Providus targets Canuk gala dinner as a fresh opportunity to recruit UK diasporans

PROVIDUS Bank is looking to open accounts for at least 300 UK diasporans when it storms the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK's (Canuk) gala dinner in London on December 16 this year.

Canuk, the umbrella body of all Nigerian associations in the UK, will hold its 2023 end-of-year gala dinner on Saturday December 16 at the Regency Banqueting Suite in north London. Among the special guests who will attend in the day are the high commissioner to the UK and the chair of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

Organised as a glitzy gala dinner, the event, which will hold at the 500-capacity venue in Bruce Grove, Tottenham, will kick off with a red carpet reception at 6pm and will involve a three course dinner, music, live entertainment, cultural displays, a raffle draw and plenty of dancing. Backed by sponsors such as Providus Bank, Tropical Sun, Send, Ficoven, Ades Supermarket, Pedigreat House and World Remit, the event will go on until the early hours of the morning.

However, Canuk is also planning to use the occasion to push several diaspora programmes. Among the services to be provided on the day include National Identity Numbers (NIN) and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) registration, the opening of Nigerian bank accounts, the provision of diaspora mortgages and the issuance of a Canuk-embossed debit card.

Canuk chairman, Ayo Akinfe, said: "Nigerian diasporans are going through tough times at the moment as the cost of living crisis has hit our people hard. We also have our unique problems such as the Japa crisis, so Canuk has to be on its toes 365 days a year addressing the concerns of our people.

"As part of this commitment to service, we are also using our gala night as an opportunity to offer a variety of packages to UK diasporans like NIN, BVN, bank accounts and debit cards. Over the long term, we are looking to have an App called Canuk Plus which can be downloaded on to phones and be used to renew passports, get an NIN or BVN and acquire a mortgage in Lagos at the click of a finger."

Toyin Adepoju, Providus Bank's diaspora affairs manager, added: "We have established a good working relationship with Canuk that has seen us sponsor several of their recent events. As part of our diaspora strategy, we want to see every Nigerian in the UK open a bank account with us, so will be using this gala dinner to push that agenda.

"Canuk has over 120 member organisations and are expecting at least 500 guests on the night, so our plan is to get every single person in the hall to open a Providus Bank account. We will be on hand to issue Canuk-embossed debit cards and will be happy to discuss mortgages with anyone who is interested."

Canuk will also use the occasion to hand out welcome certificates to  new member associations who have just been admitted into its fold. Other major sponsors like Tropical Sun, Pondus Powell  and Mobihealth Send, Ficoven, Pedigreat House, Ades Supermarket and World Remit, will also be looking to use the event to expand their presence within the community.

Toyin Balogun, Canuk's social secretary added: "December 16 will be a night of fun, entertainment and merriment but it will also be a time to build on what we are doing in Canuk.  What makes this event unique is that all our member associations from all different parts of the country will be booking tables and bringing their members to London for the day."

Victor Aleva, the Canuk financial secretary urged everyone who wants to purchase tickets to do so by paying directly into the Canuk bank account. He added that they should do this pay making payments into the association's Lloyds Bank account with the sort code of 301553 and account number 00224400.