FITC: ESG Central Lever of Economic Competitiveness, Institutional Resilience, National Transformation

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Managing Director/CEO, Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC), Dr. Chizor Malize, has declared that the concept of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) are no longer peripheral disciplines, but are central to economic competitiveness, institutional resilience, and national transformation.

Malize made this declaration yesterday in Lagos in her welcome address at the opening of the “FITC Sustainability and ESG Conference 2025” with the theme “Building a Prosperous Future: Unlocking Growth Opportunities Through Sustainability and ESG Innovation.”

She also highlighted that firms with strong ESG fundamentals enjoy up to 20% lower cost of capital

Malizee said:  “It is with immense privilege and deep strategic intent that I welcome you to the inaugural FITC Sustainability and ESG Conference 2025, which is a seminal gathering at the intersection of purpose, policy, and performance.

“Today, we are not merely convening an event, we are activating a movement. A movement rooted in the conviction that sustainability and ESG are no longer peripheral disciplines, but central levers of economic competitiveness, institutional resilience, and national transformation.

 “Our theme, ‘Building a Prosperous Future: Unlocking Growth Opportunities Through Sustainability and ESG Innovation,’ speaks not only to a moral imperative but to a compelling economic thesis.”

Malize said that the integration of ESG is fast becoming the global standard for how forward looking institutions create long-term value—balancing profit with purpose, growth with equity, and innovation with integrity.

In his keynote speech, a Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Fabian Ajogwu, of the Kenna Partners, said that ESG has become a strategic necessity, with its overall importance influenced by multiple factors that allow for a comprehensive assessment of a company’s value, evaluating its environmental impact, social relationships with employees, consumers, and stakeholders, and its dealings with regulators.

Ajogwu described ESG as “an acronym for Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors. At its core, ESG represents the principle that businesses and investors should identify and consider environmental, social, and governance factors when making decisions.”

He said that companies that perform well in ESG can notably increase their value, competitiveness, and performance by effectively managing risks, anticipating regulatory changes, and adapting easily to market shifts.

According to him, “adopting good ESG practices can provide access to ‘green funding’ for projects and enterprises, strengthen a company’s credit rating, and improve its standing in global debt markets.”

In her goodwill message, the Chief Execurive Officer of Impact Investors Foundation, Ms. Etemore Glover, said that businesses are navigating complex challenges such climate instability, demographic shifts, digital disruption, and widening inequality that cannot be solved by incremental change because they demand a bold reimagining of growth in a manner that marries profit with purpose.