Finance Trust Bank (FTB) has trained over 1,000 women in financial literacy.
Speaking to Business Focus on the sidelines of the financial literacy program held at UMA main Hall on Thursday, FTB Managing Director, Annet Nakawunde Mulindwa, said over 1,000 women of all ages were trained and encouraged to open up accounts with the bank so as to benefit from its products and services.
“The turn ups have been impressing; over 50% of women know about banking, but don’t embrace the idea. 70% (to embrace banking) are ready, but they need financial literacy,” Nakawunde said.
She added: “Women can actively participate in developing the economy; they are actively saving, but in informal way which is risky.”
Nakawunde advised women to adjust on their lifestyle, revise their priorities and avoid unnecessary borrowing.
“Women have a stake in development because they can multitask in business, marriage and family. Some people don’t need bank loans, but to adjust on their lifestyles,” she added
One of the founders of the bank, Aidha Wanendeya, a former teacher and employee of the defunct Uganda Commercial Bank (now Stanbic) said that since the bank’s inception in 1984, over 30% of the bank’s shareholding is owned by women. She added that it would be good if women own the bank 100% because it understands them better.
