News from our network highlights the growing focus on climate resilience from banks, as well as continued expansion of non-financial services tailored to women’s needs in changing circumstances.
Banco BHD in the Dominican Republic hosted the seventh edition of the Women Who Change the World awards, recognizing women who promote positive transformations in their community. This year’s winner provides women and their families help with defending their legal rights to agricultural production. The bank awarded her with one million pesos to continue her work.
BNP Paribas launched a series of online business seminars for women entrepreneurs in Ukraine. The content includes adapting business processes to meet martial law requirements; financial management, marketing, and digital promotion during wartime; and maintaining team motivation and mental health, among other things.
In Poland, BNP Paribas’ Agro on Heels program—a sub-brand of Agronomist, its green transformation-focused knowledge platform for agricultural producers—hosted an event in partnership with the local Chamber of Agriculture that convened more than 800 women farmers, entrepreneurs, and artists and awarded prizes to 18 women for their work benefitting the local community.
The City Bank in Bangladesh launched several new products and services as part of its City Alo program, including: Discounted breast cancer screenings for customers and awareness sessions for women workers in garment factories; A City Alo-branded health card with exclusive discounts on healthcare packages; A new SME loan product targeting rural and semi-urban female entrepreneurs; and, a new mobile debit offering for women in rural areas who lack access to bank branches.
Last but not least, Zanaco Bank CEO Mukwandi Chibesakunda spoke at a New York Times-hosted panel at COP 27 on how banks can alleviate climate change. “Zanaco has put together a fund that will finance local players that are driving solar energy, that are driving resilient solutions, that are fighting deforestation,” she said. Watch the full panel.
