Sterling Bank Plc has completed the training of 70 kids on coding language at its 2017 summer code camp in Lagos in furtherance of its commitment to strengthening early childhood education practice in the country.
The summer code camp which had children between the ages of six and 15 in attendance was organised in collaboration with Audax Code School.
Speaking on the successful outcome of the programme, its Chief Marketing Officer, Henry Bassey said the aim of the programme was to expose young Nigerians to digital technologies at early ages and to bridge the national digital skills gap.
Bassey said the fun-filled summer code camp also served as an avenue to empower children and teachers in both rural and urban areas, foster creativity and critical thinking skills through ICT learning while expanding career opportunities for the African youth through STEM Education.
He added that the 10-day camping session was a period of study and fun for the children who “were exposed to scratch game development and storytelling, python programming and class storytelling as well as music and sounds, game development, introduction to HTML and project presentation.”
The CMO said the code school was also an initiative to appreciate the Bank’s “I CAN SAVE” account holders who had a certain minimum balance in their respective accounts.
In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer of Audax Code School, Emeka Onyenwe said, “the 2017 summer code camp was a great success. The students were introduced to the beautiful world of coding through the teaching of highly relevant concepts in a child-friendly way and by using illustrations and animations in an atmosphere that is conducive to learning. We also actively engaged all the kids and ensured that they made new friends.”
Sterling Bank is at the forefront of educating young Nigerians on the importance of saving and investing. In 2016, the Bank organised financial literacy training for children by staff volunteers across its network under the Employee Volunteer Programme.
In addition, 1,500 students were taken through the rudiments of financial literacy during the Financial Literacy Day on March 12, 2016. Sterling Bank has also distributed 4,000 copies of a book: My Little Money Book to about 600 schools pan- Nigeria.