Stanbic Bank, UN Women partner to empower women
Stanbic Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer Charles Mudiwa, Stanbic Bank Kenya’s Lilian Onyach, Global Compact Network Kenya Executive Director Judy Njino and UN Women Kenya Country Representative Anna Mutavati during the signing ceremony at a Nairobi hotel on February 2, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The institution’s ‘It Can Be’ brand drives it to empower and invest in women, and help them reach their potential.
- In the past decade, the bank has taken affirmative actions, including developing DADA, a platform that is currently offering more than 29,000 businesswomen financial and non-financial services
Stanbic Bank Kenya has partnered with UN Women to advance women’s socio-economic empowerment across Kenya.
The partnership was sealed on February 2, when the bank signed Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), established by UN Global Compact and UN Women.
The bank has adopted five principles that foster gender diversity and inclusion at the senior management and fair treatment of either gender at the workplace.
They also promote adherence to gender equality standards in its work on enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices as well as community initiatives and advocacy.
The financial institution would also adopt WEPs’ gap analysis tool to account for its progress in implementing the principles.
While speaking during the signing ceremony at a Nairobi hotel, Stanbic Bank Kenya Chief Executive, Charles Mudiwa reaffirmed the financial institution’s commitments to support women’s growth.
“Our commitment to women is reinforced by our ‘It Can Be’ brand promise, which drives us to empower and invest in individuals and help reach their potential,” he said.
Mr Mudiwa added, “As a bank, we are keen on providing continuous support to women, through financial and non-financial solutions that help them not only grow as individuals, but also spread this growth to their communities.”
29,000 beneficiaries
In the past decade, the bank has taken affirmative actions including developing DADA, a platform that is currently offering more than 29,000 businesswomen financial and non-financial services.
Through the Sourcing2Equal Kenya (S2E), the financial institution is empowering more women to take up opportunities in the corporate procurement.
“As a society, we need to ensure that we are creating enabling environments to help us achieve gender equality and contribute to realising the Global Sustainable Goals (SDGs),” said head of women banking proposition, Dr Silpah Owich.
While speaking during the signing ceremony, UN Women Kenya Country Representative, Anna Mutavati urged the private sector to invest in gender responsive businesses.
“We are excited to see Stanbic’s concrete actions transform into tangible gains for women in business,” she said.
Executive Director, Global Compact Network Kenya, Judy Njino commended the bank for committing to support holistic empowerment of women.
“We believe the bank will fully harness the power of women’s potential in order to build a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable future for the generations to come,” she said.
