The Global Banking Alliance for Women and NatWest, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland, are pleased to announce that the 2017 GBA Summit will be held November 14 to 16 in London.
The Annual GBA Summit is the Alliance’s flagship event, focusing exclusively on how banks can capture the power of the Women’s Market. With the presence of bankers, policymakers, regulators, multilateral and bilateral representatives, thought leaders, and other stakeholders, the GBA Summit is the seminal and most comprehensive event for women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion in the world.
NatWest, part of RBS, is a UK-based banking and financial services company, headquartered in Edinburgh. RBS provides a wide range of products and services to over 20 million personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers through its main two brands Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, as well as other well known brands including Ulster Bank and Coutts. Total assets as at 2015 Annual report £815.4 billion and total employees 88,800.
In the UK, the RBS Women in Business program supports women-led and -owned small and medium enterprises by recognizing that women often benefit from a banking approach that emphasizes relationship building. The program now has more than 400 RBS Relationship Managers trained to specialize in the needs of the Women’s Market. Over the last two years, these RMs have delivered over 300 events reaching 16,000 women-owned businesses, enabling women to achieve their ambitions of starting and growing successful businesses.
Building on its ongoing commitment to support business owners, RBS recently opened a number of business accelerator hubs, which provide free business accelerator services for start-up, early stage and growing businesses. This includes a physical workspace; hands-on mentoring; a start-up “boot camp;” and a free 18-month program of advice, support and funding clinics. The bank is approaching intake with a gender lens, targeting 50 percent male and 50 percent female entrepreneurs. The 2017 Summit will include a tour of one of the newest RBS accelerator hubs.
The 2016 Summit was hosted by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in Washington, DC, and brought nearly 200 participants from 80 different organizations in 45 countries to discuss Women’s Market best practices, exchange information and ideas, and make new connections. We expect the attendance and outcomes of the 2017 Summit to be equally impressive.
For more information and a look at the proceedings from our previous Summits, visit the GBA Summit hub.
