cat/womens-entrepreneurship-finance
At the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), we believe that complex inequalities need wide-ranging responses. This is why in 2014, the EBRD launched an ambitious new approach to support the financial and economic inclusion of women.
In a bid to accelerate women’s financial inclusion in MENA, the region with the lowest female economic participation in the world, the DFID-funded Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) led a study to understand the scope for Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Egypt, map key constraints to women’s financial inclusion and identify opportunities to transform the livelihoods of low-income Egyptian women through improved access to finance.
Access to finance also remains a problem, where 53 percent of women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not have access to credit and 70 percent of surveyed MENA female entrepreneurs agree that lending conditions in their economy are too restrictive and do not allow them to secure the financing needed for growth.
A new study seen exclusively by Yahoo Finance UK shows how difficult it is for women in Britain, compared to men, to start their own business.
Yahoo says, men are three times more likely than women to have over £250,000 ($320,479) of investible assets – essential capital for getting a business started – according to private equity house IW Capital. Their 2018 Women’s Entrepreneurship Index has also shown how men are 52% more likely than women to have more start-up capital than their parents.
LendIt Fintech USA 2019 returns to San Francisco as we host the World’s Leading Event in Financial Services Innovation at the Moscone Center. The year’s event brings together 5,000 decision makers from major fintech, blockchain, digital banking and lending companies for two action-packed days of networking, learning and doing business.
SME Finance Forum members will recieve a 15 percent discount on registration. Contact us for the discount code.
The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate (UNSGSA) annual report was released and focuses on financial inclusion, technology, innovation and progress.
The report covers the advancements with mobile money and technology, in addition to covering the challenges associated with data privacy.
Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands emphasizes the importance of customer-centricity, centrality of data and engaging the private sector.
SME Finance Forum member Diamond Bank is helping women plan for the future with its BETA savings account. According to the article, providing access to financial services can improve a women’s earning potential, depart from poverty and reduce inequality worldwide.
Almost one billion women around the world, don’t have access to savings, credit or insurance, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex report.
Last year, SME Finance Forum member Diamond Bank, among others, partnered with Women’s World Banking to solve the issue regarding lack of inclusion of low-income women into the financial system. This year, Women’s World Banking hosted a digital financial services workshop, showcasing best practices in creating products with women in mind and maximizing digital technology to service low-income women.
In the G7 Executive Talk Series briefing report, the critical role of women in the cryptocurrency sector is examined. According to the report, 95 percent of males are bitcoin users while on five percent are females. One key element explaining the cause of this imbalance is due to the psychological theory that men take more risks than women, according to the article.
Steps to take to deter the gap include:
In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, regional CEO of Africa and the Middle East for Standard Chartered Bank, Sunil Kaushal shared his plans and partnerships with India and UAE.
Kaushal shared,“Mmy vision is to build up a business which delivers a solid result and generates the right returns for all our stakeholders – but on a sustainable basis with a strong foundation of controls and compliance.”
