On Thursday October 14, 2021, Women Executives from various sectors of the Ghanaian Economy, gathered together for a two-day conference to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Executive Women Network (EWN) at the Kempinski G old Coast City Hotel.
At the event, the Board Chairperson of Zenith Bank Ghana, Mrs. Freda Duplan, accompanied by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Mr. Akindele Ogunranti unveiled the Z-Woman, designed to increase financial inclusion among women, improve their entrepreneurial skills and enhance their lifestyles.
In Africa, “Women have been identified to be more economically active than anywhere else in the world and this can be seen in Ghana where nearly 70% of women participate in the economy and are present in nearly every sector of the economy executing roles from cooks, police officers to Chief Executive Officers” (2016 Inaugural African Gender Equality Index Report by African Development Bank). In addition, the recently concluded population census that was organized in Ghana, indicated that women make up 50.7% of Ghana’s population.
Given the tremendous increase in the role women play and their contribution to economic growth, the Bank has deemed it appropriate to introduce the Z-Woman for women in Ghana.
In his remarks during the unveiling ceremony, MD/CEO of Zenith Bank Ghana said that, “as a Bank we believe that empowering women economically will boost productivity, increase economic diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes.
He added, “Our support for women and acknowledgement of the role they play in economic development is evidenced by the appointment of a distinguished woman in the person of Mrs. Freda Duplan, who is also a founding member of the Executive Women’s Network, as the current Chairperson of Board of Directors of Zenith Bank Ghana. Her predecessor, also another distinguished woman of note, Dr. Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse was the pioneer Board Chairperson of the Bank. These two strong and formidable women he mentioned “have been very instrumental to the many successes we have achieved as a bank.”
He further noted that having operated in Ghana for the past sixteen years (16) years, Zenith Bank has gained in-depth understanding of the needs of women and that has culminated in the roll-out of the Z-Woman.
The Z-Woman comes in two packages: Z-Woman Plus for top executives and Z-Woman for the womenpreneurs and seeks to empower as well as satisfy the unique needs of today’s woman.
The Z-Woman will have access to:
- Key partnerships
- Exclusive discounts
- Credit Facilities
- Periodic webinars and engagements on Health, Entrepreneurship, Financial Planning, Beauty and many more interesting topical issues.
Mr. Ogunranti therefore invited all women to discover the amazing benefits of being a Z-Woman by signing up at any Zenith Bank branch nationwide or by downloading the Z-Woman registration form from the bank’s website via https://www.zenithbank.com.gh/media/2593/z-woman-registration-form.pdf
He thanked the visionary founders as well as the astute leadership of the Executive Women Network for the excellent job done over the past 5 years, and for the opportunity given the bank to use this platform to unveil the Z-Woman.
About Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank Ghana is a Tier 1 Bank and among the top 10 biggest banks in Ghana. It is a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc, the biggest Bank in Nigeria and one of the 10 biggest banks in Africa with global presence in West Africa, the Middle East, Far East and Europe.
Over the last sixteen (16) years, Zenith Bank Ghana has cultivated a reputation for delivering innovation, excellence and great customer experience.
