Easton student is honored
with $5,000 award and invitation to
the 2023 summit for his work addressing the challenges of a
changing world.
NEWARK,
N.J., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Okezue
Bell, 16, of Easton, Pennsylvania,
today was named a 2023 Prudential Emerging Visionary for his
inspiring commitment to improving the lives of others.
As one of 25 Prudential Emerging Visionary winners, Okezue will
receive a $5,000 award to help take
his innovation to the next level. He is also invited to attend an
all-expenses-paid trip with his parent or guardian to Prudential's
Newark, New Jersey, headquarters
for a three-day summit in April where he will receive coaching,
skills development and networking opportunities with Prudential
employees and other young leaders.
Prudential Emerging Visionaries recognizes young people ages
14-18 whose fresh perspectives and innovative solutions address
pressing financial and societal challenges in their
communities.
"The goals of our Emerging Visionaries program reflect
Prudential's overarching purpose: to make lives better by solving
the financial challenges of our changing world," said Chairman and
CEO Charles Lowrey. "We applaud all
of our honorees for their commitment to improving the lives of
others and creating inclusive and thriving communities."
Pennsylvania's 2023 Prudential
Emerging Visionary:
Okezue Bell founded "Fidutam," an accessible mobile
app that is expanding financial access to unbanked and low-income
communities.
The initiative offers micro-loans specifically targeted to
underserved communities to expand their access to financial
services. "As a person of color and a Nigerian, I've seen the
devastating effects that the racial hegemony in banking and finance
can have on communities," he says. So far, the initiative has
reached more than 100 people across the
United States and will be piloted in Nigeria.
Emerging Visionaries is a collaboration between Prudential
Financial and Ashoka, a leading social impact organization, with
support from the Financial Health Network, an authority on
financial health and longtime partner of The Prudential
Foundation.
During the summit, to be held April
22-25, 2023, five winners will also have the opportunity to
present their solutions in a pitch-off, where a grand prize winner
will be awarded an additional $10,000
in funding. What's more, Prudential employees will again vote to
name an Employees' Choice Award winner, who will receive an
additional $5,000.
The program is an evolution of Prudential's Spirit of Community
Awards, which, over 26 years, honored more than 150,000 outstanding
youth volunteers.
To read about all this year's Prudential Emerging Visionaries,
visit prudential.com/emergingvisionaries.
About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness
leader and premier active global investment manager, has operations
in the United States, Asia, Europe
and Latin America. Prudential's
diverse and talented employees help to make lives better by
creating financial opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic
Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and
innovation for more than a century. For more information, please
visit news.prudential.com.
About Ashoka
Ashoka is the largest global network of leading social
entrepreneurs — individuals with new ideas to systemically address
the world's biggest challenges and the entrepreneurial skill to
transform those ideas into national, regional and global social
impact. Over 40 years, Ashoka has supported more than 3,600 social
entrepreneurs in 90 countries with solutions addressing society's
most pressing issues. Ashoka's vision is a world in which Everyone
Is a Changemaker — a society that responds quickly and effectively
to challenges, and where each individual has the freedom,
confidence and societal support to address any social problem. For
more information, visit ashoka.org.
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SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.