Old Mutual seeks to empower women

Old Mutual recently held its first-ever Women’s Summit last week with the objective to invest in the Namibian decision-makers of tomorrow and to provide women with a sustainable networking and mentoring platform.
The summit, which was held under the theme, ‘If you can dream it, you can achieve it’, focused on capacity building – one of Old Mutual Foundation’s long-term pillars of investment.
Well-known Namibian personalities such as Afra Schimming-Chase, Nangula Uaandja, Businesswoman of the Year 2011 and Dr Chrisna von Gericke graced the delegates with their innovative and thought-provoking presentations.
The presenters focused on topics such as: Financial Planning for Women in the Know; Promoted! – Now What? and Leadership and Leading Teams.
Besides this new commitment to middle management capacity-building – reaching over 40 delegates in its first year – Old Mutual has a long history of supporting various women’s initiatives including the Women’s Action for Development programme, which provides training and development for women in Windhoek and remote communities in the country.
Old Mutual also launched the ongoing Women’s Micro Business Project in 2010, which aims to catapult small business owners by providing financial assistance and skills training to woman all over Namibia.
“At Old Mutual we believe that financial independence, and capacity building is an integral part of sustainability and we are committed to bridging the gap between the resources of our clients and their development needs,” the company said in a statement.