Women set to buy stake in bank
Kenya Women Holdings Chief Executive Jeniffer Riria. The Kenya Women Finance Trust has been hit by high staff turnover, barely three years after it was named the country’s best employer. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Dr Riria noted that the organisation was building strong business networks and embracing diversity to help women tap into national and county opportunities.
- The bank’s “Capture the Future Programme”, a plan which takes care of needy and bright girls through school, would cater for more beneficiaries in the coming years.
Plans to sell Kenya Women Micro-Finance Bank shares worth Sh3 billion to its members are almost complete.
Kenya Women Holdings Chief Executive Jeniffer Riria said the lender would sell 25 per cent of its shares next month.
She said the organisation was also brainstorming and drafting its 2015/2016 strategic plan.
Speaking in Nakuru during a two-day retreat for close to 100 women entrepreneurs, she said the bank was vetting investors who had expressed interest in buying into the lender.
“Members have already expressed interest and deposited money ready for the buy-in, but we are still vetting them,” she said.
Dr Riria said the main aim of selling off a chunk of the bank to members was to ensure that women had a stake in the financial institution.
“KWFT and Kenyan Women Holdings want to empower women and position them in leadership in the business and corporate world,” she noted.
The retreat that gathered women from different parts of the country was used as a forum to help in networking.
Dr Riria noted that the organisation was building strong business networks and embracing diversity to help women tap into national and county opportunities.
“The organisation is rolling out its concept of women business clubs in 25 counties to expose women entrepreneurs to capacity building programmes,” she said.
ACCESS MARKETS
Dr Riria said the clubs would also enable the members access international markets for their products.
The bank’s “Capture the Future Programme”, a plan which takes care of needy and bright girls through school, would cater for more beneficiaries in the coming years.
At the moment, the programme is paying school fees for 35 needy girls.
The bank’s head of programmes, Ms Makena Mworia, urged young women to participate in the organisation’s mentorship programme which aims at providing social and business guidance.
