Citi's android app that connects women
US banking giant Citibank NA yesterday launched an android app—Eve—with a view to empowering, inspiring and connecting women through social information.
The bank celebrated the 103rd International Women's Day in 2014 by launching the mobile app at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.
The Daily Star Lifestyle and Star Magazine are the content providers of the app. The app will focus on lifestyle-related information, such as fitness, recipes, career and travel, and provide a single platform to access them, said Nibras Yaman, assistant manager of Citibank NA.
Mobile apps can provide women with new economic opportunities and access to new markets, Yaman said.
“As entrepreneurs, women need to know more. There is so much information out there, but women are not aware of it. Access to finance is one of them,” said Rokia Afzal Rahman, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while launching the app.
Women should know the different types of loans provided by the banks, as they are entitled to subsidised loans nowadays, she said.
Information about women's basic legal rights should be included in the app, she said.
The app should portray what Bangladesh is doing to empower women, Rokia Rahman said. “I hope content on the app will be expanded in future.”
Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said: “We hope this app will be used by professional women, homemakers and, of course, business women.”
The app was launched to help women get social information at their fingertips, said Rashed Maqsood, managing director of Citibank.
“We are giving priority to the contents on women's rights, such as the ones that could inform you about the helpline when you face any unkind incident.”
“In an age of online communication, we cannot reach out to millions without an app. We have set a target to reach 2,000 users by the end of this year.”
Citi wants to empower women through knowledge, said Nuzhat Anwar, head of financial institutions at the bank. “We will add different women's rights related content in the app in future.”
“We will also host an activation programme at Dhaka University, Eden College and other private universities to make it popular,” Nuzhat said.
“We can engage more women through the app,” said Luna Shamsuddoha, chairman of Dohatec, an IT firm.
A one-button solution related to women's rights should be added in the app, she said.
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