Citi Partners with the Central Bank of Nigeria on Microentrepreneur Awards

Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Major brand names under Citi's trademark red arc include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.


	Printer Friendly Page		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) January 15, 2008 Citi Partners with the Central Bank of Nigeria on Microentrepreneur Awards Following its successful collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2005, Nigeria International Bank Limited (Citi) is pleased to announce that it will again partner with the apex bank to award cash prizes to microentrepreneurs who have been selected as winners of its 2007 Microentrepreneur Awards Program. The awards will be handed out in Abuja on Thursday, January 17, 2008, at a dinner sponsored by Citi. Awards for individual micro entrepreneurs and their businesses will be handed out in five major categories – Best Micro Business Model, Most Marketed Product, Most Innovative Product, Employment Generation and Best Enterprising Micro Communication Outfit – with three awardees in each category. The awardees were nominated through various Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) across the country. The Citi Microentrepreneur Awards program was successfully implemented in 23 countries in 2006, with nearly 5,000 microentrepreneurs nominated by (MFIs), and over 400 winners. But the program's greatest success was increasing global awareness of the important role that microentrepreneurs play in their local economies, and the significance of microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool. In 2007, Citi Foundation committed $1.5 million (USD) to the Citi Microentrepreneur Awards program across 28 countries. A grant of $40,000 (USD) was awarded to Nigeria's Growing Businesses Foundation (GBF) to facilitate the awards in Nigeria. The Citi Microentrepreneur Awards strives to ensure that small business owners throughout Nigeria are celebrated for their efforts in creating sustainable businesses in their communities. # # # Citi Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Major brand names under Citi's trademark red arc include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.