN-WEPs

The United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (UN-WEPs) is focused on ensuring the full economic participation of women across all sectors and at all levels of economic activity. These principles enable us to build stronger economies, support women businesses, institute more stable and just societies and also improve the quality of life for men and women, families and communities.

As a corporate entity, Access Bank has consistently prioritized respect for women and continuously empower them with all they need to succeed in every area. Women are a huge part of our market and women empowerment is an integral part of global sustainability. We strongly believe in the power of women in building an inclusive economy.

Over the years, we have empowered women across our communities and contributed to creating a prosperous economy with a significant investment in empowering women in our workplace, marketplace, and communities.

Progress on Equator Principles

Corporate Governance

Our corporate governance structure is designed to superintend the creation of optimal and long-term shared value for our stakeholders. At Access Bank, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance is at the top of our corporate agenda. This stems from our full understanding that our positive social and environmental impacts will establish us as good corporate citizens in the communities we serve. Sound corporate governance practice, which includes excellent risk management processes, is the bedrock of our sustainable business practices.

Access Bank’s highest decision-making body is its Board of Directors, which makes the ultimate decisions concerning the Group, excluding matters designated for its general Shareholder’s meeting.

The Board focuses on matters related to strategy, policies, corporate culture, and organizational structure. It also approves and monitors the risk framework and appetite of the Group. Access Bank’s governance framework is guided by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Code of Corporate Governance for Banks and Discount Houses in Nigeria (the CBN Code), the Securities Exchange Commission Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies (the SEC Code), the Financial Reporting Council’s Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance, and the Post Listing Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, now Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). These, as well as the Board Charter and the Bank’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, collectively provide the foundation for our sound corporate governance.

The framework governing the Bank and its subsidiaries enables the Board to perform its oversight functions while ensuring the Bank’s regulatory compliance. Our subsidiaries also align their governance frameworks with that of the Bank, while also complying with the statutory and regulatory requirements of their host countries. The Board is aware that effective corporate governance is essential to the sustainable growth of the Group. This is the fulcrum for deepening the principles of corporate governance across the Group. Our corporate behaviour is underpinned by our core values of innovation, excellence, leadership, passion for customers, professionalism and empowered employees.

The Board’s composition subscribes to global best practice on the need for Non-Executive Directors to exceed Executive Directors. In 2020, the Board had more Non-Executive Directors than Executive Directors, with five of the Non-Executive Directors being independent as against two required by the CBN Code of Corporate Governance for Banks in Nigeria.

The Non-Executive Directors are appointed to the Board to bring independent, specialist knowledge and impartiality to strategy development and execution monitoring. The Board is committed to improving gender diversity in its composition in line with its diversity policy. Currently, 25% of the Executive Management team is composed of females while the Board had 35% female memberships as of December 31, 2020, above Nigeria’s national average of 12%.

Ethics, Integrity and Whistleblowing

Ethical conduct and professionalism are fundamental attributes that underlie the corporate culture at Access Bank. Our corporate culture and values are governed by ethical practices, which are mutually reinforced by our Code of Conduct. We have defined organisational principles that our stakeholders – including not only the Board, management and employees but also our vendors and suppliers – are expected to abide by. Among these principles are
non-discrimination, equal opportunities, work-life balance, occupational risk prevention, respect for people, compliance with sustainability policies, and environmental protection.

Our whistle-blowing system is designed to boost our employees’ confidence in reporting any misconduct or irregularity, including any action that may violate laws or regulations regarding labour practices, anti-corruption, human rights, and environmental issues. Employees can also report any activity that could potentially cause harm to our business or reputation, or negatively affect the health, security or safety of other employees or our customers.

To ensure anonymity in the course of using our whistle- blowing system, we outsourced it to the KPMG ethics line, which allows internal and external stakeholders to report unethical activities affecting our Bank. There is also an avenue to lodge whistle-blower reports on the Bank’s website. Users can do this by tapping on the Customer Service icon and scrolling to the bottom of the page where complaints and allegations that require the Bank’s urgent attention can be lodged anonymously.

Whistleblowing reporting is monitored by the Chief Internal Auditor of the Bank and quarterly reports are forwarded to the Board Audit Committee. This policy has improved the faith/support of our employees/stakeholders in bringing suspicious activities or misconduct that can damage the reputation of the Bank, or compromise its operations, to our notice. It has also helped to reinforce the integrity and discipline of our staff by discouraging workplace misbehaviour. Without a doubt, the whistle-blowing policy has helped to maintain high ethical standards amongst our people and further engendered a culture of ethical banking at Access Bank.

To further ensure that the culture of whistleblowing is enshrined in the Bank, we continue to train our new employees on how to address corruption, bribes, and conflicts of interest. We have also appointed anti-bribery compliance officers that coordinate awareness programmes on new guidelines and existing processes. We also hold quarterly training where we emphasize the importance of whistleblowing and further reiterate our commitment to protect whistle-blowers against any act of retaliation or intimidation. Any employee who has suffered any detrimental action because of a disclosure they made according to the provision of the policy shall be entitled to compensation and/or reinstatement provided that in the case of compensation, the employee’s entitlement shall be computed as if he or she had attained the maximum age of retirement or had completed the maximum period of service, under his/her conditions of service. For other stakeholders, the whistle-blower shall be adequately compensated.

Channels and Procedures for Whistleblowing

The Bank has provided both internal and external whistleblowing channels.

Internal Whistleblowing Procedure

The internal whistleblowing channels are as follows: Formal letter to the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc or the Head, Internal Audit, Access Bank Plc. Call or text messaging to dedicated phone numbers; 01-2712065 or IP 4160 Dedicated email address – whistleblower@accessbankplc.com Via Access Bank’s website - https://www.accessbankplc.com/PagesCustomerSupport/WhileBlower.aspx

The Internal Whistleblowing Hotline is available during working hours on workdays only. However, the email channel is always available, and the information provided by the whistle-blower shall be kept confidential. Where the concerns are received by a member of staff other than the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Chief Conduct and Compliance Officer or Chief Audit Executive, the recipient of such report shall be required to:

Immediately pass the concern to the Chief Audit Executive and Head, Internal Audit Investigation, Access Bank Plc., for prompt investigation.

If the concerns affect the Head, Internal Audit Investigation or Chief Conduct and Compliance Officer, the Group Managing Director is to be notified. When a director or Board member is involved, such concerns shall be directed to the Chairman of the Board Audit or Board Risk Management Committee. The concern(s) shall be presented in the following format:

Background of the concerns (with relevant dates). Reason(s) the whistle-blower is particularly concerned about the situation.

Where there is no merit in a complaint by a whistle- blower, but the person making such claim acted in good faith, the Chief Audit Executive shall ensure that the person suffers no reprisal. However, when a person makes a report in bad faith, particularly if it is based knowingly on false or misleading information, a report of the finding should be kept without any disciplinary actions against the whistle-blower. This is without prejudice to the fundamental right of the internal whistle-blower to seek redress in a court of law.

External Whistleblowing Procedure

The external reporting channel makes use of the KPMG Ethics Lines and facilities. The KPMG Ethics lines and facilities are telephone lines, fax lines, and email address. The telephone lines are open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on workdays, while the fax number and e-mail address are always available except during periods of maintenance.

Whether the whistle-blower discloses his/her identity, KPMG will not provide any indication of the whistle-blower’s identity to Access Bank except KPMG has a written consent from the whistle- blower to provide his/her identity to Access Bank. Telephone calls generally are recorded, and the information is transcribed into a call sheet memo by KPMG for transmission to designated representatives of the Bank. Access Bank, its officers, staff, representatives or agents shall not be entitled to have access to such tape recordings, fax messages or email messages received from whistle- blowers.

These measures are necessary to maintain the confidentiality and anonymity of the whistle- blowers. Access Bank will only have access to the call sheet memos.

The KPMG Ethics Lines and email:

• E-mail: kpmgethicsline@ng.kpmg.com
• Toll-free numbers for calls from MTN numbers only: 0703-000-0026; 0703-000-0027
• Toll-free numbers for calls from Airtel numbers only: 0708 060 1222; 0808-822-8888
• The toll-free number for calls from 9MOBILE numbers only: 0809 993 6366

Anti-Corruption

At Access Bank, we have an Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) Policy, which includes the rules of conduct that must be followed by employees. Employees are availed the ABC Policy at the beginning of each year to re-familiarize them with the contents of the document and to also have them re-commit to the Bank’s ABC Policy by signing an attestation.

In 2020, we organized quarterly ABC training for our employees and at the end of the 4th quarter, 5,442 professional staff and 5,764 support staff were trained on ways to recognize and report bribery and corruption incidents. A total of 117 vendors attended the training held in the year. We continued to carry out ABC risk assessment to identify vulnerable areas of our business and provide adequate mitigation.

Performance Monitoring, Audit, and Evaluation

The Board, in the discharge of its oversight function, continuously engages Management in the planning, definition, and execution of strategy. Management’s report on the execution of our defined strategic objectives is a regular feature of the Board’s meeting agenda. This often provides the Board with the opportunity to evaluate and critique Management’s execution of strategy. The Bank’s performance on Corporate Governance is continuously being monitored and reported. We carry out quarterly and annual reviews of our compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Code and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Code and render reports to the regulators.

The Board has also established a system of an independent annual evaluation of its performance, and that of its committees and individual directors. In addition to financial performance, the implementation of the Bank’s environmental and social risk management framework and performance, as conducted by the Bank’s Environmental and Social Risk Management and Sustainability teams, are also periodically assessed, and audited. These audit functions are conducted half-yearly by the Bank’s Internal Audit Group, across all the Bank’s strategic business units concerned with, and affected by, environmental and social risk policies.

Also, the Bank is committed to an external assurance of its environmental and social performance initiatives as contained in our Sustainability Report, Internal Statements, and Policy Frameworks. Such external assurance, usually conducted by an independent consultant, involves an audit and evaluation of our Sustainability-related processes.

Risk Management

Access Bank has integrated environmental and social risk practices into all its business activities. This is fully supported by a best-in-class governance system to effectively drive our ESG implementation. The Bank is strongly committed to ESG and continuous capacity development on sustainability all through our over 10 years of experience of active implementation of environmental and social risk management. We have continued to implement Board approved ESRM policies (which is in line with global best practice) and effectively manage ESG related issues in our business. This has earned us a more robust and comprehensive risk management system over the years.

This continuous evolution of our ESG systems in line with a very dynamic environment has ensured that we attain a level of maturity in this space, thereby creating an advancement of ESG from risk into opportunities. Our issuance of the first climate certified corporate green bond is a testament to this feat. Access Bank has also attracted increased partnerships with Development Financial Institutions (internationally and locally) for ESG targeted lending. Our subsidiaries have also benefitted from these partnerships, with the recent being the partnership with FMO in making its first investment in DRC.

With the increasing determination to encourage a climate-neutral economy and achieve Sustainable Development Goals, Access Bank has improved its curiosity in financed emissions and the impact of climate change on our portfolio; we have made strides towards a deep understanding of climate finance and disclosure requirements, their implications and implementations. This drive has led the Bank to become core members of internationally recognized climate groups: UNEP FI’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). We will continuously ensure the best-in-class application and implementation of ESG practices in our businesses and operations, thereby ensuring we play a lead role in the transition towards a low carbon economy.

The novel coronavirus outbreak reportedly began in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and by March 2020, it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This led various governments to declare lockdown in their respective countries, Nigeria inclusive, thereby severely disrupting commercial and economic activities.

The Federal Government, on 30th March 2020, announced lockdown in Lagos and Ogun states, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in order to slow down the spread of the virus. The lockdown required that all citizens stayed at home. Travel to and fro other states were restricted and vehicular movements were stopped. These restrictions, however, did not apply to hospitals personnel and workers that provide essential services.

Access Bank’s Employees

Our employees are the engines that run our systems. Our workforce not only share our belief of financing a sustainable world, they are ambassadors for that mission. Our employees constantly bring the best of their knowledge and expertise to the organization and we are proud of the work they do across our organization.

In 2020, we engaged our employees through the “We CLAP: We Care, We Lead, We Appreciate and We Perform” initiative. We provided learning opportunities to help employees grow in their various fields. There were also workshops and roadshows to increase employees’ understanding of the Bank’s vision and culture. We celebrated employees’ volunteering activities and the Bank’s numerous successes which we achieved through the work of our employees; and importantly, we acknowledged special events in their lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how we engaged with each other and our ways of getting the job done. However, this global challenge did not only strengthen our workforce, it opened up alternative, innovative and efficient ways of communication, which going forward, will be embedded into our organizational structures while achieving our objectives.

Together, all 15,611 of us form one strong body that continues to set the pace in delivering exceptional service across our various offerings.

Our current employees filled 35% of open roles while 11% of employees assumed new roles in 2020. 81% of new hires were at entry-level and were majorly fresh graduates. The attrition rate was 13% of professional staff. All employees earn the same amount by employee category irrespective of gender. All employees, whether full time or third-party employees of the bank, undergo training and enjoy all benefits.

Our employees, through the Employee Volunteering Scheme, contribute ideas, skills and resources to address social, environmental and economic issues whilst gaining hands-on experience and fulfilment as positive role models in society. We have achieved 100% employee participation in the Access Bank’s Employee Volunteering initiative, empowering employees to contribute to the sustainable development of communities. Some of the most notable initiatives from the Employee Volunteering Scheme in 2020 are discussed under the Community Investment section.

Employee Satisfaction

It is our annual practice to conduct an employee satisfaction survey across our parent company and the subsidiaries. This survey helps us measure the level of employee commitment and engagement in 2020. It also helps us obtain insight from an employee perspective. The process is anonymous and is managed by a third party, Ëngaged Metrics Inc. In 2020, there was an average participation rate of 80%. This is a decrease from last year’s (2019) rate of 84%. This is due to data and network challenges since most respondents were working from home.

The employee satisfaction index remained constant at 3.5, which is below the plan of 4.0. In percentage terms, there was a slight increase from 71.5% to 73.1%. This increase in satisfaction is attributable to employees believing that their jobs contribute to the purpose of the organization and that their development is encouraged by someone in the organization. The employee satisfaction index for the UK, Rwanda and Gambia subsidiaries increased as employees were more responsive to the various engagement initiatives. The organization is bearing in mind that more developmental programs need to be in place to enhance employee productivity and fast-track the careers of key talents.

2020 Sustainability Awareness Week

Every year, Access Bank dedicates a week to fostering sustainability among its employees. The 2020 edition of the Sustainability Awareness Week held from December 14-18, 2020. The Week was themed ‘Sustainability as Pathway to a Resilient Future’ and featured ‘edutaining’ events and activities to raise awareness for employees and even the general public on sustainability and sustainable practices.

The week consisted of a five-day online educational session on a variety of topics, and daily sustainability tips and quizzes. About 767 persons attended the online training and webinars and 269 people participated in the virtual Zumba class. As part of the activities to commemorate the Week, the Bank organized a Sustainability Chat, themed ‘Understanding Interactions Between the Sustainable Development Goals,’ featuring former Minister of Environment and Member of Parliament of Denmark, Kristen Brosbol and was moderated by the Project Director, HACEY Health Initiative, Isaiah Owolabi.

The purpose of the session was aimed at helping to establish a baseline understanding of important interactions within the 2030 Agenda and its set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to launch a discussion on the implications of these interactions for integrated approaches to implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Occupational Health and Safety

The health and safety of our employees remain a top priority for Access Bank. The wellbeing of our people is the wellbeing of our business. The Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) department of the bank guides our approach and response to all matters relating to health and safety, both for our employees and other stakeholders. Through this department, the health and safety impacts of our products, services and operations are assessed. In 2020, our Health and Safety training focused on Fire Safety Management and Evacuation for the Health Champions and Fire Marshals in the bank.

Access Bank recognized the COVID-19 pandemic for the health risk that it was and took vital steps in response to it. At the onset of the pandemic, even before the government declared the nationwide lockdown, our Business Continuity Plan was initiated. Most branches were closed and most members of staff worked from home to minimize the risk of exposure. Contact centres were opened across communities and most transactions became automated. When the lockdown was lifted and businesses were allowed to operate, strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols established by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control was ensured across all open service outlets. The bank in partnership with CACOVID concluded arrangements to vaccinate all staff.

Training and Development

Our employees undergo continuous training and development programs, which they are fully interested in. We invest in building up employees’ professional skills and aid their career growth. We invested over N570.112 million in employee training and development in 2020. The total number of hours of training was 624,877,230 (Female employees – 287,443.42 hours; Male employees – 337,433.58 hours), with the average hours of training per employee being 40.77 hours. The training covered the following topics: Leadership; Soft Skills; Risk Management; Digital and Analytics skills; Health, Safety and Environment; Sustainability; and functional programs. This training is available to third-party employees but not to third party organizations. All employees receive regular performance review and career review in 2020. This review is carried out twice a year. Our employee exchange
programme across our subsidiaries also helps our employees to learn about different aspects of the organization and have the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge across diverse cultures.

Our Customers

Our customers are the reason why our business exists, and are important to its continued success. We maintain our customers’ loyalty by focusing on offering financial products and services that are important to their growth and livelihood. Across our financial services, we provide the most reliable and specific solution to our various customers. We monitor and refine our customers’ relationship, having a high regard for their opinion. By working on the feedback we received on our services, we have gained the trust of our customers and this has earned us a 20% increase in the past year.

Through our Customer Loyalty Reward Program, we provided customers with an opportunity to earn points from their everyday transaction, which can be used to purchase household items and movie tickets among others. We also deliver life-changing experiences for customers through the “Diamond Xtra” and “Xclusive- Plus lifestyle” propositions. We give end-of-year gifts and celebrate our customers on their special days and on holidays.

Total number of customers: 40.342 million. Total value of customers’ deposits: N5.8 trillion.

Customer Safety and Data Privacy

The safety of our customers is always top priority for us at Access Bank. We have measures in place to ensure the physical safety of all our customers. Customers that are pregnant, sickly or above 60 years are attended to promptly. Our buildings are also designed to facilitate easy access for physically-challenged customers; there are designated parking spaces and wheelchair ramps for customers with disabilities. Necessary safety measures are considered during the design of all the bank’s buildings and facilities. We have first aid boxes on all floors and have signed on to an hospital ambulance service in some locations to enable us quick access to medical help during any emergency.

The safety of customer financial data is very crucial to the existence of our business. We continuously improve our security and validation channels to protect customers’ deposits. More financial information advocacy was provided to customers during the pandemic as cyber fraud became on the rise. Our Access More was enhanced to block accounts immediately fraud is suspected in thems. We also protect our customers’ deposits through the following measures:

1. Authentication/authorization of customer before being able to carry out any activity on customer accounts.

   • Mandate/Signature requirement to identify customer
   • BVN verification as required
   • Passwords/PIN/Token for Channels Usage

2. Channels available to block account in the event of fraud/fraud attempt/exposure.

3. Fraud Escalation available 24/7 via various channels.

4. Audit/periodic review of activities on old and new accounts.

5. Customers are alerted regarding activities on their accounts; log in via online channels, deposits, withdrawals, information update etc.

6. Unrestricted access to authorized persons to relevant account:

   • Provision of account statement to customers
   • Realtime Access

7. Policy on privacy and breach of customer information.

8. Restricted access to dormant accounts.

9. Deposit insurance.

Issue Resolution

Access Bank has established platforms and processes for handling customer complaints to drive customer loyalty, satisfaction, and quality assurance. This follows from the fact that Access Bank understands that it is not immune to complaints given that some customers may have challenges with the Bank’s products and services.

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution was implemented to facilitate the systematic and orderly management of complaints. The platform allows customers to make their complaints via various channels and track the resolution of issues within defined timelines. We have put in place more resources (human and digital) to help us respond to complaints as fast as possible. In 2020, we resolved four times more resolutions that we did in 2019. Our resolution time of one day increased from 15% to 62%.

Financial Inclusion

Through our “Access Closa Agent,” we spread the borders of our operations to the underbanked or unbanked. We branded over 10,000 agent locations across the country, and in partnership with Google, our “Access Closa Agents” are easily located by searching on Google Maps. This improved our visibility and expanded our reach.

The Closa Agent Network has created thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly across the entire agency banking ecosystem in Nigeria and also greatly improved the income levels of thousands of local businesses who have partnered with Access Bank to drive our financial inclusion strategy. Our agents have become brand ambassadors for the Access Bank brand. The growth and wide acceptance of our agent network were characterised by the surge in daily transaction values from N2 million in January 2020 to N5 billion by the end of December 2020, with over 1,600% in revenue growth as revenues moved from N43 million in January to over N700 million by December 2020.

Community Investment Initiatives

Access Bank has continued to support the growth, development and prosperity of the communities and societies where its operations are carried out. We understand the importance of investing in the development of our communities. Our community initiatives are aimed at providing support and equipping numerous individuals to lead healthier and more productive lives. In return, this has helped expand our market share, built goodwill for our brand, and given us additional motivation to do more.

Check out our Community Investment Intiatives here.

We support various initiatives, projects, organizations and events that are focused on impacting the communities that we live and operate in positively. These investment initiatives are centred on our commitment to empower local communities and strengthen existing relationships with our partner organizations.

As such, we have invested over N10.25 billion in various corporate social responsibility efforts since 2015, which has impacted 1,316 communities and reached 30,075,356 lives and 793 NGOs. These projects have been in our CSR priority areas which are Health, Education, Sport, Arts, Environment, Women Empowerment, and Social Welfare.

Some of our notable commun ity investment programs in year 2020 are as follows.

HEALTH

Access Bank Lagos City Marathon 2020 and Free HIV/AIDS Testing

In partnership with the Lagos State Government, Access Bank hosted the 2020 edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon. This event promotes healthy living by maintaining physical fitness through exercise. The partnership also involves providing strategic support to the State Government in the area of sports. The marathon has drawn both local and international attention as the event has been approved by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and endorsed by the International Association of Athletics. The marathon also drew athletes from across the globe with over 100,000 athletes participating in the annual event.

This edition of the marathon was themed “More Than A Race” and it held on February 8th, 2020. David Barmasai Tumo, Debeko Dakamo and Paul Waweru Chege came first, second and third, respectively, with finishing times of 2h:10m:23s, 2h:10m:55s and 2h:11m:23s, respectively, thereby breaking the records set in 2018 by Abraham Kiprotich. The female category had Cherop Sharon Jemutai, Kebene Chala Urisa and Rodah Jepkorir Tanui taking the first, second and third positions, respectively, with Cherop finishing the race in 2h:31m:40s. The winners in both the male and female categories of the 42km race went home with $50,000, $40,000 and $30,000 for the first, second and third positions, respectively.

In addition to hosting the 2020 Lagos City Marathon, Access Bank leveraged the marathon platform to create awareness around HIV prevention, by providing counselling and testing exercises for athletes at the marathon. Access Bank partnered with the Nigerian Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS (NiBUCCA) to provide HIV testing and counselling services during the marathon kit collection period at Teslim Balogun Stadium and on the race day at Eko Atlantic City. HACEY Health Initiative, a non-governmental organization that is focused on implementing health programmes across Nigeria, also supported the efforts.

Counselling and testing were carried out by experienced and trained counsellors and testers, using standard procedures and kits, and maintaining result confidentiality. Positive HIV cases were referred to health facilities for management. A total of 3,235 people were counselled and tested, with 11 HIV reactive cases discovered, which have since conducted further tests and commenced treatment. Also, 10,000 condoms were distributed.

A total of 249 new cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV were prevented as a result of the awareness programme of the campaign. A video documentary on key activities of the testing programme was produced for advocacy and promotion after the programme. The HIV video documentary on the screening had over 10,000 views as of mid-2020.

Access Bank also partnered with The END Fund, a private philanthropic initiative solely dedicated to ending the five most common neglected tropical diseases
(NTDs), at the 2020 Lagos City Marathon to raise awareness on the NTDs. Over 2,118 participants at the marathon were also educated directly on parasitic infections, including River Blindness, Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis), Trachoma, Intestinal worms and Schistosomiasis (Snail Fever).

World Kidney Day Program

Kidney disease is a non-communicable disease and currently affects around 850 million people worldwide. The global burden of kidney disease is increasing and is projected to become the 5th most common cause of years of life lost globally by 2040, as one in 10 adults has chronic kidney disease. World Kidney Day continues to raise awareness of the increasing burden of kidney diseases worldwide, and to strive for kidney health for everyone, everywhere.

The Theme of 2020 World Kidney Day was “Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere.” The aim was to highlight the importance of preventive interventions to avert the onset and progression of kidney disease.

The World Kidney Day was commemorated by Access Bank in partnership with Kidney Foundation for Africa (KFA). The Bank hosted the “Chronic Kidney Disease: Stop the Epidemic in Africa” program on March 12, 2020, at the Eko Hotel & Suites and a Kidney walk on March 13, 2020. Key stakeholders including The First Lady of Lagos State, Ibironke Sanwo-Olu; Chairman, Access Bank Plc, Ajoritsedere Awosika; Professor Mohammed M. Nars Allah, Professor & Consultant of Internal Medicine & Nephrology, Cairo University (North Africa); Dr. Esther Getambu, Consultant Physician/Nephrologist (East Africa); Professor Alain G. Assounga, Head, Nephrology Unit, Nelson Mandela Medical School (South Africa), and Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, Consultant Physician/Nephrologist (West Africa), were all present at the program.

The conference and the walk were aimed at raising conversations in Nigeria and encouraging early prevention of the disease. Information on screening of all patients with diabetes and hypertension to detect kidney disease was advised for all medical professionals and health facilities in Nigeria. 180 participants were educated with information on kidney disease prevention and treatment measures. Over 195 people participated in the Kidney walk to raise awareness on the importance of the kidney to the body and reduction of its associated problem worldwide.

The Lagos State ably represented by the First Lady, Ibironke Sanwo-Olu, committed to intensifying awareness among Lagos residents on the devastating effect of kidney disease. The conference also catalyzed the acceleration of kidney disease prevention, treatment and awareness under the THEMES Agenda (a policy thrust for Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism, and Security and Governance) of the Lagos State Government.

Project Agbebi – Maternal and Child Health Program

Project Agbebi was created as a response to the high incidence of maternal and child mortalities in South-East Nigeria. High maternal mortality rates and newborn deaths have remained a major public health concern in Nigeria. The country accounts for 20% of global maternal deaths with a maternal mortality ratio of 8 deaths per 1,000 live births, which happens to be one of the highest in the world.

Access Bank partnered with HACEY Health Initiative to implement the maternal and child health programme in Ebonyi State. The programme consisted of capacity building sessions for healthcare providers and birth attendants, stakeholder engagement and distribution of sterilized birthing kits.

Primary health care providers and birth attendants were trained to provide better service delivery, practice proper hygiene, prevent infection during pregnancy and delivery, and carry out follow-ups for pregnant women and newborns. Information, communication and education tools such as videos, radio messages, fliers and posters were created to disseminate life-saving information for safeguarding the lives of pregnant women. Birthing kits were distributed to the participants and pick-up points for the birthing kits were established within the communities to guarantee access for women and healthcare providers.

Lastly, there were dialogue sessions between primary healthcare providers and community birth attendants to ease the referral process between them. The community leaders and other members were also engaged and enlightened.

Malaria Awareness Program

As the burden of malaria continues to plague the Nigerian nation, with a high prevalence in children under age five, Access Bank continues to lend its support to communities and to the nation at large to end malaria in Nigeria. To commemorate the 2020 World Malaria Day, Access Bank partnered with the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa to deliver malaria prevention, control and treatment program amidst COVID-19 in five communities across Oyo, Lagos and Ogun states, namely Ogo-Oluwa, Eredo, and Iberekodo in Lagos State; Aremo and Oke-Ado in Oyo State; and Ibafo in Ogun State.

Long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) were distributed to members of these communities. They were also provided information, communication and education materials. This initiative had over 200,000 IEC beneficiaries and 1,600 LLINS were distributed.

Community Program on Tuberculosis Awareness

Nigeria has a high burden of tuberculosis and is ranked seventh among the 30 high TB burden in the world and second in Africa. To reduce the prevalence of tuberculosis and eradicate the stigmatization and ignorance associated with tuberculosis, Access Bank in partnership with Nirvana Initiative implemented a TB program in Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Anambra State. In Muru Village, 200 people were sensitized to TB prevention and 100 sputum cups were distributed. Community.

In Awada, Idemili North LGA, tuberculosis information and education sensitization which reached a population of 10,320 residents (860 children and covereing 14 settlements/zones) was carried out. Thirty-three persons sensitized to TB, seven sputum cups shared, seven sputum sample collected and one person sent for a chest X-ray in a primary healthcare centre in Awada. Twenty-three women of childbearing age were educated on TB, 10 sputum cup shared, one person sent for chest X-ray at Basic PHC, Court Road. TB education town announcement, sensitization and market outreach were conducted at Ogbeumonicha, Onitsha North LGA (covering seven settlements, with a total population of 41,852). Media awareness on TB prevention, control and treatment was done at Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) Awka, and 52,728 people were reached.

World AIDS Day

Access Bank sits on the Board as co-Chair of the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA). NiBUCAA is the voice of the private sector response to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The organization was set up to position the private sector in capitalizing on their unique strengths and proficiencies in HIV program areas and mitigate the impact of viral infection in the workplace and society in general. The Bank partnered with NiBUCAA to commemorate World AIDS Day across several communities in Nigeria. Messages on HIV prevention, HIV counselling, testing and referrals were provided to communities in Lagos State (Badiya, Epe, Ijora, Ikorodu), Ondo State (Ondo town), and in the Federal Capital Territory (Mabushi community). 20,000 information, education and communication materials on HIV and 15,000 condoms were distributed across these communities. 3,164 people were tested for HIV and there were 44 HIV positive cases.

EDUCATION

Scholarship for Special Needs Students

Access Bank promotes inclusive, equitable, quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. Access Bank partnered with the Centre for Youth Studies to award scholarships to special needs students of King’s and Queen’s College undergoing the CYS Life Skills training program. The Centre for Youth Studies (CYS) is a non-governmental organization that employs creative media to disseminate information. The organization primarily uses drama, in print, audio and audio-visual media to disseminate empirically verifiable information on the lifestyles and patterns of behaviour among young people in Nigeria. The Life Skills training program includes character development classes and re-orientation training, communication improvement classes and overcoming inferiority complex training for special needs students.

Soil Conservation Education for Sustainable Farming

The rising impact of climate change on food security makes farmers to struggle with new environmental challenges. This creates a need to promote awareness of sustainability in agriculture and farming practices to ensure food security. To achieve this, Access Bank partnered with Glow Initiative to implement the Soil Conservation Education Program for Sustainable Farming (SCEP-SF). Glow Initiative is a non-governmental organization focused on environmental and economic empowerment programs.

The program, which took place in Enugu State, featured an environmental sustainability awareness tour, a “Young Farmers Connect”, which is an environmental sustainability in farming training program and a tree planting for sustainability exercise, to commemorate the World Day for Soil Conservation. Soil Conservation information, education and communication materials were distributed to
over 800 students, farmers and farmers’ associations.

Digital Learning Content for Mass Literacy Programs

Access Bank partnered with CARE Initiative to birth the project tagged “Development of Digital Learning Contents for Mass Literacy Programs in Ogun State.” CARE (Childhood Advancement Response and Empowerment) Initiative is a non-governmental organization working to promote and protect the rights and welfare of every child including street children. The project is in response to the need to introduce digital teaching and learning into mass literacy programs in Nigeria. There was a train-the-trainer session on digital skills for literacy educators. Participants were drawn from literacy centres operated by government agencies, community associations, faith-based organizations and non-governmental organizations. There was also a stakeholder engagement with the Ogun State Agency for Mass Education on the adoption of digital learning tools into the school curriculum.

Education Without Abuse (EWA) Program

Access Bank, again, partnered with CARE Initiative to birth the Education Without Abuse (EWA) program. The program focused on putting in place a stronger structure for keeping children safe in schools. 600 participants had increased knowledge of child rights, personal responsibilities, and the role of teachers as duty bearers in upholding the rights of every child in schools. Thirty participating schools committed to instituting “Child Rights Protection.”

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Green Social Entrepreneurship Program

Access Bank continues to drive social change, especially through women and youth. The Bank partnered with SME Funds to develop the Green Social Entrepreneurship Program (GSEP), intending to empower women and youth to become ‘Social Entrepreneurs’ whilst driving the use of innovative green cooking technology in Lagos and Ogun states. Towards achieving this goal, a capacity building program on Digital Marketing, Lead Generation and Sales for social entrepreneurs was held. Green hubs were also created as well as tactics for making the delivery of the energy finance program better.

The program focused on empowering entrepreneurs with clean cooking stove technology aimed at replacing existing cooking technologies that are harmful to health and the environment. The Clean Stove technology makes it economically feasible to convert waste-based biomass to biofuel. The technology makes use of bio gels. The bio gels are made from water hyacinth, biocremol, custic soda, fragrance, and chlorophyll. The Green Social Entrepreneurship program aligns with the following Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs 1, 2, 5, 7 and 13.

Specifically, 238 social entrepreneurs were empowered with funds and have commenced their clean stove technology business. 2,100 people have been reached with the use of clean stove technology. 7,500 litres of bio-gel produced and distributed. 598 households now make use of the clean stove technologies across Nigeria. 287 metric tonnes of CO2 emission was prevented as a result of the use of the clean stove technology.

Agribusiness Livelihood Improvement Program

Access Bank partnered with Xploit Consult to implement agribusiness livelihoods improvement programs. This program was to strengthen food security in benefitting communities and alleviate poverty. Xploits Consulting Limited (XCL) is an Environmental and Social management organization focused on sustainable projects that enhance the socio-economic state of individuals but also benefit the environment in the interim and long-term. Under the program, 56 people in communities in Kogi and Nassarawa states were trained on snail rearing and fish farming, while 224 community people were impacted with agribusiness skills.

EMPOWERMENT

World Wild Life Champions

Local communities have habitats that are home to important wildlife species. However, the people of the communities may not know this and proceed to kill wildlife once sighted. To build knowledge, positive attitude and practices towards wildlife conservation amongst local community dwellers, and also to institute conservation clubs in schools to sensitize youths and advocate actions for effective wildlife conservation, Access Bank partnered with Glow Initiative for Economic Empowerment to implement the Save Wild Life program in Enugu State.

The program was held across four communities in Enugu State, which include Orieani Amechi, Udeji Amechi, Enugu Ngwo and Garriki Awkunanaw. A Save Wild Life in Enugu policy brief was developed and presented to government stakeholders: Commissioner for Agriculture and National Resources, Enugu State. 250 hunters and farmers were educated on “Making Conservation a Habit’’ at Ngwo Community. 280 community secondary school students were educated on “Save Wild Life’’ in Enugu and Conservation clubs were instituted in schools across four communities. There was also a strategic discussion held with the Ministry of Environment to promote a wildlife protection law. Over 2,000 people were impacted by the Save Wildlife Program.

#FollowDisACT Campaign

The International Day of Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) is observed to promote the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities to take action for the inclusion of PWDs in all aspect of development. Access Bank partnered with Project Enable to commemorate the 2020 PLWD Day, themed “Building Back Better: Towards a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post- COVID-19 world.”

The program was to showcase the ideas, businesses and productivity of the disability community in Nigeria towards amplifying their voices and strengthening the institutional capacity of the community. Part of the event was a business pitch competition for PLWDS to showcase and support the business ideas of young entrepreneurs; the launch of Business Support Program faculty chaired by Head Sustainability, Access Bank, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan and the General Manager of the Lagos States Office for Disability Affairs, Mr. Dare Dairo; and the unveiling of most inspiring persons with disabilities list and documentary series as part of the #FollowDisACT Campaign.

Covid-19 Response

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the health, economic and social wellbeing of the world with communities in developing nations and vulnerable groups taking the worst hit. To show our commitment to society, especially in communities where we carry out our operations, we supported vulnerable and underserved groups to help alleviate the impacts of the pandemic.

In Nigeria and across the world, governments are implementing strategic measures to reduce and mitigate the risk and spread of COVID-19, one of which is the stay-at-home practice, which resulted in the closure of schools, offices and trading centres amongst others.

Succour For People Living With Sickle Cell

In partnership with Temitayo Help Foundation and Nirvana Initiative, both non-governmental organizations, Access Bank reached out to people living with Sickle Cell Anaemia and vulnerable families in the society amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Food items and relief materials were distributed to people living with sickle cell disease. There were also sensitization sessions on COVID-19 prevention, maintaining good health, and physical and mental wellbeing, amidst the pandemic. In total, 2,000 people, inclusive of vulnerable families, were reached with COVID-19 food palliatives.

Community Health Providers Empowerment

The 2020 World Health Day (WHD) was focused on celebrating healthcare workers especially nurses and midwives across the globe for the precarious role they play in ensuring the safety of newborns and the world at large. Around the world, people spent the day thanking the nurses and healthcare workers on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 pandemic. At Access Bank, in recognition of the contributions of community birth attendants and healthcare providers in semi-urban and rural communities towards managing the coronavirus pandemic, we partnered with HACEY Health Initiative, an NGO focused on maternal and child health as well as other health-related programs, to commemorate the 2020 WHD across four communities in Lagos and Ogun States. 5,000 information, education and communication (IEC) materials were distributed to community birth attendants, pregnant women, and women with under- 5 children. The initiative had 500 beneficiaries of hygiene materials and 500 beneficiaries of food palliatives.

Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs)

Persons living with disabilities are a major vulnerable group adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These individuals generally require more healthcare than other people and will be greatly affected by the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. Access Bank, to reduce the economic burden of the COVID-19 outbreak on PLWDs, partnered with Estrategico, an organization focused on creating means of livelihood for vulnerable groups, to deliver a COVID-19 Campaign program for PLWDs. Food palliatives, hygiene products and IEC materials were distributed among the PLWDs community.

Relief Program for Correctional Centers

Access Bank partnered with the Centre For Youth Studies (CYS) and Nigeria Association of Social Workers, Lagos Chapter to deliver a COVID-19 program geared towards the development and sustenance of young boys and girls in correctional centres in Lagos. The program was held at the Special Correctional Centre for Boys, Oregun, Lagos and Special Correctional Centre for Girls, Idi-Araba, Lagos. A life skills training program was designed to equip the young boys and girls with skills that build character and to help them maintain healthy mental wellbeing. Food palliatives, exercise books and CYS life skills
books were distributed to 196 beneficiaries in the Special Correctional Centre for Boys and 70 beneficiaries for the Special Correctional Centre for Girls. Boys and girls were sensitized on the subjects ‘Love Your Self’ and on the ‘Role of a Social Worker’ in the rehabilitation of students in the correctional facilities.

Street Children and Children In Orphanages

Access Bank partnered with Care Initiative to birth the “School in the Street” COVID-19 response program. The program was implemented across Lagos and Ogun states and was to provide additional support for street children and children in orphanages to keep them safe amidst the coronavirus pandemic. For two weeks, one meal a day and hygiene materials were provided for 700 street children. Raw food items and hygiene materials were also provided for 300 children in orphanages.

Relief Program For Elderly And Widows

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Access Bank partnered with PDI to organize a relief drive for elderly people and vulnerable widows. Raw food items, hygiene products and IEC materials were distributed to 500 widows and elderlies to help improve their living and mental conditions.

Response For Rural Women

Access Bank partnered with Glow Initiative to organize the Rural Women Coronavirus Awareness Initiative. The initiative focused on raising awareness on coronavirus amongst rural women in Awkunanaw rural village, Enugu State. COVID-19 ICE materials in the Igbo language were distributed to 500 women. Relief food palliative and face masks were distributed to 100 women.

Succour For Community of Vulnerable People

Access Bank in collaboration with Xploit Consult implemented programs aimed at driving positive change in the lives of vulnerable groups, which include widows, orphans, internally displaced persons (IDPs), elderlies and People Living With Disabilities, amidst COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in communities across Abuja.

The program was implemented across five communities which include Dawaki, Dutse Alhaji, Dutse Makaranta, Dutse Bakuma, and Byazhin. 500 packs of food palliatives were distributed across five communities in Abuja (100 food packs each for widows, orphans, IDPs, elderlies and the disabled in each of the five communities) and 1,000 face masks were also distributed in the communities.

Access-9ija Kids

The stay-at-home order by various governments across the world including Nigeria was a strategic measure to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. However, this meant the closure of schools, offices and other commercial centres. School closure left children at home with few educational activities to do. To keep children at home engaged and educated, Access Bank partnered with 9iJa Kids to deliver online financial literacy and educational gamification modules to children.

The program delivered six gamified educational learning modules which were hosted on the Access Bank website over aperiod of 12 weeks. The modules included “Kiddiepreneur 101”, “Solve that Problem”, “Who wants to be a Brainiac”, “Nigerian Facts”, “Timmy in Charge” and “9ija Citizenship Test”. The top five players on the leaderboard stood a chance to win exciting prizes and the winners were announced three times a week on the Bank’s social media platforms. Prizes were redeemed through the Access Bank Early Savers account, further encouraging an early savings culture among children.

The program engaged over 1,700 children, and more than 150 children won prizes via the Access Bank Early Savers account. These children were also recognized on the Access Bank social media platform. The program impacted over 100,000 Nigerian children and parents with financial literacy education and had become a worthy example to emulate by other organizations in Nigeria.

Family Clean Cooking Program for Underprivileged Households

Access Bank partnered with SME Funds, a social enterprise focused on ending poverty through the promotion of sustainable enterprise development, to develop the Family Clean Cooking Support Program for underprivileged households across Nigeria amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 2,000 families were reached across Nigeria with clean stoves and bio-gels. 225,000 minutes of productive time, 625 gallons of water and 30 days savings of N1,300/ $3 was saved for families.

Act Foundation Grantee Program

Access Bank has been in partnership with the Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation to accelerate impact in the focus areas of environment, health, entrepreneurship and leadership, since 2017.
In the reporting period, projects were implemented across 27 states in Nigeria and three countries in Africa. 17 non-governmental organizations received grants in the areas of environment, health, entrepreneurship and leadership. The targeted number of beneficiaries impacted was about 304,760 lives.

Since the inception of this partnership with the Foundation, about 990,265 individuals have been impacted both directly and indirectly.

The ACT Foundation also supported the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) and made strategic plans for the grant received from Novartis Nigeria for the implementation of ACT Foundation’s quota in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

All4One Community Project

The EndSARS is a decentralised social movement against police brutality in Nigeria. The slogan calls for an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigeria Police Force with a long record of abuses. In 2017, protests started as a campaign on Twitter – with hashtag #EndSARS – demanding that the Nigerian government disbands the police unit. The movement experienced a revitalization in October 2020, with mass demonstrations across major cities in Nigeria. Within a few days of renewed protests, the Nigeria Police Force announced it was dissolving SARS on Sunday, 11 October 2020, a move that was widely received as a triumph of the protests.

However, the hijacking of the protest led to the loss of lives, and destruction of properties and facilities. Access Bank, as a responsible corporate citizen, initiated the All4One Project. The focus of the All4One project is to help local communities to bounce back from the negative impact of the protest. In addition, the All4One project is aimed at impacting lives and businesses positively, rebuilding communities and reviving communal spirit amongst Nigerians.

The All4One project provided grants for individuals and microbusinesses that have been impacted negatively by the EndSARS protest. The grant program has a two-pronged focus: individuals (indigents individuals, students, unemployed individuals) and microbusinesses (market women, caterers, photographers, barbers, hairdressers and artisans). In 2020, 51 businesses were impacted with grants under the All4One community grants.

Employee Volunteering Activities in Communities

Employee volunteering is an innovative way for organizations to get their employees to be actively involved in their contribution to the communities within which they operate. Over the years, Access Bank has encouraged its employees to carry out various activities under its Employee Volunteering Scheme, where employees are provided with guidance and advice on the best avenues through which communities can be impacted in various focus areas. Through this initiative, Access Bank’s employees have contributed ideas, skills and resources to address social, environmental and economic issues, while being positive role models to the people they engage in the communities.

2020 was no different as all our employees across different units of the bank carried out 514 strategic community initiatives across all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria while volunteering a total of 2,781,443 hours since 2015. This further expressed their passion and commitment to community investment as reflected in their choice of projects carried out. Some of the notable initiatives from the 2020 Employee Volunteering Scheme are discussed below.

Conduct and Compliance

The Conduct & Compliance Group committed 2,500 hours and worked closely with Lagos State Government agencies, including the Lagos State Ministry of Education (Education Quality Assurance Department, and Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB)), and the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, to carry out a holistic renovation of St. Peter Nursery/Primary School, Ebute-Metta, Lagos State.

The group renovated the school buildings and enhanced the infrastructure of the school, including the complete transformation of old chalkboards to marker boards. This project helped to support the provision of quality education to about 500 otherwise displaced pupils and a conducive working environment for their teachers and non-teaching staff.

Internal Audit

The Internal Audit Group committed 2,118 hours towards improving the learning environment for students in Akodu Primary School Mushin, Lagos. This was carried out by working closely with the Community Chief and Chairman of the Mushin Community Development Association and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). The Group carried out a holistic renovation of classroom blocks in the school, including the roofing of three classrooms. This project had a direct benefit for over 500 people by providing a conducive learning environment and enhancing the academic performance of the children.

Information & Cyber Security

The Information & Cyber Security Group committed 794 hours towards the ‘Kit A Child Initiative’, a project focused on providing teaching and learning materials, supporting quality education, and building literacy skills of pupils. The project also enables pupils to develop their cognitive, social and creative skills, while building the capacity of teachers and caregivers and ensuring that pupils have a fulfilling and enjoyable experience while getting educated. This project was carried out at All Saints Primary School, Lagos and the Group partnered with Rhealyz Africa to distribute health and safety materials, learning materials and stationery, school bags and other supplies to over 150 pupils in the school.

Human Resources & Executive Office

The Human Resources Group and the Executive Office committed over 1,821 hours to cater to the education of underprivileged children. This project benefitted over 800 children across Nigeria and was carried out in partnership with Bethesda Child Support Agency, and it focused on the mentoring of children, provision of educational materials and scholarships for underprivileged children, as well as the provision of feeding (1 meal per child, per day) and other essentials.

Global Transaction Banking

The Global Transaction Banking Group committed over 250 hours to the installation of renewable energy solutions – quality solar power systems – at the Orile- Agege Primary Health Centre. The project was aimed at easing the effect of disrupted power supply on public health centres, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will benefit 20,000 people over time.

Women in the Workplace

Access Women Network (AWN)

The Access Women Network was formed to support, develop, promote and retain female employees in the bank. Since the signing of the Female Network Charter in 2010, there has been a positive trend in female representation in the bank. In 2020, the bank’s workforce was 53% women strong. This is a clear indication that Access Bank is performing above the industry average and as stipulated by the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles, 30% of the Bank’s senior roles are also occupied by women.

The AWN encourages female representation/inclusion across all cadres of the bank. The Network provides a support network especially to all female employees, ensuring gender equality through policies such as the Human Rights Policy (against harassment), paternity leave, six months’ maternity leave, as well as mentoring and leadership programmes. In 2020, Access Women Network increased its efforts to ensure that women across the Group were positively impacted in one way or the other, especially with a focus on minimizing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown in
most areas of our operations. Some of the initiatives of AWN in 2020 include:o AWN Toastmasters, which continued at various times throughout the year.

Project “Make a Family Happy” raised funds to feed 500 families in June.

AWN webinar, titled, “The Future Is Female, Are You Ready?”, held on July 29. The main speaker was Audrey Mothupi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Systemic Logic Group.

AWN Webinar, titled, “Making Your Money Work for You”, held on September 11. The keynote speaker at this event was James Maduekeh, and the panellists were Ifueko Oduekun, Dharmit Cumar, Franklin Ayensu-Nyarko, and Oluseun Onasoga.

Free Breast Cancer Screening for AWN members held in October at selected locations.

Zaron Virtual Experience with AWN, a free online makeup training, held on November 21.

The annual Orange Lecture held on November 25, themed, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”. Speakers at this session included Justice Olubunmi Fadipe, Judge, Lagos State High Court Division; Ini Abasi-Leye, Mental Health Therapist and GBV Survivor; and the Bank’s Njideka Esomeju, Head of Personal Banking Division.

Respond, Prevent, Collect!’. Speakers at this session include Justice Olubunmi Fadipe, Judge, Lagos State High Court Division, Ini Abasi-Leye, Mental Health Therapist and GBV Survivor and the Bank’s Njideka Esomeju, Head of Personal Banking Division.

Women in the Marketplace

The W Initiative

The W Initiative is the bank’s women’s market program and has inspired, connected, and empowered women in Africa for over 14 years. The initiative has a strong presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, and Zambia with an array of offerings tailored to meet the diverse career, business and lifestyle needs of over 16 million female customers of all life and economic stages.

Following the 2020 digital transformation strategy for the bank, the ‘W’ branded debit card was introduced to provide exclusive and convenient banking for female customers. This led to a 65% increase in debit card adoption by female customers and contributed to generating over N102 billion ($255 million) in deposit mobilization.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual desk ‘W Cares’ was introduced to manage gender- focused complaints and inquiries. Through our eco-system management unit, we also created a USSD option to automate collections for Faith-Based Organizations during the nationwide lockdown.

To help facilitate women’s access to discounted finance, we stimulated economic expansion by partnering with Enterprise Sustainability Group (ESG) to simplify the loan application process and tracking for women in business. This resulted in over N8 billion ($20 million) debt financing investment in over 1,700 women- owned enterprises and N18.8 billion ($47 million) growth in lending to 750,000 female individuals.

To drive awareness and uptake of products, several product-based campaigns were organized within the year. These campaigns were conducted virtually, leveraging social media as a major communication tool. Some of these campaigns include the W Power Loan campaign, MHSS campaign, channels adoption campaign etc. Some of the flagship programs, activities, and initiatives under the W Initiative in 2020 include:

Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa

The Womenpreneur Pitch-a-thon recorded 39,982 applications from eight African countries, provided business capacity building for 50 female entrepreneurs through a Mini MBA from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and produced five grant winners winning a total of N9.25 million ($23,000.00).

W Webinar series

The W Webinar series is a capacity-building initiative under the W Academy introduced in response to the restriction of physical engagements due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 17 webinars were organized by the W initiative with over 6,500 registered participants from across 32 countries and four continents.

W Health Month

To commemorate W Health Month, we provided free breast and cervical cancer screening as well as consultation for 300 women across Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.

Women-focused partnerships, alliances and subsidiary engagements

In 2020, we forged new strategic alliances with local and international organizations such as Nigerian Governors Wives Forum, Mastercard Foundation, FMO, She Trades Invest, etc. These partnerships facilitated a global recognition for Access Bank, as “Bank of the Year” under the Non-financial Services category by the Financial Alliance for Women.

The W initiative was also launched in new African markets in 2020: Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Mozambique, and The Gambia.

Looking to the next financial year, the W Initiative is committed to sustaining the provision of suitable financial and non-financial services that will enhance the lives of women across all life stages and increase their participation in the global economy.

Women in the Community

End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genital. FGM is a violation of human rights and poses a risk to the lives and health of women and girls. Nigeria accounts for 10% of global cases with Osun state having the highest prevalence of circumcised women in the country (77%), closely followed by Ebonyi (74%) and Ekiti (72%) states.

In a bid to eradicate this harmful practice, Access Bank partnered with HACEY Health Initiative to commemorate the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM. The program was held across Osun, Oyo, and Ekiti states on February 6th, 2020. Traditional leaders as well as government and community leaders were engaged in dialogue sessions to advocate for the abandonment of FGM practices in their communities.

Over 2,000 young girls, CBOs, traditional rulers and policymakers participated in the programs across the three states. About 500,000 Nigerians were reached with online information, education and communication materials.

International Women’s Day

Gender bias in Nigeria is not only stifling the growth of women but also constraining the country’s ability to reach its potential. It has been proven that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could grow by 23% or $229 billion by 2025 if women are allowed to participate in the economy to the same extent as men.

In a bid to accelerate the participation of women and girls in economic development, Access Bank partnered with Xploit Consult, an organization that is focused on the furtherance of the SDGs, to commemorate the 2020 International Women’s Day, themed, “Each for Equal”. The program was themed ‘Women and Girls in Nigeria: Increasing Participation in Mainstream Development.’ It attracted key stakeholders in the gender and education spaces, including Mrs. Jokotola Akoni, Deputy Director, Department of Archives, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA); Mrs. Rashida Apakhade, Deputy Director, Head Gender, Education Secretariat, FCTA; Mrs. Stella Uzochukwu Denis, Entrepreneur/Engineer/Robotics Specialist; and Hajia Abdulhameed, Auditor General, FCT Area Councils.

The program, also aimed at creating an action plan towards reducing the gender gap in Nigeria by 2030, featured a workshop and an interactive panel session, which was held in Abuja with female professionals and key stakeholders from all walks of life. There was also an essay competition for female secondary school students with the theme, ‘An Equal World: Fostering Economic Growth Through Equitable Participation’, in which three schools came out tops and were rewarded with cash prizes.

A mentor-mentee platform was also created to match young girls with appropriate female mentors who will guide their career paths. Over 83 participants benefited from the programme, which also provided information on gender equality and women’s rights.

Code4Impact

Access Bank partnered with HACEY Health Initiative for the Code4Impact (C4i) Program, a learning program developed to equip young women with digital and analytical skills to enable them to pursue successful careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The programme is aimed at encouraging more women to confidently choose careers in STEM fields and build digital literacy in web development, game development, mobile app and microelectronics.

The program has been very successful such that it has produced over 10,000 STEM professionals who add and create value to the organizations that they go on to join. It has also inspired the Nigeria Women Techsters program, which has trained an additional 2,000 women and girls across Nigeria.

Back on Track Program

Access Bank Partnered with HACEY Health Initiative for the Back on Track Program, a program focused on empowering disadvantaged young girls and women by providing them with vocational and business skills, as well as information on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The program aimed to empower women and create opportunities for them to live a healthy and productive life, and it was held in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. 200 women were trained in vocational, agriculture business, and life skills, as well as in networking and marketing, business management, and mentoring. These skills enabled the women to set up their businesses in the production of soap and disinfectants.

International Day of the Girl Child

The United Nations General Assembly declared October 11th as the International Day of the Girl Child on 19th December 2011, in recognition of girl’s rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to fulfil the human rights of girls, promote girl empowerment and address the challenges faced by girls around the world.

To commemorate this day in 2020, Access Bank partnered with HACEY Health Initiative, a development organization focused on improving the health and productivity of underserved populations in Africa. The Day was themed “My Voice, Our Equal Future”, and it featured an essay competition for secondary school students, a safe space leadership and health workshop for girls, media awareness on promoting the health and productivity of women and girls in Nigeria, and the establishment of a media lab – the first studio in Nigeria dedicated to amplifying the voice of young girls, training young girls to leverage on digital media tools to amplify their voices. The essay competition had over 1,000 entries and 10 best essay submissions were selected. Of the 10 shortlisted essays, three winners emerged: Miss Teniola Olatunji from Holy Saviour’s College as second runner up, Miss Shobanjo Adeola from Itolo Girls Junior Secondary School as first runner up, and Miss Chijindu Ndubisi from Nigeria Navy Secondary School as the winner. 3,815 young girls were also reached with safe space leadership, health & productivity messages – both online and offline – through workshops, and 30 secondary school visitations.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until December 10th, Human Rights Day. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness on the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. Access Bank partnered with HACEY Health Initiative, a health-focused organization to accelerate programs aimed at ending gender-based violence in Nigeria. The programs for the 16 Days of Activism included: The launch of the End Rape Culture website aimed at promoting messages and stories that encourage survivors to report and increase awareness.

A Kick-out Gender-Based Violence Campaign targeted at game lovers and using the launch of FIFA 21 as a springboard to generate discussions on ending gender-based violence.

Online summits & exhibitions, including a webinar held on challenges and opportunities to leverage innovation and technology to end gender-based violence.

Media rounds aimed at raising awareness on different forms of violence against women and girls’ platforms.

The end rape culture exhibitions had 402 participants, while the end rape culture and gender- based violence webinar had 319 participants. The game competition designed to engage young men on ending rape culture directly reached 297 young men, and the whole campaign reached a total of 205,000 people via social media and a feature on Arise TV.

Environmental Stewardship

As an environment conscious bank, Access Bank has embedded environmental sustainability in its sustainability strategy, which is approved by the Board and integrated into its financing decisions. We have constantly demonstrated our commitment to environmental protection through our strong advocacy for environmental conservation and working in partnership with stakeholders to collectively tackle issues concerning our shared environment.

We continued to comply with environmental protection laws and standards in 2020. We are also making conscious efforts to curb our greenhouse gas emissions through initiatives that are directed at reducing our diesel consumption and supplementing power supply with solar power across our various business locations. We maintained and consolidated our efforts towards reducing our water consumption, paper use and waste-to-landfill. The Bank also included environmental impact assessments and audits of prospective projects in our carbon footprint reduction strategy.

Our 2020 environmental performance mirrored the unexpected positive impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the environment as experienced globally. A lot of our consumption indices were drastically lower, compared to those of 2019. We heavily leveraged our travel emission reduction strategy by applying our use of video conferencing to all our work processes as necessitated by the global lockdown and subsequent ‘work-from-home’ mandate. These and other initiatives detailed below ensured that every unit and process of the bank contribute to a low carbon economy.

Sustainable Waste Management

We initiated our sustainable waste management program in 2016 and since then, we have been championing sustainable waste management in our key locations, including our Head Office. The incorporation of recycling has been an integral component of our sustainable waste management program and enables us to significantly reduce the volume of waste that we send to the landfill. Recyclable waste materials such as paper, aluminium cans, plastic, glass, and cartons are sorted from over 80 branches and picked up by our recycle partners, RecyclePoints and ParallelPoint Consult.

To ensure the success of this program, the bank invests in regular training for all cadre of staff to further ingrain the benefits of the program and give the staff a sense of shared responsibility and ownership of the program. We also upgraded the trucks of the recycling partners to maximize their capacity and improve their efficiency in carrying out their function.

We further demonstrated our commitment to sustainable waste management during the 2020 edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, as our recycle partners were present along the marathon route and at the finish line to ensure that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles were picked up and not sent to the landfill. All of these, and more, enabled the bank to carry out its responsibility of protecting the environment through sustainable waste management.

Alternate Energy

The importance of energy cannot be overemphasized and that is why we have invested in alternative sources of energy over the years and as a result:

• 605 of our automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide are solar powered
• 58 branches are powered by hybrid power sources All our bank facilities are lit by LED lights
• The Head Office is fitted with motion-sensitive lights and water-efficient taps

We regularly report, monitor, and evaluate our electricity consumption across all our branches.

These efforts have contributed to reducing our carbon emissions, demonstrating our commitment as an organization to reducing our negative impact on the environment.

Resource Efficiency

We continued to implement processes that help us improve efficiency and limit our impact on the environment. One of such initiatives is our ‘No Paper Initiative’, which helps us to reduce our paper consumption. The following are activities under the initiative:

• Paper Saving Tips
• Automated Memo Approval System on ProcessMaker
• Automated Payment System on Dynamic 365
• Use of Diligent BoardBook – an automated and secured system that has helped to significantly reduce the number of documents printed for Board meetings.

Water Efficiency

As an advocate of water conservation, the Bank installed water-efficient flush systems and taps. We also conduct innovative campaigns and communications using videos and factsheets to keep staff members in constant awareness of the need for water management.

Supply Chain

Access Bank’s suppliers are central to our business as they supply the tools, goods, and services we require to run our operations effectively and seamlessly, as well as meet the needs of other stakeholders. We require our suppliers to deliver high quality products and services, while making positive contributions to the environment and society at large. This is in conformance to the United Nations Global Compact Principles which the bank is subscribed to.

Vendor Selection Process

Our procurement policy is broad-based, covering the various areas the bank operates in and hinges on ensuring that our stakeholders’ concerns are taken into consideration.

We require our vendors to observe high ethical standards, as well as ensuring that they take responsibility as corporate citizens. This is why we structured our procurement framework to ensure that we carry out extended due diligence in co-ordination with the end-users to ensure long term sustainability. Vendors are engaged according to their capacity and categorized to accommodate vendors of various economic strengths.

All our vendors are assessed based on the following criteria:

i. Quality of goods/services ii. Geographical coverage iii. Track record iv. Price competitiveness v. Problem resolution vi. Referrals from other institutions vii. Timeliness of service delivery viii. Risk assessment ix. Business sustainability

Local Sourcing

We recognize the complexities associated with sourcing, such as carbon emissions, violation of human rights, and potential biodiversity loss. This is why we encourage our suppliers to source goods from trustworthy sources closest to the bank as this not only helps us eliminate the aforementioned risks, but also ensures the growth of the local economy and provides an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

In 2020, we spent about N197 billion engaging over 100 suppliers across all geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

On September 30, 2020, Access Bank was presented with the certificate for achieving the highest level of sustainability certification under the Sustainability Standards and Certitification Initiative (SSCI) program of the European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD) during the Sustainability Certification ceremony at the World Development Finance Forum (WDFF) in Karlsruhe, Germany. This makes Access Bank the first commercial bank in Africa to achieve this certification.

In recognition of our strategic collaborations and efforts in promoting sustainable development in Africa and the world, we have received numerous awards from prestigious awarding bodies, both local and international. Some of our most notable recognitions received during the year 2020 include:

Independent Limited Assurance Statement to the Board and Management of Access Bank Plc

CSR-in-Action Consulting (“CSR-in-Action, we, our,’’) was engaged by Access Bank Plc (“Access Bank”) to conduct limited assurance over its 2020 Sustainability Report, for the financial year ended 31 December 2020, in accordance with AA1000AS AccountAbility Principles (2008).

Scope of Work

We have provided independent limited assurance, in accordance with a Type 2, Moderate Level Assurance of the AA1000 Accountability Standards. The scope of the assurance is strictly limited to the contents of the 2020 Report. During our engagement, we assessed relevant data and activities, as well as assertions made in the Report in relation to actual performance within the reporting time frame: 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.
The basis for this assurance engagement, as agreed with Access Bank Plc (‘Access Bank’), was delimited to the following:

AA1000 AccountAbility Principles

The process used in arriving at this assurance statement is based on AA1000 AccountAbility’s Principles of Inclusivity, Materiality, Responsiveness, and Impact

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards Application

This is based on Access Bank’s assertion that the Report is scripted with reference to the GRI Standards Sustainability Reporting framework.

Organisational Content

The review of the contents of the Report in relation to Access Bank’s organisational targets and ambitions and systems of quality control, including documented policy and procedures relating to compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements

CSR-in-Action planned and conducted the assurance engagement in a participatory manner to allow for the receipt of sufficient and appropriate assurance evidence for its conclusion. Subject to the limitations and exclusions of this Report, our review included:

• Statements, information and performance data contained within Access Bank’s 2020 Sustainability Report;
• Access Bank’s management approach to material issues; and
• Alignment of the reported data and information to the requirement of the GRI Standards.

Our Work

For the independent assurance, the scope of our work necessitated the engagement of our multi-disciplinary team of sustainability and assurance consultants. We concentrated our verification efforts on the issues of high material relevance to Access Bank and its stakeholders. Furthermore, to arrive at our conclusions, we investigated the systems, structures and processes through information contained in the Report, interviews and a review of supporting documents. We, specifically:

• examined relevant activities undertaken at Access Bank over the reporting period of 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020;
• examined Access Bank’s stated approach to stakeholder engagement, although we had no direct engagement with stakeholders;
• examined information provided to us by Access Bank on its reporting and management processes relating to the Principles;
• Interviewed key managerial staff, including the heads and/or representatives of the Sustainability, Health Safety Security and Environment, Environmental and Social Risk Management, Compliance and Internal Control, Internal Audit, Customer Experience, Brand Management, Human Resources, Marketing Communications, and General Resource Management and Procurement departments
• examined the following information in supporting documents: community initiatives sustainability strategy, stakeholder surveys, reports to management, HSSE policy, customer safety plan, governance framework, whistle blowing policy, environmental and social risk management policy, employee satisfaction survey procurement pol icy, HR policy, evidence of GHG emissions reduction, updated emergency procedures, evidence of staff training for fire marshals and health champions,
• examined the processes for gathering and consolidating the specified performance data; and,
• conducted an independent assessment of Access Bank’s reporting against the GRI Standards.

During the assurance process, we did not come across limitations to the scope of the agreed assurance engagement. No external stakeholders were interviewed as part of this assurance engagement. Our work was planned to obtain all the information and explanations that were needed within the organisation to provide a basis for our assurance conclusions.

Inherent limitations

Inherent limitations exist in all assurance engagements, particularly in Type 2, Moderate Level Assurance, due to the selective enquiry of the information being examined. We conducted our work to express a limited assurance opinion and conclusion. Our assurance relies on the premise that the data and information provided to us by Access Bank have been provided in good faith and is dependent on the accuracy of
data collection and monitoring arrangements of the company. Our assessment is restricted to reviewing only the plausibility of internal records, as well as interviews with management staff responsible for the provision of material data, such that the risk of our conclusion being in error is reduced, but not zero.

Respective responsibilities

The preparation and presentation of the selected information in the Sustainability Report is the soleresponsibility of the management of Access Bank. Our primary responsibility was to conduct an audit of the Report and independently express conclusions on the subject matter as defined within the scope of work above and in accordance with our terms of engagement.

CSR-in-Action’s Independence and Competence

CSR-in-Action Consulting is a foremost sustainability consultancy in Africa, with the authority to assure sustainability processes using AccountAbility’s AA1000AS certification. For the sixth year, we are providing assurance services to Access Bank, and have assured reports for other leading organisations. CSR-in-Action is certified by the Global Reporting Initiative as the only training partner in Nigeria and is a Gold Community Member. The Company has a branch in Canada to entrench the principles of governance in businesses and to further African-Canadian transcontinental business. Our Chief Executive sits on the Board of the GRI, becoming the first from out of West Africa. The CSR-in-Action Group is widely recognised as having high levels of proficiency in sustainability consulting – environment, social (gender and human rights) and economic-impact assessment, sustainability strategy, reporting and stakeholder engagement; skills resident within the members of the Assurance Team.

Our Observations

Our observations and recommendations are provided in a separate report to Access Bank’s management team; only select observations are provided below. These observations do not affect our conclusions. Our key observations based on the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles are that:

Inclusivity

Access Bank’s business operations and processes demonstrate active engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Evidence from our engagement with Access Bank reveals that, the processes for engagement has been handled by a unit of the business and have identified and are responding to the significant sustainability concerns of its customers, employees, shareholders and investors, customers, host communities, regulatory bodies, media, and suppliers, which has afforded Access Bank valuable insights into the development of its strategies.

Materiality

Access Bank has developed its materiality process to reflect on topics that are relevant to the Bank and its stakeholders. Topics like economic presence, occupational safety and health, community investments, human rights and market presence ranked highest on its materiality matrix and the Report provides sufficient information on how these topics have been prioritised and addressed.

Responsiveness

Access Bank has included appropriate explanations on how it has responded to its stakeholder needs and concerns. Available evidence shows that the issues raised during stakeholder engagements are being addressed by the different functions assigned to manage the different stakeholder groups.

Impact

Access Bank has established processes that are annually reviewed to understand, measure, evaluate and manage its impacts, and has disclosed the impacts in its 2020 Sustainability Report. In our professional opinion, Access Bank adheres to the Principle of Impact

Our Recommendations

Financial institutions are complex and highly regulated entities. The intricacy of operations would mean that Access Bank must make concerted effort to ensure compliance at all levels. It is on this basis that we recommend that Access Bank carries out tailored engagement processes for each department to identify their unique challenges, while maintaining its unified approach for engaging internal and external stakeholders for identifying material issues.

Timeliness of information is also a key principle of the GRI and other leading standards, and the report is recommended to be concluded within the first quarter of the next year.

Our Conclusion

Based on our procedures, the work we have undertaken, and the evidence obtained, we can reasonably conclude that the Report has been written in the spirit of the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles of Inclusivity, Materiality, Responsiveness and Impact as set out in the AA1000 Accountability Principles Standard (APS) (2008).

As a way of adding value to our Sustainability Report and the reporting process, while disclosing and being accountable to our internal and external stakeholders on an on-going basis, Access Bank Plc welcomes feedback from all our stakeholders in respect of the content of this report and additional information of interest to the stakeholders assumed to be material. The information received would be functional in mapping out other areas for disclosure hence providing a balanced and reasonable representation of the sustainability performance of Access Bank Plc.

We are interested in hearing what our stakeholders think about our sustainability performance and reporting efforts – and how we can improve both. Please email your thoughts and suggestions to:

Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan

Head, Sustainability

Access Bank Plc

14/15, Prince Alaba Abiodun, Oniru Road,
Victoria Island,
Lagos, Nigeria.

E: Omobolanle.Victor- Laniyan@accessbankplc.com
E: Sustainability@accessbankplc.com
W: www.accessbankplc.com