About BLC Bank
As the first bank in Lebanon committed to small and medium enterprises and the first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region committed to the economic empowerment of women, BLC Bank provides a wide scope of innovative services through 42 branches all over Lebanon. They were the first bank in MENA to join and contribute to the Financial Alliance for Women, and to commit to the UN Women Empowerment Principles and SDG5, which promotes gender equality. BLC Bank’s milestones have been marked by numerous awards, such as the Women’s Market Champion – 2018 Data Award from the Financial Alliance for Women, the Excellence for Social and Economic Development and Women Empowerment Award from the World Union of Arab in 2017, and the Women’s Market Champion Leadership Award in 2016.
The Program
Drawing from fellow Alliance members and support from IFC, part of the World Bank Group, BLC Bank launched its Women Empowerment program, We Initiative, in 2012. As the first bank in the region committed to women’s economic empowerment, BLC Bank developed internal and external programs to become the bank and employer of choice for Lebanese women. Supporting women to contribute to the economy, We Initiative allows them to “Get financed,” “Grow their expertise”and “Get connected” to experts. Furthermore, BLC Bank implemented The Brilliant Lebanese Awards – the first business awards in MENA to honor Lebanese entrepreneurs for their achievements, providing mentoring, networking opportunities and exposure across all media. The winners of each category receive a US$30,000 cash prize, and the finalists of the awards’ three categories participate in an online competition whereby the public selects the recipient of the People’s Choice Award.
BLC Bank’s We Initiative generates more than 20 percent of the bank’s profits, with an IRR of 33 percent. Learn more about BLC Bank’s achievements in our Case Study on the bank.