Women and the youth constitute a majority of the world’s population; however, we often find that a good number of them especially in the African continent are not able to fully participate in the economy. This situation is due to various factors but key among them is lack of adequate information and resources to enable them engage in business. It is as a response to this that NCBA Bank launched a series of initiatives to empower these vulnerable groups.
In Kenya, we find that tenders are generally lucrative but have for a long time been a preserve of the well-oiled businessmen who are most often than not male. This means that women and youth who might not have the requisite financial muscle are most often than not locked out. This saw the government come up with the Access to Government Procurement (AGPO) in a bid to ensure that these vulnerable groups are able to participate on government procurement which has been a success so far.
As part of the efforts to empower women and youth, NCBA Bank committed to award 30% of their General Services procurement to this group. In 2023, they were able to award 8.9% of the total tenders to women and youth with the number expected to rise this year.
I suspect that part of the reason why women and youth were not able to effectively engage in the NCBA tenders was because they didn’t have adequate financing. This is because lack of finances has been a major stumbling block to these vulnerable groups as it limits them from active participants in the economy. As a response to this, NCBA Bank signed a USD 50 Million facility with Proparco which is a subsidiary of the AFD Group focused on private sector development. With part of the funds being channeled to women economic empowerment like financing their businesses. With such funding in place, we expect to see more women and youth being able to take up these tenders thus raising the number to 30%.
Mentorship can be termed as the guidance which provided by a person (mentor) who is usually older and more experienced. Mentorship has generally been proven to catalyze a person’s development enabling them to achieve their goals. It is with this in mind, that NCBA has embarked on mentoring students who are the leaders of tomorrow.
Last year, NCBA mentors participated in a 3-day Edumed Trust mentorship retreat held at St. George’s Girls Secondary School in Nairobi, with the theme “My Journey In His Plan.” With an aim of mentoring, motivating, inspiring, character shaping, and assisting 80 beneficiaries in their educational and career aspirations. They also partnered with Palmhouse Foundation to mentor 350 students drawn from all 47 counties in Kenya on self-awareness, self-esteem, confidence and understanding.
I have to commend NCBA Bank for the initiatives that they are doing towards empowering the women and youth of our country. It is my hope that other corporates will take note and join hands in making Kenya a better place for them.