17 Sep 2014

Standard Chartered Bank chief executive officer, Mr Moatlhodi Lekaukau says the bank will be supporting Thusang Basadi with P1 million over the next three years, to potentially benefit thousands of Batswana women whom regardless of their circumstances have undertaken to improve their lives and those of their families.

Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Standard Chartered Bank Botswana Limited and Women’s Finance House Botswana, he said Thusang Basadi’s mandate of providing financing and savings products to women at the bottom of the pyramid is extremely important.

“Considering the critical role that these small enterprises play in the community and the potential that they have to contribute significantly to GDP in the long run, we saw it fit to lend a helping hand,” he said

Mr Lekaukau said the fact that Thusang Basadi nurtures these small sole proprietors to grow them into SMEs over time makes the initiative very exciting.

He indicated that another attraction of Thusang Basadi is that it is specifically targeted at women who are not only the primary caregivers, but also heads of households in many instances and therefore their ability to earn a living and sustain their families is important.

“From sustainability point of view, years of research in the micro finance sector has shown that women are less likely to default on their loans than men,” he said.

Mr Lekaukau further said the MoU will provide Standard Chartered Bank with another channel to contribute positively towards the Financial Inclusion agenda in Botswana.

He said despite the existence of many financial institutions, Botswana is no different to many emerging economies that battle with financial inclusion.

“The 2009 Finscope report indicates that 48 per cent of Batswana have never had a bank account and with various interventions the figure is coming down but still remains high and above 30 per cent,” said Mr Lekaukau.

For her part, Bank of Botswana (BoB) governor, Ms Linah Mohohlo said women are faced with a lot of challenges ranging from those based on the tyranny of culture, to outright gender based discrimination and in some cases abuse.

She said the adverse social environment for women also translates into limited financial and economic empowerment programmes and a lack of opportunities for career progression at places of work.“

For this reason, the decision made by Standard Chartered Bank Botswana Limited to partner with the Women’s Finance House Botswana transcends the Pula value that may be involved,” she said, adding that in 2001 BoB granted a waiver to Women’s Finance House Botswana to accept deposits from their members and extend loans. Ends