KAMPALA – Housing Finance Bank has announced its support towards the Future Female Alumni Association of Uganda (FFAAU). This platform brings together women pursuing to advance in their leadership journey and occupy top management and boardroom positions through the Female Future Program (FFP).
The announcement was made during the Annual General Meeting for the Future Female Alumni Association of Uganda that took place at Fairway Hotel Kampala.
Addressing the ladies in attendance, the Chairperson, Hellen Nanteza Kawesa encouraged ladies to be intentional about their growth journey and support each other. “I implore you to not only focus on yourselves, as you rise, carry another lady with you. Incredible things happen when women support each other.”
She further thanked Housing Finance Bank for the support and reiterated her commitment to empowering women to achieve their full potential. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Housing Finance Bank for the support towards the Future Female Alumni Association initiatives and called upon other companies to support the association.”
According to the 2021 UN Women fact sheet for Uganda, 34.9% of seats in the parliament of Uganda were held by women. There is a glaring need to empower women to occupy senior leadership and board positions in government and private organizations. The Future Female Alumni Association of Uganda seeks to mobilize and empower the country’s Women Leaders to occupy Top Management Positions and Boardrooms. As part of Housing Finance Bank’s sustainability agenda, the bank continues to promote gender equality and support women to manage their unique extra responsibilities while thriving in their career paths.
Housing Finance Bank signed up to the Gender Equality Seal Certification Initiative by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to be more deliberate on equal opportunities within the organization. As at December 2022, female leaders constitute 50% of the Housing Finance Bank’s board and executive management. Overall, female staff constitute 56% of the entire staff complement at Housing Finance Bank.
Sarah Irene Walusimbi, a non-executive director and board member at Housing Finance Bank, and Angela Ndawula, the Head of Business and Institutional Banking, who are also members of FFAAU were present at the event.
Angela Ndawula, the Head of Business and Institutional Banking handed over the cheque to the FFAAU Chairperson on behalf of Housing Finance Bank.
While addressing the ladies in attendance, the bank’s Marketing Manager, Ronnie Zalwango thanked the association for the continued commitment towards empowering women and affirmed HFB’s commitment to supporting initiatives that promote inclusiveness and empowerment of women. ‘’As a bank, we are very intentional about continuously creating an inclusive and safe environment where women can maximize their potential and thrive.” ‘’The support towards FFAAU is part of the many initiatives that the bank continues to undertake to empower women” she said.
The Keynote speaker for the day was Judy Obitre Gama, a senior advocate, consultant, and board member on several public and private parastatals led the conversation on how women leaders can join and remain on boards.
The event was crowned with the election of new board members for which Angela Ndawula, Housing Finance Bank’s Head of Business & Institutional Banking was elected to the new board of Future Female Alumni Association of Uganda.
