NASME suggests national women’s bank

National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) is suggesting that there should be an established women’s national bank.

Once established, the bank is expected to create women cantered financial services across the country

According to the NASME national coordinator William Mwale, the tailor-made banking institution could run under policies that specifically target women.

“We need interest from our development partners such as the UN Women so that we can have the bank established in the country,” Mwale said.

Neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya are some of the countries that have women banks, a development which Mwale believes can be critical in empowering women while pushing the Malawi 2063 Vision Agenda if Lilongwe adopts.

He said; “Already, we have a lot of interest from women in financial institutions and having a specific bank will contribute more to their financial freedom.”

An economist and public policy analyst from the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) Bertha Lipipa Phiri said business women might have a huge advantage from such an establishment.

“Most small and medium businesses are run by women. However, women face challenges in accessing vital financial services such as loans. Establishing such a bank means they will have easy access to various tailor-made loans,” Lipipa Phiri explained.

Statistics show that about 30% of households in Malawi are headed by women. However, women still lag behind in financial freedom.

This means that without a partner’s support, female-headed houses are almost always poorer.