GBA Mentoring: Members Helping Members Create Change for Women

Wednesday 6th June 2018

In February 2018, the GBA launched the fifth cohort of its highly rated Mentoring Program. Mentees in this cohort have set goals across various areas of the Women’s Market, including: customer value propositions for micro and SME segments, differentiated product offerings, internal alignment, gender diversity and inclusion, and gender sensitization training to transform internal culture. Participants report that they are making strong progress, delving deep into specific roadblocks and looking for opportunities for improving mentees’ Women’s Market programs. Examples of pairs’ progress:

“I’m extremely satisfied – I have an excellent mentor with ample knowledge and initiative,” Johana Jiménez Phillips, a mentee from Banco Nacional de Costa Rica shared. She and her mentor, Flor de María Irahete from Banco G&T Continental, have discussed a range of topics – from executive training and remuneration and incentive schemes to differentiated value propositions and product offerings for MSMEs and partnerships for non-financial services. Johana has already taken action to bring insights to the senior management team and strengthen Banco Nacional de Costa Rica’s 2-year action plan for the Women’s Market.

Mwangala Mattau from Stanbic Bank Zambia is focusing on scaling up Stanbic’s women-entrepreneur-focused program and embedding it across the institution. Her mentor, Julie Baker – in charge of NatWest’s Women in Business program, which has reached over 15,000 women entrepreneurs over the last two years – is helping Mwangala to meet her objectives by sharing not only her own expertise, but integrating that of her team as well.

The GBA Mentoring Program was started in 2013 to help members looking to start or scale their Women’s Market programs do so effectively and efficiently by tapping into the deep expertise within the GBA network. Banks participating in the current cohort include BAC Credomatic of Costa Rica, Banco BHD León of the Dominican Republic, BancoEstado of Chile, Banco G&T Continental of El Salvador, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Banco Pichincha of Ecuador, Banregio of Mexico, BLC Bank of Lebanon, Diamond Bank of Nigeria, NatWest of the U.K., Stanbic Bank Zambia, TEB of Turkey and Westpac of Australia.

Fifth cohort pairs have the option to continue their formal mentoring relationship through July 2018. This month, the GBA will begin collecting applications from interested mentees and mentors from GBA member banks for participation in the sixth cohort. The sixth cohort will launch in August with a mandatory training to align on program design, objectives and commitment, and to support mentees to hone future-focused objectives before pairs are matched and the program formally kicks off. Mentoring sessions will run from September 2018 through January 2019.

Members can reach out to Hilary Nichols at hilary.nichols@gbaforwomen.org, if they are interested in participating in this program.