2013 GBA Summit

Conference Highlights

The GBA hosted its largest annual Summit to date the week of September 9th in Istanbul. More than 100 attendees participated, representing 30 banks from 24 countries. The event was hosted by Garanti bank. Member banks discussed the future of the female economy and the importance of building a business case. A number of examples from a diverse collection of banks were highlighted focusing on the design, implementation, and deepening of the customer value proposition for Women’s Market programs. Other important topics such as building internal alignment, providing a holistic approach to financial products and services, supplier diversity, building win-win private public partnerships and internal diversity were also highlighted. Garanti Bank presented a case study of its successful Women’s Market program, candidly discussing lessons learned. The week-long events culminated with a members meeting, facilitated by a team of professionals from Mckinsey & Co., where GBA members had the opportunity to provide feedback and insights on GBA’s 2013 – 2015 strategy.

The Female Economy and the Business Case for Serving the Women’s Market

Serving the Women’s Market is not only the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. Leaders within GBA banks shared their institution’s rationale for having a Women’s Market program.

Toward a Supportive Enabling Environment for Women Entrepreneurs in Turkey

This panel discussed the situation in Turkey from the entrepreneur’s perspective, including barriers that women entrepreneurs face in Turkey, including the legal, cultural, and personal aspects.

Public and Private Perspectives on Financial Inclusion for Women

This panel explored the roles public and private sector actors can play in promoting financial inclusion for women, with regional perspectives on the credit gap for women.

Winning the Women’s Market: A How-To Guide for Financial Institutions

The GBA’s ‘how to’ guide Winning the Women’s Market was officially launched during this session. Inez Murray, the Alliance’s CEO, previewed the content of the Guide.

Customer Segmentation and Defining the CVP

Panelists representing the geographic spread of the Alliance shared how they segment the Women’s Market, including women-owned SMEs and women as consumers, and discussed their bank’s value proposition for each segment.

Case Study:
Garanti Bank

This case study presented a deep dive on all elements of Garanti Bank’s Women’s Market program, including the female economy and rationale for a Women’s Market program in Turkey.

Effective Marketing Strategies and Performance Measurement

While no two WMPs are identical, key elements of program design are universal. Panelists discussed best practices.

Defining the External Value Proposition

This panel showcased Best Practice examples of programs offered by Alliance members to give women entrepreneurs access to information, education, networks and markets.

Building Internal Alignment

This final Best Practice panel discussed the knotty topic of building internal buy-in from the Boardroom to front-line staff. Panelists discussed what worked and what did not during their journey to program success.

Extending Our Influence

The Members Day closed session discussed tactics to sustain the momentum that the Alliance has had since its last member meeting in 2011. The Alliance’s 2013 – 2015 strategy, along with a 2016 visioning exercise, were summarized to members.