ABN Amro Services Company issued the following announcement on Jan. 5.

Anne-Sophie defines herself as a racial entrepreneur and is in the process of building her startup, Vesper BSO+, an afterschool club for children with special needs. This type of afterschool care is currently not available to 38,000 schoolchildren. François is Skill Lead Personal Banking.

Why did you both decide to participate in the Fempower Your Growth Program?

Anne-Sophie: "I've been working with someone who feels very much at home in all things finance. But I want to be able to do those things myself. With this project, I hoped to learn ways to raise funds."

François: "Being in banking, I thought it was a great opportunity to dip my toe in the entrepreneurial water. Entrepreneurship is something I grew up with and I have always applied it to the positions I’ve been in. With Anne-Sophie, I was able to discover how I, an entrepreneurial banker, could help an entrepreneur without a financial background."

Surely, Fempower Your Growth is geared towards advancing women in business? I don't hear you talking about that.

François: "No, but that added an extra dimension to the entire initiative. There are an incredible number of biases about female entrepreneurs, making it difficult for many to obtain a bank loan. Which is just preposterous. If women are less successful due to these biases, then we are also less successful as financier of their businesses. And let’s be honest, these biases are not based on facts."

Anne-Sophie: "I work in the care sector. I negotiate with directors and aldermen, all of whom are women. I don't feel the pain other women do, because I don't experience those biases. But they exist. It was right for the program to pay attention to this. I’ve heard that families with unemployed mothers used to be charged additional taxes some short thirty or forty years ago. That’s just so bizarre. To think that such a thing existed until recently."

What about that next step you wanted to take together, was that successful?

François: "Maybe not from the perspective of the program. Anne-Sophie did not have a specific question in mind for me. But I was still able to do something for her. Like many of my colleagues at the bank, I have a network, which you can use for issues you don't readily think about."

"One of our lawyers went on to assess the terms of the Vesper BSO+ client agreement. I also introduced Anne-Sophie to a colleague at the ABN AMRO Foundation. Her company really lends itself to voluntary work. This opened up a whole new avenue of opportunities. So, Anne-Sophie and my colleague are now looking into the options available. And perhaps our colleagues will soon be able to volunteer with Anne-Sophie."

Anne-Sophie: "I tagged along to learn about financial growth. But as François already mentioned, I did not really have a specific question in mind. So I did not quite get what I was looking for. That is not a bad thing though. The things I did get out of the program are very valuable. And if there are any parents who would like to help me come up with ideas for setting up Vesper BSO+, I’d love to hear from you."

Last question, that personal step that you also were going to take, have you been able to do anything about your own biases?

Anne-Sophie chuckles: "Whenever I thought of bankers, I’d picture stuffy, procedural types who stayed with the same employer for years on end. But that doesn’t really say anything about what someone’s like. François was particularly kind and helpful. I really think we’ll keep in touch."

François: "I’ve become much more aware of biases about and towards women. And that they deal with it so much better than men who also face biases. It has really opened my eyes. It’s also taught me that I can achieve something faster if, for example, I show more vulnerability. Or by asking more questions and acknowledging what I am insecure about."

Original source can be found here.

Source: ABN Amro Services Company