05 Jul 2015

Stanbic Bank has donated P150 000 to Women In Business Association (WIBA).  The donation will be used as prize money for the WIBA business woman of the year awards for the next three years.

The inaugural awards will be held next month and the overall winner will walk away P50 000 richer. Speaking during the donation handover in Gaborone recently, Stanbic Bank head of marketing, Ms Duduetsang Chappelle-Molloy said the bank had been operating for more than 23 years and that the investment was overdue.

“As a young lady and a young executive in the bank, I am very happy to see that my bank is taking a step towards growing women businesses,” she said. She said the bank took a bold move in trying to improve women businesses by empowering female entrepreneurs, supporting them, and celebrating many women in business who had already paved the way for others.

As an entity, she said they had acknowledged that women were lacking behind in contributing to the economy. Nonetheless, she pointed out that great strides had been made by many, adding that there was no denying the passion and dedication towards moving the maternal hands of the nation.

In spite of the efforts carried out, Ms Chappelle-Molloy said there was need to do more. “Ample research has been done in this field on women in business and the majority agrees on some key aspects that I would like to share,” she said. She noted that access to capital, especially start-up capital, was a challenge.

She highlighted that operating capital limits entrepreneurs as the business goes through its up and downs. Furthermore, she said women need access to training and technical assistance. Mentoring women in business, she said, was another challenge, adding that entities such as WIBA were trying to assist by sharing best practises across borders with neighbouring countries. 

Ms Chappelle-Molloy said there was need to ensure strong partnership across organisations because they were working towards a common goal as that would strengthen efforts and avoid duplication.  The award, she said, was meant to recognise, mobilise and motivate women enterpreneurs, adding that the donation was part of their promise to support and help women to move forward in their business endeavours.

“This award is for a WIBA member who has taken significant strides in developing and arching their business goals. For us at Stanbic Bank, it is our pledge to the community to provide the support and tools necessary for women in business to succeed,” she said.

For her part, WIBA president, Ms Tumi Mbaakanyi said WIBA was formed in 1990 as an arm of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce and Industry (BOCCIM) existing solely to empower women in business. She said it was set up out of concern for women. 

She said the idea had since paid off as WIBA members have shown significant growth over the years. That, she said, was shown by a number of women engineers and architects who had since left their jobs to start their own private firms. 

She noted that women were undaunted with domestic chores and in the long run, their male counterparts accumulated more wealth. As a result, she said there was need to advocate for women empowerment programmes that could help take care of such challenges by accelerating women contribution in doing business, hence initiatives such as WIBA. 

“At  WIBA we support, encourage and promote the contribution of women entrepreneurs to Botswana gross product. We are driven by the fact that a developed small and medium enterprises industry is positively correlated to the country’s growing economy,” she said.

She noted that the awards’ aim was to encourage competitive women-led businesses whose existence strives on excellence to fully penetrate not only the local market, but the region and international markets.  She applauded efforts by Stanbic Bank, saying they would help promote competiveness in those already established and would encourage those who were still to be part of the women business world. ENDS