Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and the Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) have enjoined banks to deepen and prioritise financial inclusion, women’s empowerment and sustained growth through strategic mandates and frameworks, aimed at closing the financial gap and empowering more Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) owners.

Both organisations made this call during a courtesy visit to the newly invested 24th President and Chairman of CIBN’s Council, Dr Dele Alabi, as part of plans to congratulate him on his investiture, while seeking a stronger alliance between both bodies.

The visit followed Dr Alabi’s investiture on Saturday, May 16, 2026, where he unveiled his “IMPACT” Vision, themed “Consolidating Our Local Impact, Enhancing Our Global Relevance.”

The vision rests on six pillars: Inclusion across geographic, gender, and generational lines; Membership growth and quality; Professionalism and ethics; Accountability; Competencies and skills development; Technology, automation, and innovation. Other areas of shared interest include women empowerment, financial inclusion and literacy, as well as MSME clinics, all of which are top on his agenda.

Alabi explained that under him, the institute will be prioritising financial inclusion and women empowerment, because of its realisation that women are often the primary financial managers and caregivers in families. Access to savings, micro-credit, and insurance acts as a safety net during crisis and allows them to significantly improve living conditions.

He added that CIBN would be happy to drive joint knowledge sharing and exchange sessions with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and ACAMB across various platforms. “Educating the public through public awareness programmes, with ACAMB as the rallying point, is central to what we do,” he noted.

To this end, we intend to contribute our quota in supporting banks and financial institutions in driving gender-focused financial inclusion to close the nine per cent gender gap in access to formal financial services.