Apr 13, 2020 | by Chloe Gueguen, Reham Gharbiyeh, Julia Hakspiel & Sabal Majali (Arab Women's Enterprise Fund)
Despite progress over the past few years, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region still has the largest gender gap in terms of women’s economic participation in the world. This economic divide also holds true for financial inclusion - only 35% of women have a financial account compared to 52% for men (Global Findex). While the challenges are significant, so are the opportunities. Innovative Digital Financial Services (DFS) have strong potential to accelerate women’s financial empowerment.
In this Practitioner Learning Brief, we explore these opportunities and challenges by showcasing 14 case studies from the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) and other organizations working in the region. We present 8 key lessons on how to design and implement interventions that can pave the way for women’s digital financial empowerment across MENA and beyond. The Brief aims to spark a discussion on opportunities to make digital finance work better for low-income women, by answering 4 key questions:
View the Webinar: Does Market Systems Development Work for Women's Financial Empowerment?
Categories: Fragile and Conflict-affected Environments MENA Financial Inclusion Women and Girls Women's Economic Empowerment Women's Economic Empowerment Resource Library English 2020 Resources
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