2018 Summit Preview: Day 1

Monday 12th November 2018

The 2018 Annual GBA Summit, “The Future of Financial Services for Women,” opens today with a look at the business case for financial services providers to make the Women’s Market a strategic priority. With an opening message from Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands on the importance of the work being done across ecosystem actors to economically empower women, the morning session will feature an in-depth look at how a wide range of GBA member institutions are succeeding with offerings for the female economy and how delivering across various stages of women’s lives can help programs make a strong impact.

Paul Jenkins, Head of Digital for McKinsey & Company in Western Europe,  will walk participants through customer journeys of the future, exploring digitalization and personalization that will increase women’s financial access. Attendees will then hear from Bank al Etihad CEO Nadia Al Saeed and Chief of Staff to the CEO of AXA Ulrike Decoene, who will share the strategic cases for their robust Women’s Market programs. Vice Chairman of Mastercard Dr. Ann Cairns will explore the economic contributions of women, which are widely recognized to drive commerce, communities and society as a whole, teeing up a lively panel discussion on ecosystem plays that effectively support women to succeed by solving for their lifecycle needs – led by Paul Jenkins and featuring insights from Vice President of Corporate Engagement at Mastercard Eva-Maria Baumer; Annastacia Kimtai, Director of Retail at KCB Bank Kenya; Head of Diamond Women Susan Okoh; Liza Garay-de Vaubernier, Global Head of Women’s Market at AXA; and Senior Manager of the Financial Institutions Group at IFC Sharmila Hardi. Senior Gender Finance Advisor at FMO Saskia Vossenberg will then share the organization’s new FEMForward gender finance value proposition, which helps client banks listen to the needs of women entrepreneurs and find tailored solutions that work well for both parties.

The afternoon session will further explore the importance of collaborative approaches to the Women’s Market and a focus on meeting women’s lifecycle needs, highlighting opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region – where women are more financially excluded than anywhere else in the world. His Excellency Dr. Ziad Fariz, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, will deliver the keynote address during this session, “Policy Enablers that Tackle Women’s Lifecycle Needs in MENA.” After World Bank Senior Private Sector Development Specialist Tazeen Hasan drills down to five priority action areas that will help level the playing field in MENA and ensure that women’s lifecycle needs are met, attendees will hear from actors already working in this space to solve for such needs. Featuring remarks from players across the financial services ecosystem – including facilitator Dr. Heike Harmgart, Director and Regional Head of the Eastern Mediterranean Region at EBRD, and panelists Dr. Sawsan Majali, Senator, Jordanian Senate; H.E. Dr. Maher Sheikh Hasan, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Jordan; Saad Andary, Vice Governor, Banque Du Liban; Muna Sukhtian, Managing Director, Microfund for Women; and Ahmed Moor, CEO, liwwa Inc. – discussants will explore increasing access to and use of digital finance for the unbanked and forcibly displaced persons, and policy levers that can be particularly effective for boosting women’s MSMEs. The day will conclude with a special look at the future of financial services for women in MENA from Nadia Al Saeed, followed by a welcome networking reception.

Take a look at the full agenda for the event here, and follow our Twitter feed at @GBAforWomen and the #GBASummit hashtag for live updates from the Summit.