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First National Bank (FNB) Zambia has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion.
Chief Executive Officer, Kapumpe Chola, highlighted the bank’s ongoing initiatives during the FNB Corporate Women Breakfast held in Lusaka on Tuesday.
Addressing attendees, Chola said the event brought together women from diverse professional backgrounds—including corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and employees from public and private institutions—to share experiences and inspire one another.
“Our event today celebrates women. This morning’s session was specifically designed for corporate women, whether working in institutions or running their own businesses,” she said.
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The breakfast focused on how women navigate boardrooms, attain leadership positions, and give back to society once in positions of influence.
Chola said the event also highlighted the journeys of successful women, the challenges they faced, and the lessons learned along the way.
“We wanted to understand what women who have achieved so much had to contend with, their journey to success, and the advice they would give to others. With participants at different stages of their careers, this created an opportunity for learning and mentorship,” she said.
Chola emphasized the theme of the event, “Giving to Gain,” noting that mentorship and collaboration among women foster both personal and professional growth.
Highlighting FNB Zambia’s HER Banking proposition, she explained that the programme empowers women financially by providing access to loans, insurance, and financial literacy training.
“We have provided loans, financial literacy, and discounted insurance services designed for women. We have observed that women show high willingness and ability to repay loans,” she said.
She also noted that the bank recently secured funding from development finance institutions, earmarked in part for women-owned businesses.
Chola clarified that while FNB focused on empowering women, its services remain available to all.
“We are not doing this to the exclusion of men. FNB supports all genders, but we want to create special facilities that make it easier for women to access financial services,” she said.
She highlighted the bank’s internal progress on gender balance, noting that women hold nearly 50 percent of executive roles, including key positions such as chief marketing officer, chief legal executive, head of people, head of retail, and head of client experience.
“Our gender balance has not happened by accident. We hire and promote on merit,” Ms. Chola said.
Beyond corporate settings, FNB Zambia had extended financial literacy programmes to schools and communities across the country, including rural areas.
“These programmes help women gain confidence in managing money, saving, and growing businesses,” she said.
Acknowledging persistent challenges, Chola said women remained underrepresented in many sectors of the economy.
“That is why our initiatives—including those under the FNB Foundation—focus on early childhood development, climate action, health, water, and sanitation. Many of these programmes indirectly uplift women, particularly in disadvantaged communities,” she said.
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