According to Global Findex 2021, 1.4 billion people are excluded from the financial system and 400 million people worldwide are underserved, of which 56% are women.
Also, 65% of women have bank accounts, compared to 72% of men, 197 million fewer women than men own mobile phones, which are key to accessing digital financial services.
Lastly, 46% of the world’s labor force are women.
To further complicate this panorama, in Latin America and the Caribbean, 34% of small firms (less than 20 employees) fall into the credit constrained category, for Sub-Saharan Africa, this number rises to a whopping 58%. Let’s not forget that, also, women entrepreneurs face complex obstacles, ranging from discrimination based on gender to challenges acquiring and implementing business skills. Even more, entrepreneurs must also juggle their personal finances, which for many are indiscernibly intertwined with their business finances.
Why does this matter to Bankingly?
The problem of access to financial services for the most disadvantaged sectors of the population is ancestral and there is still a lot that can be done from the FinTech sector.
At Bankingly we work hard to Enable Financial Health and Inclusion for All and we strive to Improve 5MM Lives by 2026. Therefore, we cannot exclude women from our mission.
By recognizing the struggles women entrepreneurs face in all parts of the world, at Bankingly we have designed an Impact Program that aims to develop women entrepreneurs’ financial capabilities, to ultimately help them strengthen their business and their impact on local communities.
Bankingly’s Impact Program
Women Who Inspire is a program designed by Bankingly with the purpose of building financial health and financial capabilities for women entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Our goal is to help SMEs lead by women to strengthen themselves and to grow, a growth that will have a positive ripple effect in their local communities.
Women Who Inspire offers the participants:
A loan to boost their business with a grace period of six months and the lowest interest rate in the market.
Advice on Marketing, Advertising and Social Media management.
Training in Finance, Digital Banking and E-Commerce.
Creation of the Business Plan with specialists.
Coaching sessions throughout the duration of the program.
Two selected endeavors will receive a USD 2.000 and USD 1.000 kick-off investment, respectively, to impulse the business.
Our desired outcomes
By investing in building women’s financial capability, we strive to close the gender gap and make meaningful progress in women’s access to and usage of financial services. Also, we aim to make financial institutions attractive to business owners, so they understand and take advantage of the benefits they offer them.
With the goal of strengthening the local community impacted through the program, we’ve designed it for it to have 2 main impact areas: women entrepreneurs who reap the benefits of the program, and the allied financial institution that receives more clients. Thus, our desired outcomes are:
Reach 100 participants who are women and entrepreneurs in our workshops.
Disburse at least 30 loans to these entrepreneurs through our allied financial institution.
Have 30 business accounts created in our allied financial institution.
Generate additional revenue, relationship, and loyalty from participants towards our allied financial institution.
As we roll out our program’s MVP, we continue to learn about the needs of women entrepreneurs. At Bankingly we are committed to impacting positively on as many lives as we can. This program is one of the many ways to making sure we achieve our goal.
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