ABSA LAUNCHES "ABSA SHE BUSINESS ACCOUNT" TO EMPOWER WOMEN

Bank of Tanzania (BOT) Deputy Governor, Ms. Sauda Kassim Msemo (first right), presses a button to symbolize the launch of "Absa She Business Account" at a function in Dar es Salaam. Third right is Absa Bank Tanzania Managing Director, Obedi Laiser along with other senior officials from Absa and BOT.

A call has been issued to banks and financial institutions in the country to work with high professionalism, adhering to laws, regulations, procedures, and guidelines, including banking ethics, in providing services to ensure efficiency.

This call was made by Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, Ms. Sauda Kassim Msemo in Dar es Salaam, during the official launch of Absa Tanzania women entrepreneurs' account named "Absa She Business Account", and emphasized that the launch of this account aligns with efforts of the sixth-phase government to ensure that more citizens have access to financial services.

“The sixth-phase government, under leadership of Her Excellency, Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan, is working on driving financial inclusion among Tanzanians, especially those living in rural areas where financial institutions are limited. ‘The government is also working very hard on supporting financial inclusion, especially for women. I am very happy that the "Absa She Account" that we are launching today matches government efforts and has come at the right time, empowering women in Tanzania, which is something to appreciate,’ said Ms. Sauda.

She added, ‘The Absa She Business Account is structured in a way that there are neither monthly nor transaction fees. This is another way of attracting women in business to open and operate bank accounts and use the fees that were to be charged to increase their capital.’

The Deputy Governor added that women are more likely to be entrepreneurs than men, but they have been facing various challenges such as proper financial records, calculating profits and losses, looking for new markets, and expanding their business. ‘The Absa She Business Account has come as a solution. Apart from the normal banking transactions, account holders will benefit from free training, and I would like to use this opportunity to call on women in business to properly use these opportunities and acquire knowledge from such training. I'm confident that they will prosper in running their daily businesses.

Absa Bank Tanzania Managing Director, Obedi Laiser, said the Absa She Business Account is not the usual bank account but a comprehensive set of financial and non-financial solutions uniquely packaged together to address the many challenges businesswomen face and to accelerate business growth for women, particularly those in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

‘The Absa She Business Account is structured in a way that it will attract neither monthly charges nor transactional fees and, therefore, drive up financial inclusion, especially for small and micro-businesses that were deterred from operating a business bank account due to transaction fees involved,’ said Mr. Laiser.

Thanks to the African Guarantee Fund and the African Development Bank through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program, Tanzanian businesswomen with insufficient or no collateral will have access to business loans through the Absa She Business Account. The Absa She Business Account will also offer business development services like coaching, mentoring, and training on business development and operations, providing a major boost to women doing business in the country.

“Businesswomen or women entrepreneurs face a unique set of challenges compared to businessmen or male entrepreneurs. Among the challenges that women experience are less-established business networks, limited business knowledge, limited access to finance, and social and traditional constraints that restrict women’s participation in business.

However, at Absa Bank Tanzania, driven by our organizational purpose of "Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together, one story at a time," we have taken a bold step forward to solve these challenges and offer Tanzanian women an opportunity to thrive in business and contribute to the economic development of our country and the continent.”

Mr. Laiser added, 'As you may recall, last week we unveiled our new brand promise 'Your Story Matters' by launching the She Business Account, this is another testimony that we truly care about the stories of women entrepreneurs in Tanzania and will continue to appreciate and support them step by step in achieving their economic narratives.'

Linking the new solution with the upcoming International Women’s Day and DEI, which is central to the ESG framework that Absa has fully embedded into its operations, the Managing Director said that while the world over is waiting to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women on March 8th through International Women's Day, Absa is celebrating women in advance by introducing a new solution that shows its commitment to the agenda of progress for women. “This year’s International Women’s Day theme being #InspireInclusion, we at Absa are leading the way in inspiring inclusion through this innovative solution we are launching today, which will drive up the inclusion of women in the business world,” he added.

Absa She Business Account holders will also have access to business debit and credit cards, Internet Banking, and the ability to withdraw and deposit cash through cash-accepting ATMs and Absa Wakala anywhere in the country, amongst many other benefits.