Barclays Bank of Kenya (BBK) has launched a mentorship programme for Kenyan university students. The initiative, which is in partnership with the Higher Educations Loans Board (HELB), is part of the Barclays scholarship programme that was launched by the bank last year.
The mentorship programmes are in the form of academic readiness workshops which are aimed at equipping students with skills to perform well in school. The workshops are 2 hour long and participants are drawn from the beneficiaries of the Barclays scholarship programme. The training is conducted by Elevate, a South African-based international education agency.
The Barclays Scholarship programme is part of an Africa-wide scholarship initiative spearheaded by the Barclays Africa Group CEO Maria Ramos. Through it, BBK has supported 470 students from across Kenya, 256 of which are men and 216 are women. Under the programme, each beneficiary gets Kshs. 150,000 to cover tuition and accommodation fees, laptop purchase and upkeep money.