About The City Bank

The first private commercial bank in Bangladesh, The City Bank was founded in 1983. The bank embraces global best practices and chooses to be at the forefront of technological initiatives. The bank’s criteria for success is not only the bottom-line numbers but also the milestones toward becoming the most complete bank in the country and living up to its vision statement: “The Financial Supermarket with a Winning Culture Offering Enjoyable Experiences.” The bank provides a full range of financial products and non-financial services, with a focus on the SME space. The City Bank has a network of 132 branches, 400 ATMs and 159 fully licensed agent bank branches serving 1.6 million customers.

The Program

City Alo, meaning “light” in Bangla, was launched at 30 of the bank’s branches in March 2019, with a special women banking coffeeshop branch serving as the program’s headquarters. Focusing on four categories of women customers – women entrepreneurs, homemakers, salaried women and professional women – City Alo offers tailored financial offerings. The initiative’s non-financial services include a suite of training programs on business and financial matters arranged at the City Alo Center – “a spacious multipurpose hall” – as well as a partnership with Bangladesh’s largest university to offer discounted business and career management classes to City Bank’s women customers. The non-financial services also include a dedicated online platform at www.cityalo.com where women entrepreneurs can find a women-owned business directory; 3rd-party service providers; women-centered event information; and articles on skill building, entrepreneurship, management, lifestyle, health etc. Through this wide range of financial and non-financial services, City Bank aims that City Alo will be the “one-stop solution” for women when it comes to banking and non-banking needs.