CBA to award cash, internship to mentorship graduates

NAIROBI: Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) has unveiled a mentorship programme dubbed “Be More Mentorship” for budding graduates. The bank, working in collaboration with Finance Students Association of Kenya, launched the programme at the University of Nairobi School of Business recently.

The semi-finals of the challenge for the 36 top competitors at the university were held on June 23, 2015, where the top 12 teams of three members each battled it out for the University of Nairobi “Be More” title. “Success is not success without a successor,” noted CBA Chief Executive Jeremy Ngunze, who is one of the mentors.

“For CBA, life fulfillment is more than enhancing wealth. Through the ‘Be More’ proposition, we are equipping our youth with the right skill and mature character for a fruitful future for them, for us and for our country,” he said. The winners get professional training, internship opportunity and investment package worth Sh100,000.

The young people who hold accounts with CBA are linked with high profile individuals who also bank with the financial institution. This comes in the wake of a recent survey by Inter University Council for East Africa, indicating that only half of the more than 50,000 students who graduate annually are suitable for employment. Most graduates have the knowledge, the dream and the determination to succeed, but they do not know how or where to start.

This was the case with Wahinya, who studied International Relations, did accounting, works with an NGO for underprivileged children and has a side hustle. This was until he met the Director and Co-Founder of Petu Properties Patricia Ithau, who is known for her role during the takeover of Interconsumer Products Ltd.

She was then the Managing Director of L’Oreal East Africa. “Youth Empowerment is more than giving young people money and technical skills, it is guiding them, walking with them until they can stand on their own. Most of all, it is allowing them to clearly see where they want to go” noted Ms Ithau.

The mentorship is on voluntary basis. For the mentees, it is an opportunity for personal development, career growth, business networks and most of all a genuine friendship and guidance to a fruitful future.