Dar es Salaam. In Tanzania today, only two women stand tall in the male-dominated banking industry.
Until last year, four commercial banks were under women chief executive officers (CEO) but the number has since gone down to only two.
NMB Bank Plc’s Ruth Zaipuna and NCBA Bank’s Margaret Karume are the only women who have been trusted by their banks’ shareholders and the industry’s regulator to steer the lenders to vibrancy.
Ms Mwanahiba Mohammed’s tenure as managing director for Ecobank Tanzania expired last year when the bank’s board appointed Mr Charles Asiedu, to succeed her, while Ms Angela Moshi, who was Uchumi Commercial Bank (UCB) chief executive, retired in June, last year.
Bank of Tanzania (BoT) figures show that as of December 2015, the country was home to a total of 56 banking institutions. The number comprised 39 commercial banks, two development banks, 12 community banks and three microfinance banking institutions.
As of 2019, however, the number dropped to 51, whereby 38 were commercial banks, two development banks, six community banks and five microfinance banking institutions.
This number has since gone down further, courtesy of several mergers and acquisitions during the past one year.
The Citizen caught up with Ms Moshi, Ms Zaipuna and Ms Karume who share their experiences as women leaders in the banking sub-sector and what it takes to succeed.
Ms Moshi, who worked in the industry for 42 years believes the success of a CEO is an outcome of their management team .
“I am glad to have retired after working in the industry for 42 years. Bank work is highly demanding especially when you are a family person. You need to have a partner who is highly understanding so that sometimes, he closes the gaps when you are stuck,” she told The Citizen.
After retiring, all she has to tell women is that there is no shortcut to women’s self advancement than upping themselves academically. “They should also work hard so they can be seen,” Ms Moshi said.According to NMB Banks’ Ms Zaipuna, there are a number of challenges that hold women back from rising to the level that she (Ms Zaipuna) achieved, noting that one must always visualise the direction that they want to take to rise to top management levels.In Tanzania, available data shows that women CEOs account for only nine percent of the country’s top 140 companies, primarily due to barriers such as male dominated culture, women being responsible for child-care […]