The Chief Executive Officer of Raven Bank, Uchenna Nnodim, has said the bank has begun the empowerment of 400,000 students across universities in Nigeria, with the aim of boosting academic excellence and helping young people contribute meaningfully to the country’s economic space.
Nnodim stated this on Friday during the maiden launch of Raven Feather Internet at Ignatius Ajuru University, Rumolumeli, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where students and staff of the institution witnessed the unveiling of the initiative.
According to him, Raven is a digital bank that leverages technology to personalise financial tools that are fast, secure, and reliable for users across different categories.
He explained that the newly launched project is a free wifi service designed specifically for Nigerian students, adding that it will grant them daily access to the internet to support research, academic work, and the development of other knowledge-based skills.
Nnodim said, “The intention of launching this project is because we believe that the opportunities that come from the internet are endless. As a student, we believe that for you to differentiate yourself in the 21st century, you need access to the internet. I was a student some time ago and I know how difficult it was to have access to the internet, not to even fund other things I was doing back then.”
He further noted that access to the internet played a major role in his own academic and personal development, stressing that the same opportunity should be available to students across the country.
“So, I needed the internet to do that. We believe that access to the internet is very crucial for academic success. This programme is specifically targeted to have a high-level impact in the lives of Nigerian students,” he stated.
The CEO explained that the project is aimed at giving 400,000 Nigerian students free daily access to the internet, starting from the current launch location and expanding to other universities in the country.
“It is aimed to give 400,000 Nigerian students access to free internet on daily bases. This is the maiden launch and just in one location. We tend to extend it to other universities. The essence is to ensure that students have access to the internet for their academic pursuit, for research, and to enable them to have access to any knowledge they have interest in,” Nnodim said.
He reasoned that out of Nigeria’s estimated 200 million population, empowering 400,000 students with tools that enhance knowledge through free and fast internet would result in a more educated and productive population.
According to him, this level of empowerment would create significant value in the economic space and raise hope among citizens.
“When you have people that are educated and empowered, they will become technocrats, industry leaders, medicals, and scientists. They will be updated with information, and that indicates a green light for the future of our country,” he said.
Nnodim also described Raven Bank as one of the fastest-growing digital banks, noting that it offers personalised features such as savings, payments with ease, POS services, and other digital banking solutions.
He added that the Raven Feather Internet is integrated as an extra feature within the Raven App, targeted at the bank’s core audience.
“The project today is an extra feature within the Raven App within our target audience. If you have the app, tapping on it will just give you high-speed internet that is very fast and unlimited. You can use 100 GB in a day,” he said.
Some students of Ignatius Ajuru University who witnessed the project launch and have started using the app described it as a welcome development.
Friday Daniel, who works in the ICT unit of the institution, commended the Raven Bank team for what he described as a bold step, saying the service had already proven useful.
“I work in the ICT unit of the school. I have used the app on different occasions. The app is good. At least for the past few days now the ICT network has been disturbing, but the Raven network has come to the rescue and a backup for the school WiFi,” he stated.
Also speaking, a 200-level Accounting student, Eyo Blessing, said the network was smooth and efficient, praising the initiative.
“I downloaded the app on my way to the meeting and it has been working perfectly fine and smooth, no issues. I commend them and they should keep it up,” she said.
