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It was a great spectacle to behold as the Christmas and Yuletide season came to life at the2022 Zenith Bank Christmas Light-Up Ceremony, which was held at the Ajose AdeogunStreet Roundabout, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Saturday, November 19, 2022. The officiallighting ceremony, which was performed by the Group Managing Director/CEO of ZenithBank Plc, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, supported by Executive Management, was witnessedby many of the bank’s staff and customers, with others joining virtually.With the theme “Let There Be Light”, this year marks the 16th edition of the Light-upCeremony at the Ajose Adeogun Roundabout. The Light-Up event is an annual CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) initiative by the bank to herald the yuletide season through thebeautification of Ajose Adeogun Street – home to Zenith Bank’s Corporate Headquarters –which has come to be recognised as an iconic place, attracting people from all walks of lifewho visit with their families and friends to take pictures and make videos of the wonderfulspectacle, especially at night and enjoy the ambience of the street and season.Speaking during the ceremony, Onyeagwu expressed his delight in heralding the yuletideseason of 2022 through the iconic Ajose Adeogun Street lighting up. In his words, “today isa unique day. It is unique in the sense that we are going to turn on the Christmas light andactivate the spirit of Christmas, which we usually have annually. It is also unique in thesense that we are honoured and delighted to have in our midst the wife of our Founder andChairman, Mrs. Kay Ovia”.He praised Quantum Markets, the company responsible for the annual decorations, for theoutstanding, very creative and extremely beautiful work that they have done. According tohim, “when you look at the Christmas set-up we have every year, it looks completelydifferent, and there is no repetition of themes. And when we think we have seen it all, by thetime a new one comes, it is something completely different and massively so. The one forthis year, as I entered here, I was wondering if this is a theme park”.Whilst urging everyone to imbibe the message and spirit of Christmas, which is aboutpeace, love, forgiveness and above all, respect for humanity, Onyeagwu prayed for peacein every home, business and in the country and that this year’s celebration would be like noother that we have seen.
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Zenith Bank has clearly distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry as aninstitution committed to building a more sustainable and inclusive economy and promotingresponsible business practices in Nigeria through integrating sustainability principles in itsbusiness operations.The bank’s sustainability and CSR initiatives are hinged on the belief that today’s businessperformance is not all about the financial numbers – the bank believes that an institution’ssocial investments, contributions to inclusive economic growth and development as well asimprovements in the condition of the physical environment, all constitute a balancedscorecard.Through its CSR initiatives, Zenith Bank has embodied the overarching objective of the 17Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a framework for addressing themajor challenges confronting society. Its social investments are targeted at health,education, women and youth empowerment, sports development and public infrastructureenhancement. Overall, Zenith Bank’s total CSR investment in 2021 was NGN4.37 billion,representing 1.79% of its Profit After Tax (PAT) and 33.1% increase from 2020.The bank remains committed to furthering the economic, cultural and social development ofhost communities, particularly through community-based initiatives and philanthropy. As agood corporate citizen, it continues to deliver projects that have long-term social andeconomic benefits for the communities because it believes that its business is only asstrong as the communities in which it operates.To demonstrate its commitment to creating and expanding opportunities, the bank regularlymakes donations towards setting up ultramodern ICT centres in several educationalinstitutions and cities across the country. It also supports various developmental projects,and healthcare delivery causes in Nigeria and contributes to the development of sports inNigeria through its sponsorship of the Zenith Women Basketball League and the ZenithBank Delta State Principal’s and Headmaster’s Football Competitions, amongst others.In recognition of its contributions and social investments to its host communities and thesociety at large, the bank was recognised at the Sustainability, Enterprise, andResponsibility (SERAS) Awards 2021 as the “Most Responsible Organisation in Africa”