The Global Banking Alliance for Women recently announced the honorees for its first-ever GBA Women’s Champions awards, celebrating members of the Alliance that are advancing women’s economic empowerment by launching dedicated programs that aim to develop a holistic value proposition tailored to best meet the financial needs of women.
The eight award winners are, in alphabetical order: Access Bank Plc, Nigeria, for its “W” initiative; Banco BHD León, Dominican Republic, for its Mujer Mujer program; BancoEstado, Chile, for its Crece Mujer Emprendedora program; Bank al Etihad, Jordan, for its Shorouq program; Centenary Bank, Uganda, for its Supawoman Club; Diamond Bank, Nigeria, for its Diamond Woman Proposition; HBL, Pakistan, for its Women’s Market program; and TEB, Turkey, for its TEB Women Banking program. The new Women’s Market programs are already collectively impacting the lives of nearly 2 million women around the world.
“GBA members are making a difference for women while simultaneously growing their bottom lines,” GBA Chief Executive Inez Murray said at the awards ceremony. “These exemplary banks are proving every day that not only is financing women the right thing to do – it also makes good business sense.”
The awards were announced during the Members Meeting on the final day of the 2015 GBA Summit, the Alliance’s flagship event that each year brings together stakeholders from banks and International Finance Institutions, as well as regulators, policymakers and thought leaders from around the world to discuss concrete actions that can be taken to advance the economic inclusion of women around the world, and share best practices, innovations and lessons learned around serving the Women’s Market. This year’s GBA Summit was hosted by Alliance member Itaú Unibanco in São Paulo, Brazil.