Stanbic Bank will train deaf SME owners
By Soko Directory Team / Posted on October 7, 2022 | 3:32 p.m.
Stanbic Bank Kenya has partnered with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) to deliver a series of financial literacy trainings to hearing impaired SME owners at Stanbic Bank, Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi. Participants come from around Kajiado, Kiambu and Nairobi.
The training will be delivered as part of KBA’s Inuka SME program, which aims to reach 200 hearing-impaired business leaders. Since 2018, the Association has been advocating for financial literacy training in collaboration with banks to improve the skills of underbanked members of the public so that they are financially included and support the business growth of banked MSMEs. Through the Inuka SME program, more than 50,000 MSMEs have been equipped with key skills and knowledge to strengthen their ability to access bank finance and better manage their businesses.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Stanbic Bank’s Head of Business and Commercial Clients, Florence Wanja said, “Creating an enabling environment is mandatory for businesses to succeed. It is for this reason that we partnered with the Kenya Bankers Association to organize this training. This is the first ever training for hearing impaired business owners in the Kenyan banking industry. Through this partnership, we aim to strengthen the entrenchment of inclusion as a driver of economic development in the country. »
Stanbic Bank’s efforts to facilitate economic growth and development are guided by its purpose; Kenya is our home; we stimulate its growth. Accordingly, our operations are guided by our social, economic and environmental pillars with a focus on 7 key areas: financial inclusion, job creation and business growth, sustainable finance and climate change, infrastructure development, trade and investment in Africa, and education and health.
The Kenya Bankers Association has been a driving force for inclusiveness in service delivery and has championed the development of products for deaf communities. For example, they previously partnered with Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya, and Deaf eLimu Plus launched the Deaf Elimu banking app, a self-learning tool for Kenyan Sign Language in the banking environment.
Speaking at the launch of the training, Kenya Bankers Association Chief Executive Dr Habil Olaka said it was an important moment for the sector in promoting inclusion financial support for deaf business owners. “The training series reaffirms the industry’s commitment to helping unbanked people with disabilities gain knowledge on how to sustain their business for the long term and build their ability to access credit from banks,” he said. -he declares.
Florence Wanja also noted: “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do; we have developed several products and services to support SMEs including the Pamoja Trader trading account which has several benefits including free cash management for deposits below Kshs. 500,000 in addition to personalized services, the customer only pays for the services used.
Globally, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of disability-inclusive development in line with the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which promote the full inclusion of people living with disabilities in societies. According to the Borgen Project, there have been significant positive developments for Deaf people in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade.
Kenya has also made significant progress in ensuring that deaf members of our society have access to information. It includes the 2010 constitution which recognizes sign language as the language of the deaf, an indigenous language and one of the languages of parliament in Kenya. In addition, the Disability Act 2003 requires all public broadcasting stations to include sign language in their programming. However, there is room for further progress.
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