SKYE BANK CELEBRATES 36 MILLIONAIRES AS IT LAUNCHES REACH FOR THE SKYE PHASE 2

One of Nigeria’s leading banks with focus on retail and commercial banking, Skye Bank Plc, has set a record in the history of financial industry savings reward schemes in the country, with the emergence 36 millionaires from its nationwide ‘Reach for the Skye’ Millionaire promo.

In celebration of this landmark achievement, the bank hosted a cross section of the promo-made millionaires at the Protea Hotel, Ikoyi on Thursday, as part of activities marking the successful conclusion of the first phase of the promo. The millionaires were drawn from various parts of the country.

Sharing his experience as a beneficiary of the promo, Mr. Job Abiona Fatunbi, a truck driver who won N1 million in the April draw held at Ikotun, enthusiastically described how his life has been transformed.

Abiona said, “I had no idea that 2016 would be a year of tremendous blessings for me; but thanks to Skye Bank, my dreams of financial freedom finally came true.  Winning a million naira in the promo turned my family’s circumstances around and it has changed my perception about the difficulty involved in saving.”

Abiona’s happiness was echoed by Mr. Bashiru Adeyemi, another winner from the N1 million naira category, who emerged in the May draw at Akure. The pensioner disclosed that his business was on the verge of collapse just before he participated in the promo.

In Bashiru’s words, “I was getting ready to close my business and look for a small job somewhere, just to keep my family fed and clothed. Despite all the challenges we were facing, my spouse insisted that our little savings in Skye Bank should remain untouched and that was how we qualified for the 1 million naira draw.  I put the money back into the business straight away and now, with advice from Skye Bank, we thank God that we are doing well again.”

Activities moved from Protea Hotel to the popular Idumota market in Lagos Island, where a new set of three millionaires were unveiled. Four lucky winners also picked up cheques of N250, 000 each while 10 other Skye Bank customers went home with N100, 000 each.

Speaking on the initiative, the Head, Retail Banking at Skye Bank Plc, Nkolika Okoli disclosed that the scheme was established to increase the flow of funds to support SMEs, accelerate employment generation and development of indigenous entrepreneurship as well as encourage saving culture among Nigerians.

Okoli also announced the commencement of the second edition of the promo in July 2016, encouraging new customers to open a Skye Save Plus account with N2, 000 to qualify for the campaign while existing customers need to fund their accounts with a minimum of N2, 000 on a monthly basis.

According to Okoli, “That we are awarding the 36th millionaire is a significant way of celebrating the transition of the second edition of the initiative. We intend to touch the lives of many more customers, so we encourage both existing and prospective customers to join in the next edition of “Reach for the Skye” millionaire reward scheme.”

Also speaking on the promo, the Executive Director, Commercial and Retail banking, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Sanni Bayo, revealed that the initiative had remained firm despite the challenging economy, adding that the bank was committed to delivering quality innovative services to customers and the financial industry as a whole.

“At Skye Bank, we are convinced that financial institutions can stimulate economic growth through innovative programmes and platforms tailored to provide solutions to the financial challenges of the country’s small businesses. We are proud to say that through its multiplier effect on families and businesses, the first phase of the Reach for the Skye Millionaire Promo has contributed to lifting many Nigerians out of poverty.”

Skye Bank’s Reach for the Skye’ millionaire reward scheme was launched 12 months ago in Kaduna where the first draw took place and the activation has taken place in several states, including, Calabar, Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Sokoto, Enugu, Aba, Onitsha, Abuja and Ondo states.

The initiative was launched as a fulfillment of the bank’s promise to reward its loyal customers for saving and to also encourage savings culture among the Nigerian customers as well as support the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to boost the Nigerian economy.

Since its inception, the scheme has produced 36 millionaires from the category N1, 000, 000; 48 winners from the category of N250, 000 and 120 winners from the category of N100, 000. Several new customers have been awarded instant prizes which include table top fridges, generators, table top gas cookers, mobile phones, blenders and recharge cards at every location to reach out to more people and impact lives.