Ecobank, the pan-African banking group, has formally signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles by UN Women and the UN Global Compact (WEPs), which provide guidance to the private sector on how to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
The bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Awori, announced the signing of the principles during a webinar organised by Ecobank Foundation and UN Women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day celebrations.
The webinar, with the theme ‘Invest in Women: Why does it matter? How can we accelerate it?’, featured discussants on the importance of investing in women to build inclusive societies, and success strategies to counter unconscious biases and discriminatory practices that hinder investments in women.
Commenting about the bank’s signing of WEPs, Ecobank Group CEO said: “At Ecobank, we are fully committed to driving gender equality. Ensuring that women and girls have equal rights as men and boys and can attain their full potential without facing discrimination in any aspect of their lives. This is essential to achieving a sustainable, just, and prosperous society.
“Across the Bank we have implemented numerous initiatives and solutions, including our multi-award winning Ellevate programme to meet the financial and non-financial needs of women’s businesses, and we will continue to introduce new solutions. While we recognise that there is more to do, signing the WEPs is another step in our absolute commitment and determination to advance gender equality and inclusion”, Awori added.
The bank’s dedicated Ellevate programme provides women-owned, led or focused businesses with a comprehensive suite of cash management, borderless payments and collections, banking and funding solutions, in addition to skills training and mentoring.
So far, the programme has on-boarded over 73,000 women business customers and loaned them over US$177 million since its launch in November 2020.
Ecobank has implemented several other initiatives to advance gender equality and inclusion. These include establishing a Diversity and Inclusion Council to create an environment where individuals can thrive without discrimination or bias.
Additionally, it has signed the Women Working for Change Gender Diversity Charter; sponsored awareness programmes on gender-based violence for its staff; and implemented mentoring programmes, along with comprehensive learning and development initiatives aimed at advancing women’s career progression, among other interventions. The Bank will shortly launch a women supplier programme to onboard more women-owned and women-led businesses into its procurement database.
Speaking on the initiative, Deputy Regional Director UN Women Regional Office West and Central Africa, Mireille Kamitatu, said: “I am pleased to acknowledge Ecobank Group’s commitment confirmed by the signing the WEPs.
“We commend the leadership of this Pan-African bank, spanning 35 countries, for its decisive step in advancing gender equality across the continent. UN Women stands ready to offer support in your gender-focused initiatives towards our ultimate objective to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, Kamitatu added,
