Women's Entrepreneurship Finance

The largest untapped market in the world is women, according to Women’s World Banking. Financial institutions are failing to ensure their offerings work for women, however three elements with a gender-inclusive design can help counter this issue:

SME Finance Forum member, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has collaborated with the and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group to launch the first gender-focused fund for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The investment, ‘Fund Mujer’ is for up to $200 million and will be made up of 30 percent debt and 70 percent equity, according to the article. 

The fund will focus on female entrepreneurs, companies with a significant share of women leaders, and firms that generate jobs or consumer products for women.

Approved bank loans to SMEs has decreased by 15 percent over the last 10 years, and roughly 60 percent of all ventures in need of external financing have reported difficulties in accessing financing for their investments, according to an article by the Harvard Business Review. 

Digitization is proving to have a negative effect on entrepreneurs, particularly women, with its elimination of relationship-based lending. 

Itaú Unibanco will provide a online course entitled, “Plano de crescimento: como transformar negócios em sucesso,” (Growth plan: how to turn business into success) to support women entrepreneurs. In partnership with the IFC and EDUK, a widely known learning platform in Brazil, Itaú Unibanco will develop and provide the course for free, according to the article. 

The modules featured in the course will include:

According to the Global Findex, India has improved financial inclusion; it’s reported that 80 percent of adults in 2017, have bank accounts and women owning accounts have increased by 30 percent. 

India has lended to hundreds throughout the unbanked community and is the largest microfinance market in the world, according to Next Billion. 

Microfinance in India has its pros and cons. It’s able to reach customers that mainstream financial institutions fail to notice, but it also lacks adequate regulation, making it dangerous for borrowers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepped in and created more stabilization for microfinance institutions by providing regulation and oversight.

A law was proposed by Tunisia’s President, Beji Caid Essebsi, that equal inheritance be available for men and women.

Tunisia would be the first country in the Arab world, according to the article to implement equal inheritance, which would result in financial inclusion for Tunisia women.

Right now, “The inheritance law is a significant barrier for women,” shared Nabila Hamza, co-founder of the Tunisian Association for Democratic Women. “It reduces their economic autonomy. Only 12% [of Tunisian women] own a house and only 14% own land.”