FNB inks women support deal

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU AN agreement worth K150, 000 meant to support women entrepreneurs across the country has been signed by the First National Bank (FNB) Zambia and KUPES Young Women Network. This agreement will run for a one year period from this month to August 2022 where FNB Zambia will fund some network’s activities aimed at empowering young women across the country through various developmental initiatives including entrepreneurship. FNB Zambia realises that customer needs continue to evolve hence the deliberate efforts to invest in technology to offer future-fit banking solutions, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Bydon Longwe. Mr Longwe stressed that his bank also realised that positively impacting society transcended profit-making and in line with the ethos of offering real help. “We continue to look at how we can cater for the generation of changeable, the adaptation problem solvers, those who for not need corner offices to succeed.  “This is why we are partnering with the KUPES Young Women Network. We want to align ourselves with like-minded organisations who realise that women need support and nurturing,” he said yesterday in Lusaka at the signing ceremony. He indicated that the partnership with the network was important to the bank as it relates to its entrepreneurship journey. In response, KUPES Young Women Network Founder, Norena Chitebe, said the network currently had over 1,500 members. Ms Chitebe said the partnership with FNB Zambia came at a right time when the network was extending its activities countrywide so that a number of young women benefitting from the empowerment initiatives could grow. “We are delighted to add FNB Zambia to our growing network of partners committed to developing girls and young women to value adding contributors in our society. At KUPES, we believed that once women are empowered and inspired, they invariably invest in the survival, education and success of the next generation,” she said.