Nelly Wainaina, NCBA Group Director, Marketing, Communication and Citizenship
NCBA Group has made a fresh call to the financial sector to re-examine its perception of women in business. Group Director of Marketing, Communication and Citizenship, Nelly Wainaina, insists that women are not only creditworthy but also among the most reliable borrowers.
Speaking at the Leaders’ Breakfast on Women’s Empowerment hosted by the President’s Women’s Advisor on women’s rights, Harriette Chiggai, Wainaina dismissed long-held notions that women are “unbankable.” She argued that, if anything, women have consistently demonstrated stronger repayment behaviour, particularly in the rapidly growing digital lending space.
“Today we’ve heard that women are not bankable, which is not true. Women are actually the best people to bank with. They pay well, they are the best borrowers, and if you think of all the digital loans we have in this country, a lot of them are women,” she said.
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Wainaina, who also serves as a women’s leader at NCBA, emphasised that empowering women has ripple effects across families, communities, and the wider economy. “Now empowering women we know affects society, and that is why we are here. As a woman leader, I also believe in supporting other women leaders,” she noted.
Her remarks are in line with NCBA’s Change The Story initiative, launched in 2018 to advance sustainability and inclusion. Under this platform, NCBA has committed to 15 sustainability goals, with a strong focus on gender equity and financial inclusion for women and youth.
Wainaina highlighted that NCBA’s sustainability agenda is “rooted in inclusion,” with deliberate investments in women-led businesses, mentorship programs, and procurement opportunities.
For instance, the bank directs at least 30 per cent of its procurement budget to women and youth-owned enterprises, while also extending tailored credit solutions to women entrepreneurs in key sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
Beyond credit access, NCBA’s efforts extend to preparing the next generation of women leaders through financial literacy initiatives and the Go-Getter Internship Programme, which equips young women with practical work experience in banking.
Wainaina underscored the need for financial institutions to move beyond rhetoric and provide women with tangible tools for success. “Women are bankable. What we need to do is empower them, give them financial information, make sure they have access to funds so that we can create a better world and a better country,” she added.