BoI CEO, Pitan, To Speak At The UN Summit In New York

The Bank of Industry (BoI), Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, will join an international community of leaders from the business, government and civil society at the two-hour UN Global Compact CEO Roundtable to discuss strides and progress towards achieving the Global Goals for a better world by 2030.

The Roundtable, which will hold in New York, will mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and will be attended by the newly appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, with special remarks from United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, H.E. Amina J. Mohammed.

Participants in this Roundtable will consider the theme ‘Closing the Inequality Gap – Human Rights as a Driver for Successful Business’, and discuss the most pressing gaps and most significant opportunities for global business to contribute to greater sustainability and equality throughout the world.

The conversations will centre on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) programme, which addresses key global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace & justice. Globally, labour productivity has increased and unemployment rates have decreased significantly over the past two decades, with the proportion of the world’s workers and their families living below the poverty line on less than US$1.90 per day having declined from 26.9 per cent to 9.2 per cent in 2017.

However, progress has not been distributed evenly throughout the world, and there is still much to be done to create more equal global economic and wider societal conditions.

“The Bank of Industry’s various programmes are hinged on the goal of advancing Human Rights in all of our practices,” said Pitan.

“These goals are strongly aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1: ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. Through job creation, the promotion of enterprises from micros, to Small and medium enterprises, to large industries, businesses and institutions can work together towards the creation of a decent quality of life for all Nigerians and people all over the world.”

BoI plays a significant role in creating enabling business environments for small, medium and large enterprises in Nigeria, and has been rated amongst the highest financial institutions in Nigeria, with long term national ratings by Moody’s (Aa3), Fitch (AA+) and Agusto & Co. (Aa).

In driving economic growth, the Bank’s core focuses include improving the access to finance available to SMEs, growing the sustainable energy industries, and accelerating youth development initiatives.

The UN Global Leaders Summit Roundtable takes place at the UN Headquarters, New York, from 10:30am – 12:30pm Eastern Time, and will incorporate business leaders from around the world including institutions such as ARM Holdings, BLC Bank, Unilever, Mars, Standard Chartered Bank, Total, and others.

The roundtable will be live –streamed to an audience of 300 observers in the South Delegates Lounge.