Mulenga: Extraordinary banker Woman with passion to mentor other women

By ANN ZULU

WOMEN have great potential to contribute to Zambia’s economic growth, says Barclays Bank Zambia retail and business banking director, Regina Mulenga.

Ms Mulenga believes that women could make Zambia a better place if they became bold for change and took advantage of every opportunity available.

She told this reporter that women too could make it in any field just as their male counterparts.

“Women have great potential as contributors to our country’s economic growth and as such, they shouldn’t look down on themselves. All that is needed is for them to stay focused on their ambitions,” she said.

Ms Mulenga has over 25 years wide and diverse banking experience, covering both commercial and merchant banking with prime financial institutions in key areas of banking such as finance, credit, transactional, corporate and business locally and internationally.

She started her career at Citibank Zambia in 1990 as financial control assistant and in less than two years moved on to higher responsibilities which eventually saw her take a Southern African regional role at HSBC as marketing manager, overseeing trade finance and investment banking opportunities in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.  

She first joined Barclays Bank Zambia Plc in 2001 where she served as head of trade and cash management, head of operations and SMEs until 2010, and later joined Standard Chartered Bank Zambia as general manager SME. She then re-joined Barclays as business banking director in 2014, a position she held until her appointment as retail and business banking director in 2016.

Ms Mulenga has served on several boards, contributing in a number of national initiatives such as privatisation, Citizens Economic Empowerment Framework, and Amended Agricultural Policy and Act as it relates to easing access to finance for the small scale farmers and the National Scientific and Industrial Research Policy.

Last year, she was appointed as the Diversity and Inclusion champion for Zambia and is passionate about bringing the best out of people.

Barclays Bank Zambia Plc launched the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative during the International Women’s Day celebrations in 2008 as a way of harnessing different cultures and creating a positive working environment which accords all employees an equal opportunity to aspire, attain and excel in leadership positions.

Under the D&I initiative, Barclays has committed to enhancing gender diversity around recruitment, promotion and improving work-life balance for its workforce.  The bank also runs a Local Women in Leadership Programme (LWLP) that aims at providing support and mentorship to upcoming women who aspire to hold top positions.

Ms Mulenga attributed her success to having a positive attitude, maintaining a good work-life balance and being passionate about whatever task was at hand. 

“I believes in being bold for change and as a family woman, I am passionate about developing people through mentorship,” she said.

She said Barclays Bank had made efforts in encouraging female employees to stay focused on their ambitions by offering them the needed support through mentorship and leadership training.

“At Barclays, we believe in creating shared value which ultimately translates into inclusive growth.  The bank’s ambition, through our Diversity and Inclusion platform, is to maintain an environment that will afford all employees regardless of gender an opportunity to grow their potential to excel in leadership positions.

 “We have made strides to ensure that women are included and represented at all employment levels,” she said.

She called on the womenfolk to be bold for change and take advantage of entrepreneurship and career initiatives so that the 2030 gender parity could be attained.