cat/womens-entrepreneurship-finance
Financial inclusion is now firmly established as a powerful tool to improve lives and strengthen development. Each year, the Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance—Queen Máxima of the Netherlands—publishes a report that looks at what financial inclusion has achieved and where it is going.
Minerva Kotei, Financial Sector Specialist for the SME Finance Forum, attended the 2017 Africa Day in Berlin co-hosted by the EIB, Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. During a roundtable discussion, Kotei's comments focused on how digitalization can help to expand access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses, including women entrepreneurs.
Anne-Marie Chidzero Managing Partner, Alitheia Identity, and Board Member, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund and Women’s World Banking, suggests ways in which the World Bank Group can help catalyze private sector growth in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including supporting small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), especially women-led businesses.
This interview took place following IEG's IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings event, "Harnessing the Power of the Private Sector In Support of Sustainable Development."
Just three months ago, at the G20 leaders’ summit in Hamburg, Germany,the creation of We-Fi, an innovative new facility to advance women’s entrepreneurship and help women in developing countries increase their access to the finance, markets, technology, and networks necessary to start and grow a business, was announced. We-Fi aims to leverage donor funding to unlock more than $1 billion in International Financial Institution (IFI) and commercial financing by working with financial intermediaries, funds and other market actors.
Still today, millions of women throughout the developing world don’t have access to institutional financial services because cultural stigmas linger long after the laws on the books recognize women’s rights. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex database, women in the developing economies are 20 percent less likely to have an account at a financial institution, and often even accounts under their names are de facto controlled by male relatives.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has secured a deal with the Bangladesh Bank for the development of women SME entrepreneurs. IFC will provide technical assistance to develop credit guarantee scheme for women entrepreneurs under the project, "Catalysing access to finance for women SME entrepreneurs in Bangladesh”.
Gender Intelligence for Banks — Moving the Needle on Gender Equality This report is the result of a joint partnership between the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in Pakistan.
The EBRD is providing a senior loan in Tajikistan currency, equivalent to US $2 million, to IMON INTERNATIONAL, the largest microfinance institution in the country. The loan will the development of women’s entrepreneurship and of agribusiness in Tajikistan.
The EBRD’s Women in Business programme is expanding into Tajikistan, making it the 17th country to benefit from improved financing and business advice for female entrepreneurs.
One in five people in Nambia are employed in the SME sector and contribute over 12 percent to the gross domestic product. Bank Windhoek has experienced that in addition to financing, the major need of start-ups and small and medium businesses is mentoring. Mentorship guides SMEs on how to run a successful and sustainable business.
