FirstBank Champions Global Kindness with 2025 Sustainability Week

FirstBank Champions Global Kindness with 2025 Sustainability Week

Lagos, Nigeria – October 26, 2025: FirstBank, West Africa’s premier financial institution and a leader in financial inclusion, has announced the commencement of its 2025 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week, holding from October 27 to November 1, 2025.

Now in its ninth edition, the annual CR&S Week reinforces the Bank’s long-standing commitment to community development, environmental sustainability, and the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Anchored on its signature initiative, “Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness” (SPARK), FirstBank continues to inspire a culture of empathy, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship across its subsidiaries in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ghana, and Senegal, as well as First Pension and First Nominees.

Speaking on the initiative, Olayinka Ijabiyi, Acting Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications at FirstBank, described CR&S Week as “a call to action that reminds us of our shared humanity.”

> “CR&S Week is about showing up for others, being kind, and proving that even the smallest act can make a lasting difference,” Ijabiyi said. “At FirstBank, we believe kindness is a currency that never loses value. Since 2017, our employees have gone the extra mile to support communities and inspire others to do the same through the SPARK movement.”

As part of this year’s activities, FirstBank will plant 20,000 trees in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF)—a milestone that completes the Bank’s pledge to plant 50,000 trees by 2025. The initiative supports Nigeria’s 2060 decarbonisation agenda and builds on the 31,000 trees already planted over the past two years.

In addition, the Bank will partner with Borno and Katsina States to support women living with Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) by providing medical interventions, surgeries, and post-care kits—a reflection of FirstBank’s commitment to SDG 5: Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

Throughout the week, employees across the FirstBank Group will engage in acts of kindness, host SPARK-themed webinars, and conduct school outreach programmes to promote compassion, civility, and social responsibility among younger generations. The week will climax with visits to orphanages, IDP camps, and charitable organisations across Africa and the UK, spreading goodwill and supporting vulnerable groups.

Since its inception in 2017, the CR&S Week has become a global platform for driving positive social change, encouraging both customers and non-customers to participate in initiatives that uplift lives, protect the environment, and promote inclusive development.

With this year’s edition themed around kindness and sustainability, FirstBank continues to strengthen its reputation as a financial institution with a human heart, championing causes that make the world a better place—one act of kindness at a time.