Women have been advised and encouraged to venture into businesses to attain financial empowerment and stop depending on their male counterparts for financial aid.
According to Najma Bari, the chief officer of women banking in Gulf Africa Bank (GAF), women have a big potential to venture into income generating businesses, but are hampered by rather stringent conditions by financial lending institutions.
Jabri stated that the conventional lending specifications largely discouraged women who would to acquire loans to finance their small businesses.
Speaking during the Women networking and empowermnet workshop held on Thursday, Najma told the female attendants in the workshop that GAB had finally realised their predicaments and introduced a ‘Women Only’ financial institution that is operated and run by women with all their clients being women.
On his part, GAB Managing Director Abdulhalik Abdalla said the Shariah compliant lending institution started operating commercially in 2008 and so far having opened 16 branches countrywide.
He said the GAB bank intends to support women owned business enterprises across the counties by providing them with cheaper and affordable financial loans to advance their individual growth and sustainability.