The nation’s most inspirational women were honoured this week at the Stanbic Anakazi Women of the Year Awards.
Women from all walks of life attended the ceremony at the Intercontinental hotel, graced by Minister of Finance Hon. Margaret Mwanakatwe and Stanbic Bank Zambia CEO Leina Gabaraane to celebrate exceptional women in various fields.
More than 120 women were nominated from a wide range of sectors including agriculture, digital, education, community and mining.
Dr Sharon Kapembwa, Medical Women Association of Zambia President, was named Woman of the Year; the Chairman’s Special Award went to Zambia Air Force (ZAF) pilot Captain Nina Tapula, and the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Sister Keiran, head of Roma Girls’ School.
Minister of Finance Hon. Margaret Mwanakatwe who was Guest of Honour at the award show, commended Stanbic Bank for its continued support of the women of Zambia through initiatives such Anakazi Banking.
“I would like to congratulate Stanbic Bank on their fruitful efforts to increase women’s access to finance through initiatives such as Anakazi Banking. Through this support from Stanbic, more women can empower themselves, other women, and contribute positively to the economy,” she said.
Mr Gabaraane said: “We have come up with Anakazi Banking that has recognised and been inspired by the challenges that women face. Under this preposition we recognise that businesses at SME level tend to fail because of lack of basic training of entrepreneurship. Through Anakazi we provide basic training.” Said
Apart from witnessing the handing out of awards, attendees were entertained by songbird Angela Nyirenda.
Guests also had an opportunity to take part in a raffle and win various prizes such as three-month gym membership at the Intercontinental Hotel Gym, dinner for two at the InterContinental’s Savanna restaurant and two Proflight Zambia air tickets.
Stanbic launched Anakazi Banking in 2017. Anakazi Banking focuses on both increased access to finance and capacity building activities for women entrepreneurs. These platforms include training, mentorship and networking events to build knowledge in business management and access to markets, as well as assistance in business formalization.
