NBS BANK WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAM

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NBS BANK WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAM

• Access to Finance Importance Success
• WASHINGTON, 5TH MARCH 2009
• Gilford Kadzakumanja
• NBS Bank Limited

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INTRODUCTION

• Why we did it?
• Market Expansion.
• Diversifying our lending portfolio.
• Empowering bottom of the pyramid borrowers.
• How I got buy in?
• Was in line with our Growth Strategy.
• IFCs Holistic Package was appealing.
• Had a hungry and ready market.

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INTRODUCTION

• Malawi has eleven commercial Banks.
• NBS Bank is the fourth largest.
• Previously a Building Society until 30/06/04.
• Listed on MSE - 15 June 2007.
• MWK20 billion worth of assets.
• Largest savings market share.
• Only Bank with an elaborate SME Unit.
• Only Bank with a Women Entrepreneurs Program.

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OUR INTERVENTION BALANCING ACCESS

• Train Empower women.
• Improve their knowledge base and confidence
  level.
• Increase their probability to access finance.
• Enable them to grow their market share.
• Contribute meaningfully to private sector
  production development.
• Restore their dignity and redefine their role in
  society and national development.

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THE PROGRAM

• Trains Graduate Loan Officers.
• Banks promotes more SMES.
• Encourages women to come forward.
• Trains women in partnership with IFC.
• Utilizes the SME Unit.
• Involves all PORs spread across the entire
  country.
• Developing a woman friendly culture.
• Monitoring, Reviewing Sustaining.

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IMPORTANCE OF PROGRAM

• Improving skills relating to business planning,
  financial planning, product marketing, and the
  whole spectrum of financial management.
• Emphasizing the essential elements of the
  Banker/Customer relationship.
• Encouraging owning responsibility and the need to
  be accountable.
• Improving the ability to access funds for running
  businesses.
• Increasing business stocks and/or production.
• Enabling entrepreneurs to offer better customer
  experience.

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IMPORTANCE OF PROGRAM

• Increasing their business/market share.
• Enabling them to coach employees/assistants.
• Managing costs better and Increasing revenues.
• Learning to plough back and invest for growth.
• Improve brand equity (consistence), image and
  reputation.
• Creating access to a pool of talent and learning
  from others.
• Improving networking opportunities and
  possibilities.
• Adoption of Best Business Practices.
• Improving their livelihood status in society.

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THE PROGRAM SUCCESS

• Fist training started on 30th June to 3rd July
  2008 at Dorvic Hotel in Blantyre.
• So far 7 groups have been trained a total of
  153 women.
• Breakdown per region
• Place no of trainings numbers
• Blantyre 3 trainings 74 (22,19,33)
• Lilongwe 2 trainings 44 (25,19)
• Mzuzu 2 trainings 35 (23,12)

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THE PROGRAM SUCCESS

• Number and value of loans given per region
• Region No. Amount
• South 121 35,636,819
• North 6 5,800,000
• Central 59 24,035,454
• Totals 186 K65,472,273

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THE PROGRAM SUCCESS

• Number and value of loans per sector
• Region No. Amount
• Transport 60 39,283,364
• Tourism 13 8,511,395
• General Trading 12 7,856,673
• Others 15 9,820,841
• Totals 100 K65,472,273
• Beauty salons boutiques dominate General
  Trading.
• Smaller sectors, e.g. poultry dairy farming.

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THE PROGRAM SUCCESS

• Have had 5 breakfast/review sessions.
• Planning to grow the women portfolio through
• Girl graduates (get the list through lady
  representatives from the University of Malawi who
  are interested in entrepreneurship).
• Training more women in other urban and semi-urban
  centres.
• Promotion through adverts - both print
  electronic.
• Road shows/interactive open day sessions.
• Award Regional National Woman Entrepreneur of
  the year.

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THE PROGRAM SUCCESS

• The SME Unit was established in January 2008.
• First loan was disbursed in February 2008.
• Total outstanding loans as at 31st January 2009
  were K172,191,153.
• Total Number of SME Loans accounts equaled 501.
• 186 accounts are for women entrepreneurs
  amounting to K65,472,273, i.e. 37 in number
  38 in value of the total SME Loan Portfolio.
• Most dominating sector, value-wise, for the women
  is transport trading (i.e. importation of
  boutique items).
• In terms of numbers, poultry farming comes first,
  except that amounts accessed are small - ranging
  from K200,000 to K500,000.00 per deal.

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THE PROGRAM SUCCESS

• WHATS IN THE PIPELINE?
• Continue with the women entrepreneurial training.
• Explore the engagement/inclusion of girl-graduate
  entrepreneurs in the program for posterity.
• Co-ordinate the formation of the Women
  Entrepreneurs Network.
• Facilitate inter-regional networking sessions.
• Hold Regional National Woman Entrepreneur of
  the Year awards.
• Part-Sponsor women entrepreneurs business trip to
  China next year, budget permitting.

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AT NBS BANK YOUR CARING BANK

• Intend to continue growing a sizeable portfolio
  of women borrowers.
• Offering free business training advisory
  services.
• Train in lots of 25 in all regions (repeatedly).
• Meet Focus Groups of about 15 women each
• Relationship Management Bank level.
• To overcome new challenges.
• To share best practice.
• Promote networking Customer Level.
• Our wish Graduate the prosperous ones into
  corporate entities.

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CHALLENGES FACING OUR WOMEN

• Lower Education Standard.
• Complexity of some financial instruments.
• Unsophisticated Workforce perceived to reduce
  seen costs (when in reality do increase the
  unseen costs).
• Security lack of registrable security.
• Unfavourable risk-based pricing/high cost of
  funds.
• Limited Mobility unstretched market.
• Repressive husbands.
• Still not taken seriously by many.
• Perceived lower technical business know-how.

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CONCLUSION

• AT NBS BANK WE STRONGLY BELIEVE
• It is old-fashioned to discriminate against
  women.
• Women are hardworking and should be seen as
  trusted business partners.
• If you kill a woman, you kill a whole nation
  rather, help women to take charge and be the best
  they can be.
• Let us level the playing field and create
  opportunities for all mankind.
• We should make money when our partners are also
  making money.
• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
• Gilford Kadzakumanja
• March, 2009