Access Bank Plc has given its customers N5.5 billion as rewards under its DiamondXtra reward scheme, a special savings campaign.

Onyekachi John, a businessman and nine others, emerged winners at the May monthly draw of the DiamondXtra Season 11 reward scheme.

DiamondXtra is an interest-yielding hybrid account which allows deposit of both cash and third party cheques. Hybrid means a combination of both savings and current account features. The DiamondXtra reward scheme was launched in 2008.

Head, Consumer Liability Products, Access Bank Plc, Osita Ede explained that the DiamondXtra reward scheme is open to new and existing customers and all a customer needs to do is to visit the nearest Access Bank branch, open a DiamondXtra account and fund it with N5,000.

According to him, the more multiples of N5,000 a customer saves, the higher the chances of winning.

He said the monthly draws, which are scheduled to hold across the six geopolitical zones this season, reaffirms Access Bank’s commitment to financially empower more Nigerians.

Product Manager, DiamondXtra, Access Bank Plc, Chukwuma Agu, noted that the inspiration behind the reward scheme was to encourage customers and Nigerians to save and also get rewarded for saving.

“This is the 11th year of the DiamondXtra reward scheme and we have rewarded over 4,950 customers with N5.5 billion. DiamondXtra is bigger and better now which is why this edition is tagged “Bigger and Better” so we hope to have bigger wins and better the lives of our customers,” Agu said.

Speaking after receiving his prize, John told reporters that he had been a customer of Access Bank for years and had never knew he would emerge winner one day.

“I feel so happy and so excited; I did not even believe I would become a winner in the first place. All I had to do was to top my DiamondXtra savings account which I started with N5000. I want to say a big thank you to Access Bank. As they are stronger and bigger now, I will also encourage other Nigerians to partake in this initiative because whatever they say they will do, they end up making their customers happy,” John said.

Meanwhile, Access Bank has launched a training programme to train female entrepreneurs across Nigeria. The bank, in partnership with She Leads Africa, has concluded the first phase of #SheMeansBusiness, a Facebook programme aimed at empowering female small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on how to leverage digital platforms to drive growth in their businesses.

The training, aimed at scaling up the skills of small business owners to take advantage of the captive market on social media platforms in Nigeria and beyond, kicked off in June and has held in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu and Ibadan with over 500 women business owners in attendance.

Addressing reporters in Abuja during the start of the training series, Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank Plc, Victor Etuokwu, noted that as one of the fastest growing retail banks in Nigeria, Access Bank is always at the forefront of leveraging technology to drive emerging businesses.

According to him, the idea behind the partnership and empowerment programme is to give SME customers an opportunity to expand their access to market and increase their visibility to potential customers.

“There are over two billion people on Facebook globally and over 65 billion WhatsApp messages exchanged globally on a daily basis. With the right knowledge, our customers can showcase their products to large audiences as well as get leads that will take their businesses forward,” Etuokwu said.

He added that the bank intends to actualise its promise as the largest retail bank in Africa to provide not just financial services but also non-financial services knowing that when its customers succeed it will trickle down to it.

Regional and Sales Director, Lagos Mainland, Access Bank Plc, Chigozie Onyeocha, pointed out that the bank has strong interest in SMEs as it believes that if SMEs are well supported, the country’s economy will benefit in return.

“We have millions of SME businesses in Nigeria in this category, employing over 60 million Nigerians; for us, we believe if we support the SME sector right, we will have a better economy.  We actually have a division in the bank that caters to women, and we have opportunities that we expose our female customers to. We have loan facilities for women at a low-interest rate, encouraging them to do their businesses right. Our goal is to have more empowered women which we believe will deliver a better economy, “ Onyeocha said.

Digital Marketing Trainer, She Leads Africa, Adeyemi Adedayo said the programme was specifically designed for women to upscale and boost their businesses with focus on how to use Facebook’s family apps, including Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.

“We have since recorded remarkable growth in engaging these women and the results derived from these engagements have been very remarkable. The women have responded well so far, and it is encouraging for the trainers. Access Bank has been great in this collective responsibility with She Leads Africa and Facebook to empower in order to have a robust economy,” Adedayo said.

One of the participants and Chief Oxecutive Officer, Easy Flight Travels, Bolanle Alabi, said she learnt how to market products online by locating her audience and giving them direct information.

“Sometimes when you go on Facebook, you do not give the specific details to be able to attract the required audience, I have learnt how to restructure and how to create the right profile,” Alabi said.

The second phase of the Access Bank, Facebook and She Leads Africa training will continue in Abeokuta on July 17; Jos, July 23, and Benin, July 26.