Stanbic Bank Tanzania Donate TZS 10M to Support International Day of Women and Girls in Science

On the 10th of February 2021, Stanbic Bank Tanzania has donated TZS 10 million to support the International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebration organized by Vijana ThinkTank.

The support aims to recognize the vital role women and girls play in science and technology by promoting further female participation and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses which are key towards driving the country’s industrialization agenda as well as reducing the gender gap globally.

Science, technology, and innovation have been recognized as key drivers of global development and industrialization not just in Tanzania, but in many emerging economies in the world today.

Stanbic Bank’s partnership is informed by the meager enrolment numbers by girls into STEM courses across universities and colleges.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) data indicate that women in Tanzania represent around 40% of university enrolment but only about 24% are enrolled in science, engineering, and technology fields.

This gap continues to place women at risk of losing out on today’s and tomorrow’s best job opportunities as the world continues to move towards full digitization and technology innovation.

Since the formation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) governments, organizations, and individuals have been challenged to take significant steps in creating a more inclusive society through equitable development.

Speaking about Stanbic’s contribution, the bank Head of Private and Business Banking, Omari Mtiga, said that “To advance as a country and achieve the industrialization agenda, we must increase the enrolment of women and girls in STEM subjects and scale-up approaches to enhance their attraction to and retention in the field. This partnership forms one of the many social campaigns we continue to be part of to assure the youth that through hard work, ambition, and continuous self-improvement, they can achieve their dreams.”

Mtiga further noted that economic growth depends upon the full utilization of the human capital available. “To succeed in having gender equality in this field, all sectors must create more partnerships to empower women, girls, and all youth to encourage their participation and interest in science.”

On his part, William Mshery from Vijana Think Tank said that “We believe this partnership with Stanbic Bank Tanzania will unleash the full potential of science, technology, and innovation as a driver of Tanzania’s growth and development. We are grateful for the Bank’s contribution and commend their continued efforts to empower young women and men in Tanzania.

Stanbic Bank Tanzania

Stanbic Bank Tanzania is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets.

Stanbic Bank Tanzania provides the full spectrum of financial services.

Its Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) division serves a wide range of requirements for banking, finance, trading, investment, risk management and advisory services.

Corporate & Investment Banking delivers this comprehensive range of products and services relating to: investment banking; global markets; and global transactional products and services.

Standard Bank’s corporate and investment banking expertise is focused on industry sectors that are most relevant to emerging markets. It has strong offerings in mining and metals; oil, gas and renewables; power and infrastructure; agribusiness; telecommunications and media; and financial institutions.

Stanbic Bank Tanzania’s Personal and Business Banking unit (PBB) offers banking and other financial services to individuals and small-to-medium enterprises.

PBB serves the increasing need among Africa’s small business and individual customers for banking products that can meet their shifting expectations and growing wealth.