Standard Chartered Bank has entered a partnership with Safaricom, Jubilee, Mastercard, KEPSA to address structural gaps women face in scaling up their businesses.
Through a project known as SC WIN, the institutions will enable women entrepreneurs access invoice discounting, capital, insurance and investment solutions as well as get linked to a global network for better opportunities and become part of a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.
According to Standard Chartered, the proposition seeks to remove barriers women in business face with regard to credit, supply chain access and capacity building. It will leverage on Standard Chartered’s global network and capabilities to remove these bottlenecks.
“Our progress in supporting women in business is reflected in the statistics where we focus on diversity and inclusion in our supplier base. For example, in the first half of 2023, we grew our base of women, youth suppliers from 25 per cent and 27 per cent,” said Kariuki Ngari, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Standard Chartered Bank Kenya said.
“This is from a 2020 baseline of 17 er cent and aim to close the year above 30 per cent. Our spend with our diverse suppliers was 8 per cent of our total spend in the first half of 2023 from 2 per cent in 2020 and we are working to increase this.”
The bank said about 55 per cent of its employees in Kenya are women, while 50 per cent of the Executive Management team are women. The gender parity on the Board has also improved from 23 per cent in 2019 to 45 per cent.
“Our offering is based on insights from women entrepreneurs highlighting the structural gaps that exist for women in business on access to credit lines, market linkages and business growth models. We are providing a collaborative end-to-end business ecosystem that will help women in business thrive in the local and global markets,” said Edith Chumba, Head, Consumer Private and Business Banking at Standard Chartered Kenya & E. A.
“We hope that this proposition encourages more women entrepreneurs to explore new business opportunities and plug into the global business market.’’
SC WIN includes capital, investment and protection solutions all of which are customized for optimal benefit. This includes trade solutions, targeted insurance covers as well as foreign currency mutual fund investment options, among others. SC WIN entrepreneurs will have access to free bespoke training packages and mentorship, dedicated relationship managers and access to the Bank’s global banking network across Asia, Middle East and Africa.
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