KCB Group rolls out regional campaign on gender inclusion

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group PLC, East Africa’s largest financial institution by assets is keen to deepen its focus towards the women agenda in the coming years for a gender balanced world.

The Bank has placed prominence in driving initiatives around gender parity and inclusion, in line with its sustainability agenda which is anchored on building a responsible business for the future.

On Friday, to mark the International Women’s Day, KCB rolled out a campaign as a statement that amplifies the Group’s commitment towards gender inclusion.

The highlight of the campaign— themed "Hear her Roar"—has seen the Bank temporarily refresh its corporate logo from a Lion to a Lioness, marking a significant turning point in the advocacy for more gender inclusion in the region’s financial services sector.

The campaign, is running across KCB regional network in Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

“We have been deliberate in our operations to ensure that we push for gender parity at all levels within the institution. We are alive to the importance and benefits of a gender balanced world where we have equal opportunities in the working environment” said the KCB Group CEO and MD Joshua Oigara.

Through the lender’s Sustainability Agenda and specifically on the Talent management and Diversity action point , KCB has continued to measure progress and adopt initiatives under the Women in Leadership Network (WILN), an internal KCB Group initiative meant to grow women leaders.

In addition, KCB has various initiatives in the business to support women entrepreneurs, credit facilities to women and persons with disability under the KCB Foundation in an effort to build a more inclusive society in our business.

The Women in Business Programme has attracted 1,439 women for capacity building and the Bank extended business support worth Kshs 5.16 billion to this category in 2018.

Under community initiatives, the KCB Foundation supported 164 children and youth under the disability programme and 10,000 young women have been trained under the 2 jiajiri programme.

Across the region KCB Group has actively engaged in various women empowerment programs and was among the first signatories of the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles.

Findings from the Women Aspiration Survey commissioned by renowned communications agency Oxygène MCL—the firm behind the campaign— for KCB revealed that career advancement and the desire to own a business are the two main aspiration spaces that women under the age of 35 aspire for.