Stanbic takes Anakazi Banking to COMESA Market
Female traders at COMESA Market rushed to open savings accounts with Stanbic Bank in response to the high demand for financial services to meet their requirements.
This followed the Bank’s Financial Literacy Training and Sensitisation Workshop to train female market traders on the importance of saving and investing ahead of the 2023 Financial Literacy Week (FLW), which formally kicks-off on March 20, 2023.
Ms. Jean Shamuyombe, a veteran trader at COMESA Market, says women in the area had yearned to access financial services to enhance security of their income.
She observed that Stanbic’s presence at the market enlightened the traders of the possibilities of growing their hard-earned income, as opposed to placing funds outside the banking and financial services sector.
“Opening up bank accounts is of high interest to traders. They really need savings accounts because most of the time they used to save in other ways. Stanbic Bank has done a good job to help marketeers because they will now become more financially independent. Demand to open bank accounts is high among traders,” Ms. Shamuyombe said following a tutorial on the benefits of savings on Friday.
Bank staff, led by Manager, Formal Sector, Main Markets, Chiwala Shichilaba, explained the importance of savings and investments.
She addressed numerous questions from the traders related to how to open bank accounts, interest earned on savings accounts at Stanbic and the availability of foreign exchange for traders.
And Stanbic Head Client Coverage, Ms. Eunice Mundia, advised COMESA traders to consider depositing their funds with Stanbic, given the various benefits formal financial institutions have to offer depositors.
The high interest from the traders resulted in over a dozen female dealers instantly opening up bank accounts on-site, boosting the financial inclusion agenda.
Meanwhile, commenting on the forthcoming Financial Literacy Week activities, Stanbic Head of Consumer and High Net Worth Clients, Mrs. Mulenga Silwamba, says: “The bank is on a journey to ensure that it continues to contribute to the week by offering, firstly, knowledge at no cost to our clients and the communities in various areas across our branches.”
As part of its efforts to improve financial literacy in Zambia, Stanbic Bank is training its own marketeers to provide the best financial education to other sectors of the community.
The Bank is also showcasing its Anakazi Banking financial solutions during Women’s Month, which coincides with International Women’s Day on March 8, and is part a broader strategy to promote equity and boost women’s financial inclusion to help contribute towards Zambia’s economic development.
Source: Stanbic
