On the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meeting in Nairobi, Angaza Forum, in partnership with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center, Old Mutual Kenya, Organization of Eastern & Southern African Insurers (OESAI), and New Faces New Voices – Kenya (NFNV), hosted a dialogue to discuss the proposed ‘Manifesto for African Women in the Financial Sector’. Attendees included senior women leaders from banking, insurance, investment banking, microfinance and fintech.
The Manifesto, conceptualised during the Women Deliver Conference in Kigali under the leadership of Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, aims to establish a collective impact framework for women within the financial sector towards accelerating the flow of finance and investment to women entrepreneurs. Among the proposals in the draft framework include promoting product development and innovation specific to women-owned SMEs, advancing the use of real-time gender-disaggregated data, and a goal of 50 percent of bank branches to be headed by women by 2030.
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The Nairobi dialogue validated the priorities and goals that were proposed in Kigali towards finalising the draft for public consultation. According to Angaza Forum Chairperson Nuru Mugambi, the Manifesto will be launched at the 2024 Angaza Forum to be held in Nairobi on October 16th and 17th.
“We were pleased with the feedback we received and believe we are on the right track with finalising this Manifesto for African Women in the Financial Sector,” said Ms. Mugambi. “The Manifesto provides a collective impact framework by stating specific priorities and goals that any woman leader in the financial sector can incorporate into their institution’s strategic planning. This ensures that their firm contributes towards the financial inclusion and resilience of women in the real economy and also supports the attainment of Africa Agenda 2063 and the UN SDGs.”
The luncheon, hosted at Serena Hotel Nairobi, brought together various stakeholders in the financial sector including Caroline Karanja, CEO of Association of Microfinance Institutions; Arthur Oginga, Group CEO for East Africa, Old Mutual Ltd; Mary Wamae, Group Executive Director for Equity Group Holdings; Njeri Njomo, CEO of Jubilee Health Insurance; Madeleine Nangayo, OESAI Board Member and CEO and Regional Director of Ghana Reinsurance Company Kenya, Ltd.; Melissa Basque Roux, Acting Coordinator – Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) of African Development Bank; and Caroline Armstrong-Ogwapit, Chairperson of NFNV Kenya.
