KCB Bank Rwanda on Friday celebrated International Women’s Day with female students at Lycee de Kigali. The bank used the occasion to educate the young women on entrepreneurship, savings and banking.

The event, held under the theme, "See Her Rise”, was part of the lender’s ‘Women in Leadership’ programme.

KCB Board Member Speciose Ayinkamiye, who was the keynote speaker, underscored the importance of savings and entrepreneurship. 

"We want to see our girls rise and shine. There is no better place and time to be a woman than here and now. They should start saving for their future projects,” she told her audience of uniformed schoolgirls. 

She added that the bank celebrated the day with only girls because "we want them to fight their way up, become businesswomen and bankers.” 

Odile Mukayiranga, an employee with KCB, engaged in a delightful conversation with the students focused on the culture of saving. 

She called for young women to develop a saving attitude at a young age.

"You have no right to grow old poor. Saving is not for rich people and does not need you to have a lot of wealth. You only need to feel the need to save,” she said. 

To facilitate and encourage young women to save, Mukayiranga introduced the girls to KCB Bank’s ‘Cub Account’ designed for children and students. 

"Cub Account is for you. You can open an account and save any amount of money free of charge. You can start saving for your future projects or even pension right now,” she said. 

KCB Bank’s message was well received by the students.

Peace Gihozo, a 17-year-old who is getting ready to graduate high school in one year’s time, said she was thrilled to see that corporate institutions think about young schoolgirls and their future.

"I did not know that I could save less than Rwf1000 in the bank. It now looks easier and doable. I hope many young women will understand that saving is not for employed or wealthy only,” she said. 

Several other KCB Rwanda staff members were given an opportunity to share their stories and talk about how women can join the banking sector, which still faces gender gap.

The goal of the session was to inspire young women to rise and shine, officials said.

"We want you to rise and become the best of yourselves. We want our Cub Account to help you save and do big projects in the future,” Ayinkamiye said. 

She later told The New Times that KCB Bank was committed to helping women reach their full potential. Apart from Cub Account, KCB Rwanda has rolled out several other initiatives such as ‘Igire’, which helps high school dropouts to undertake fully-funded vocational training.

The visit was concluded with a Q & A session where the young girls had their questions on various issues answered. They also interacted with KCB Bank’s staff members with whom they also shared a drink.

Before KCB Bank’s visit to Lycee de Kigali, it had earlier in the day held another event in line with the 2020 International Women’s Day focusing on the Ovarian and Cervical Cancer awareness. The event was led by Dr Patrick Kayumba, an Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist, and a survivor of ovarian cancer, Suzan Batamuriza, the Operation Excellence Manager.

This year’s International Women’s Day fell on Sunday and, globally, the event was marked under the theme, "I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights”.