Access Bank Kenya and the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) have launched the “W Initiative”, a unified financial proposition aimed at closing the significant funding gap for women-owned businesses in Kenya by consolidating previous offerings and providing credit, capacity building, and market access.

• Only 7 percent of women-owned MSMEs in Kenya successfully access formal credit, while women-led businesses receive just 36 percent of total lending to the MSME sector.
• George Odhiambo, Managing Director of the National Bank of Kenya, stated the initiative signals their commitment to "dismantling barriers".
• The parent company, Access Bank PLC, has already disbursed $141 million (approx. KES 18.2 Billion) to women across its wider network through this model.