Coffee, Conversation and Banking
City Alo is a dedicated Women Banking division of City Bank located in the ground floor of Shanta Skymark at 18 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan, Dhaka. It was introduced with the goal of empowering women by providing them financial assistance and support. With 32 City Alo corners across City Bank branches nationwide, it offers a unique banking experience for the women across all segments in Bangladesh. The special “Coffee-shop branch” located at the City Bank Gulshan Women branch supported by Gloria Jean’s Coffees aims to be a hub for continuous discussion and discourse for the established and upcoming entrepreneurs including millennial students. It goes beyond conventional branch banking and lays a new foundation for relationship-based banking
Besides, any woman customer who walks into the lounge can enjoy the freshly brewed coffee, beverages and food at an amazing discount of 50% that Gloria Jean’s Coffees offers inside the branch. This offer is open to any women customers and their companion. Launched on 18 March of this year, this one-of-a-kind concept and initiative has been well praised and appreciated by everyone across all segments. With testimonials from visitors which can be found in the City Alo website and Facebook page it goes to show the importance and the changes that City Bank is bringing for the women of this country.
“We want this to be a hub for great ideas and work. You don’t have to be a City Bank customer to come to the coffee shop. We also have an auditorium inside City Alo Center in the same building, to host regular events that boost women entrepreneurship in all its glory.” says Mashrur Arefin, Managing Director & CEO of City Bank. Regular events and seminars are held at the venue some of them being, An advocacy Workshop on Mental Health conducted by Professor Mehtab Khanam in partnership with JCI and City Alo, a workshop on Early Childhood Development was conducted by Ms. Zinia Tasnim Karim, in partnership with ColoursFM 101.6. There are many more upcoming sessions and these sessions are open for anyone simply by signing-up from the City Alo Facebook page. City Alo is also open for collaboration with partners in hosting cultural, skill-building and awareness programs open for the women.
This “Coffee-shop branch” was designed by Tanya Karim N.R. Khan & Associates by keeping in mind the uniqueness of the concept and not like any traditional bank branch. Equipped with over 250 books it makes for a perfect environment to work, discuss fresh ideas or just enjoy a good coffee break. It also contains locker facilities which City Alo customers can enjoy at a discounted rate.
Additionally, in partnership with North South University, City Alo offers a specially designed certification course developed only for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh at a discounted rate. “We have just started our second batch of students who are taking the entrepreneurship course in collaboration with North South University. 35 students have already graduated from our first batch. Any woman interested in starting their enterprises can take up the course at just BDT 5000 by simply signing up on the City Alo website”, says Mariam Javed Juhi, Head of City Alo.
On how far the idea will play out in the local context, Mariam expresses, “we have seen airport lounges and priority banking centers work really well, who doesn’t like getting a little bit of priority?”
As a part of an emerging digital community, customers will have access to a special online networking platform, www.cityalo.com, designed especially to encourage women to read blogs, share their opinions and benefit from tutorials, videos and much more in an attempt to bring forward a positive impact in the society and break down gender barriers.
There are many things that visitors can look forward to with the website as there are plans about it that are still being executed to give women an unparalleled experience with sharing their ideas. It is meant to be a collaborative platform for idea sharing by the women along with a strong community where they can network with like-minded individuals. Besides the Bank has plans to regularly publish content that will help members of the community brush up both their soft and hard skills.
The program is designed not just for a niche crowd but for an extensive reach amongst women who need the financial support the most. The savings account starts from just BDT 1000. High-value Savings Accounts with full life insurance coverage are also available for the audience. The loans will be available at just 9% and for the first time ever City Bank has launched a DPS which is goal-based.
