Seplat Energy Plc, has emerged winner of the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards (SERAS) Africa’s Education Intervention category for 2023.
The award given to Seplat Energy at the SERAS Africa 17th edition held at the weekend at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.
Seplat, a leading Nigerian independent energy company listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange, got the award in recognition of its Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) and strong impacts in its host communities and states, amongst other interventions.
STEP which started in 2020, has provided 905 teachers and 87 Chief Inspectors of Education with digital teaching skills, leadership training, and income diversification; and supported the learning of over 10,000 students with new teaching skills.
The other educational Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of the company are the Seplat Pearl’s Quiz, National Undergraduate Scholarship, and Seplat Innovators programme.
According to the organisers, Seplat Energy educational programmes are in alignment with the sustainable development goals/objectives 4 (SDG 4); ensure access to education of the vulnerable; reduce the number of ‘out of school’ children; and ensure improvement in the quality of education.
The company emerged tops in the category which had Julius Berger, Airtel, Dangote Sugar, Botswana Savings Bank and TotalEnergies.
Speaking on the companies listed for this year’s project, the founder of the awards, Ken Egbas, said: “These companies and dedicated professionals have shown exemplary commitment and leadership in driving sustainability across the continent. We, today, celebrate their impactful contributions. At The SERAS, we recognise the fact that the future for any business lies in the ability to successfully bridge the divide between private enterprise and public interest.”
The Director, External Affairs and Social Performance, Seplat Energy Plc, Chioma Afe, in her remark, thanked the organisers of the SERAS Africa for the recognition and show of confidence in the Seplat Energy brand.
According to Afe, “Our interventions in education cut across the entire education ecosystem. It is interesting that we are not just doing something for students alone, we are also intervening in schools by developing infrastructure and equipping the teachers. We are working with the relevant state ministries and with our partners to see how we can really impact every single part of that ecosystem.”
Other members of the Seplat Energy team present at the event were: Senior Manager, Business Partnering, Diversity & Inclusion, Uche Anajemba; CSR Manager, Esther Icha; Manager, Corporate Communications, Stanley Opara; CSR Lead, Charles Ifediba; and Senior CSR Adviser, Josephine Kola-Ajibade.
The SERAS Africa is an annual project which aims to promote as well as raise awareness about the roles that organisations play with emphasis on their responsibility towards stakeholders and the social development of Africa.
It aims to substantiate the case that corporations who are socially responsible stand to gain huge benefits with regards to the triple bottom line – economic, social and environmental capital.
