Stanbic Bank marks three years of DADA initiative
From left: Stanbic Bank Kenya CEO Charles Mudiwa, Cabinet Secretary Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes Prof Margaret Kobia, and UN Women Kenya Country Representative Anna Mutavati, during the Dada anniversary celebrations at the Nairobi Serena Hotel on June 24, 2022.
What you need to know:
- DADA initiative supports women entrepreneurs across the country.
- Through it Stanbic Bank has provided credit guarantee schemes to the tune of more than Sh1 billion and over Sh40 million in grant funds.
- Former Malawian President Dr Joyce Banda, who graced the event virtually, lauded the financial institution for committing to invest in women’s economic empowerment.
Stanbic Bank on Friday marked the third anniversary of their DADA initiative, which supports women entrepreneurs across the country.
“Empowering women is not a luxury, but a necessity. With DADA, we can make this possible,” said Stanbic’s Kenya Chief Executive Charles Mudiwa, at the event held at Serena Hotel, Nairobi.
The platform DADA, which is an acronym for Dare to Aspire Dare to Achieve, is has empowered more than 45,000 businesswomen with financial and non-financial services.
“The bank’s innovative financial solutions including digital lending, Unayo, M-Jeki and Stansure have been instrumental in increasing access to finance and relevant financial solutions for women business owners. The bank has also been providing digital cash advance and unsecured loans for women,” noted Mr Mudiwa.
He added that the bank has also provided credit guarantee schemes to the tune of more than Sh1 billion and over Sh40 million in grant funds. Under the credit guarantee scheme, the bank is working with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF), the Government of Kenya and others. The bank provides grants and catalytic funding through collaborations with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and United States African Development Foundation (USADF).
Mr Mudiwa added that an additional 17,000 women have received training and capacity building via networking sessions with peers and seasoned entrepreneurs. It has also conducted wellness sessions incorporating mental health and cancer screening, with more than 16,000 women receiving free cancer check-ups.
Economic empowerment
Chief guest former Malawian President Dr Joyce Banda, who graced the event virtually, lauded the financial institution for committing to invest in women’s economic empowerment and said it was key to social and political empowerment.
Dr Banda termed the move as a step in the right direction, which contributes towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth.
“Women make considerable contribution to economies whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees,” she said.
Guests follow proceedings during the event to mark three years of Dada initiative.
Public and Gender Cabinet Secretary Prof Margaret Kobia insisted that inclusion and diversity is the only way to achieve growth in a country where 70 per cent of small business are run by women. She urged the bank to reach out to more women.
“As long as women continue being poor, everything else will not work well,” she said.
Prof Kobia added that the government was working towards gender equality by providing special economic empowerment products to vulnerable groups such as widows, and eradicating barriers to women’s progress such as gender-based violence.
Also present was Cabinet Secretary Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Betty Maina who noted that initiatives like DADA were good for both women and business.
Ms Maina added the government’s vision is to transform the country into an industrial hub and to develop robust value chains by focusing on sectors like agriculture, textile and garment, pharmaceuticals, ICT and mining.
Gender gaps
UN Women Country Representative Anna Mutavati, commended the bank for being among the 57 signatories of the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in Kenya. She said it reinforced the institution’s unwavering support towards women in country where gender gaps are rife.
“Kenyan women constitute more than 60 of the 74 per cent of Kenyans living in rural areas where poverty remains high at 49.1 percent. Approximately 50 per cent of households are headed by women who are sole family providers compared to 48 per cent headed by men. Yet, women’s gender roles, limited access to and control of productive resources exacerbate their poverty situation and limit their ability to participate in the market place. Moreover, women who represent marginalized communities are underrepresented and unheard in national policy designs and implementation,” said Ms Mutavati.
She applauded DADA and urged other players in the private sector to protect vulnerable groups including women and girls. This, she said, can be done by offering affordable and accessible financial products, providing market opportunities to women owned businesses and linking these businesses to technology.
