FBNBank Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to championing gender equality and to empowering women as part of the celebration of International Women’s Day.

The day was marked with a unique event that highlighted the theme for the year, “DigiTall: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality” and climaxed with the roll-out of a special women’s account, FirstGem.

The event which was attended by customers, management and staff of the bank and the media was organised by the FBNBank Women Network, an internal ladies’ group which promotes the advancement and equal opportunities for women in FBNBank.

The activities during the event included a panel discussion themed on the celebration’s hashtag, “EmbraceEquity” which encourages women to venture into the technology in order to benefit from the many opportunities it offers.

All the panelists emphasised the need for women in technology to work hard and trumpet their achievements in order to create visibility. The panelists for the discussion included Farida Bedwie, a Software Engineer, Audrey Mnisi Mireku, Chief Information Security & Risk Officer at the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) and Mr. Henry Obike, Head of E-Business, FBNBank Ghana.

Delivering the welcome address, Grace Isaac-Aryee, Treasurer of FBNBank Ghana and Chairperson of FBNBank Women’s Network said, “the celebration of International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate ourselves and appreciate each other for our tireless work and dedication to making meaningful contributions to the World. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the unique role we play in shaping the society through our personal and professional achievements for which, I believe, our men can stand up and celebrate us.”

As part of the evening’s activities and as part of this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations, the Bank launched the FirstGem Account.

This banking product is aimed at empowering women professionally and financially and comes with benefits which include a higher interest rate return reward on deposits and an interest rate much lower than the commercial lending rate.

Commenting on the FirstGem account, the Head of Retail Banking, Allen Quaye said, “the introduction of FirstGem is aimed at offering women an opportunity for empowerment financially and also in the business arena. It is structured to help close the gender gap in line with what the Bank practices. FirstGem Account comes in three variants; the FirstGem Current Account for individuals, the FirstGem Savings Account also for individuals and the FirstGem Finance for registered women-owned businesses. Additionally, FirstGem offers women capacity-building through thought-leadership workshops, business advisory services, and business skills. It will also provide wealth management and investment opportunities and convenience to all holders of the account.”                             

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of FBNBank, Victor Yaw Asante, who is also the patron of the FBNBank Women’s Network said, “at FBNBank, we put women at the core of our work and operations, so as we mark this year’s International Women’s Day, FBNBank dedicates the entire month of March to celebrate women (who are female colleagues, customers or relatives) as a recognition of their impact in bringing positive balance to our lives and as a mark of appreciation for them.”