Stanbic Bank lifts up Zambian women with new banking solution

Bank shines spotlight on Zambian women’s financial and business skills
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WITH PICTURES TUESDAY MARCH 21, 2017
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Zambian women stand to reap benefits from Stanbic Bank’s innovative banking solution that places strong emphasis on their access to finance and business education.
The new programme, named Anakazi (Women) Banking, will deliver the tools women need to succeed in business, including easier access to convenient banking, finance as well as business knowledge.
It’s Stanbic’s bold move to boost Zambian women’s involvement in business and entrepreneurship since the bank became the first Zambian financial institution to join the Global Banking Alliance for Women (GBA) in February.
The GBA is the only global consortium of financial institutions dedicated to supporting banks as they capture the opportunity of the Women’s Market. Its 46 members work in over 135 countries worldwide to build innovative and comprehensive programmes prop up women in business, including access to capital, information, education and markets.
Anakazi Banking will focus on both increased access to finance and capacity building activities for women entrepreneurs. These platforms include training, mentorship and networking events to build knowledge in business management and access to markets, as well as assistance in business formalization.
“This initiative will go a long way in reaching out to women, enhancing their financial knowledge and therefore increasing their ability of accessing credit and formal banking services,” says Mwansa Mutati, Head of Business Banking at Stanbic Bank.
“Through our GBA membership, we have found great value from the access to a broad network of organizations worldwide that have the expertise and experience necessary to launch and embed a successful Women’s Market proposition.”
With the new programme, Stanbic will serve women as individual customers, targeting students, civil servants and women professionals.
Stanbic’s interactions with the GBA started at the June 2016 All-Stars Academy, a skill-building programme aimed at increasing financial institutions’ skills to target women as a distinct market.
The bank’s interactions have grown since, and this year Stanbic will host Africa’s first All-Stars Academy in Livingstone in June.
With 26 percent of the Stanbic’s Personal Banking clients being women, the bank recognizes the role women play in the Zambian economy and has endeavoured to shine the spotlight on them. About 42 percent of the bank’s employees are female while 50% of all executive positions in the bank are held by women.
Anakazi Banking mainly segments the women’s market into two: Personal Banking customers and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) owners.
On the Personal Banking side, the programme will focus on students, civil servants and professionals, and under Business Banking it will cater for women directors, executives and senior managers. On the entrepreneur side, its focus on SME owners will be within the bank’s Enterprise (SME) Banking unit. Most of the training will be targeted at this segment.
“In all our market research, what came out clearly is that most women had inadequate information to be able to formalize their businesses or inadequate access to finance. Through our training, mentorship program and networking events, our women entrepreneurs will gain knowledge in business management, access to capital and access to markets. This initiative will go a long way in reaching out to women, enhancing their financial knowledge and therefore increasing their ability to access credit and formal banking services,” says Ms Mutati.
The programme will also leverage its support to agriculture, an industry that supports more than 70% of Zambian households, mainly women. About Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited
Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets. The Standard Bank Group, with strong African roots and leader in emerging markets, has on-the-ground representation in 20 African countries
Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited is the largest bank in Zambia by balance sheet, offering a full range of banking and related financial services. The Bank is well capitalized and its capital position is above the regulatory minimum.
The Bank which has close to 60 years’ operating experience has a huge network of branches countrywide offering full spectrum of financial services from retail to corporate and investment banking
Our strategy is to be the leading financial services organisation in, for and across Zambia, delivering exceptional client experiences and superior value. We believe we can achieve this as Zambia is our home, we drive her growth. The Bank has been an integral part of the Zambian economy and is a leading player in the country’s financial services sector.
http://www.stanbicbank.co.zm/ www.rainbownewszambia.com
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