March 08, 2023 Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 Emerging Trends in National Financial Inclusion Strategies that Support Women’s Entrepreneurship Yasmin Bin-Humam, Julia Constanze Braunmiller, and Mahmoud Elsaman S tarting a business is a way for women to generate income and become more resilient when dealing with shocks. However, large gender gaps in formal entrepreneurship impede women’s livelihoods and global development. e persistence of gender-based barriers—notably, unequal access to nancial accounts, constrained credit, and normative roles that keep women in the role of primary caregivers—underscores the need for broader support and regulatory reform, including reform of the nancial sector. is Brief presents data collected by the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) project on selected contours of National Financial Inclusion Strategies that can support women’s entrepreneurship. In all, 52 economies worldwide had valid nancial inclusion strategies in force as of June 30, 2022. An increasing number are now highlighting the need to promote women’s nancial inclusion. However, as this initial foray shows, more could be done in National Financial Inclusion Strategies to promote credit to women entrepreneurs and enhance the national-level collection and reporting of nancial data disaggregated by sex. e analysis also shows that the eld for developing indicators at both the policy and regulatory level remains ripe for exploration by the WBL project and others. Financial inclusion is an important enabler for economies, which means women need to be digitally nancially women’s entrepreneurship included. Accessing credit is necessary for starting a business, making short- and long-term investments in a business, and tiding operations Only one-quarter of new business owners and directors in the over during lean times. formal sector, on average, are women, and their share as sole proprietors is only one-third ht(Meunier, suring-gap-female-entrepreneurship-around-world#:and ps:/ blogs.worldbank.org/development alk/we-data-meaFantonia, onomies%2C%20there%20are,sole%20proprietors%20are%20slightly%20higher. ~:text=In%20al %20ecKouhlani-Nolla Together, these elements of nancially transacting and accessing 2022). Most women-owned enterprises in developing countries are credit form part of the concept of “ nancial inclusion.” Financial concentrated in the informal sector, which includes marketplaces and inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful food stalls, as well as home-based work and personal care services. and a ordable nancial products and services that meet their ese businesses often remain small in scale ht ps(World ale-entrepreneurship-resource-point-in2013). :/ w w.worldbank.org/en/topic/gender/publication/femBank troduction-and-module-1-why-gender-mat ers needs—transactions, payments, savings, credit, and Whether formal or informal, women-owned enterprises were hit insurance—delivered in a responsible and sustainable way. Financial harder by the recent economic shock caused by the COVID-19 independence and the power to enter and manage contracts, make https:/ www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/et pandemic (O’Donnell promotial. uring-covid.pdf htTorres ng-wee-d2021; tps:/ openknowledge.wet orldbank. al.org/handl e/10986/36435 2021). decisions, access tools and resources, and activate supporting networks enhance nancial inclusion. Whether women entrepreneurs are working in the formal or informal sectors, enablers of women’s entrepreneurship not only Property rights are crucial for women’s entrepreneurship largely promote legal autonomy and independence, but also enhance women’s because of the role property plays as collateral in accessing credit. In the ability to (1) conduct nancial transactions, (2) access credit, and (3) developing world, immovable assets (property and buildings) represent own property. e ability to nancially transact includes receiving only 22 percent of companies’ capital stock, yet nancial institutions payments from customers and government agencies, as well as making overwhelmingly prefer immovable assets as collateral (Safavian, http:/ web.worldbank.org/archive/website01040/ WEB/IMAGES/307SAFAV.PDF Fleisig, payments to vendors, employees, and administrative agencies. It also :/ web.worldbank. httpand AGES/307SAFAV.PDF Small and micro businesses that own their org/archive/website01040/WEB/IM2006). Steinbuks includes the ability to build savings, all of which require nancial property do not have to pay rent. In the case of agriculture, women accounts and the power to enter contracts. Increasingly, digital invest more in land that they own ht(Giovarelli, nt/uploads/2016/09/USAID_Land_Tenure_Gender_Bri tps:/ www.land-links.org/wp-conteWamalwa, and Hannay ef_061214-1.pdf payments and mobile money are becoming ubiquitous in many 2013). Affiliations: World Bank, Development Economics, Women, Business and the Law (WBL); and the Consultive Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). For correspondence: ybinhumam@worldbank.org; jbraunmiller@worldbank.org; melsaman@worldbank.org. Acknowledgements: This Brief is a part of a research effort on financial inclusion by the Women, Business and the Law (WBL) team. Support for this research is provided by CGAP. This Brief would not be possible without the research work of Claudia Corminales, Marie Dry, Viktoria Khaitina, and Siyi Wang. The authors would also like to thank Aurica Balmus, Sophie Falsini, Antonique Koning, and Anja Robakowski for their helpful peer review; Montserrat Ganuza, Margaret Miller, Jessica Schnabel, and Siegfried Zottel for their valuable suggestions; and Norman Loayza, Tea Trumbic, and David Francis for comments and for guiding the publication process. Objective and disclaimer: This series of Global Indicators Briefs synthesizes existing research and data to shed light on a useful and interesting question for policy debate. Data for this Brief are extracted from the WBL database and supplemented by consultations held with CGAP and other financial inclusion experts. These Briefs carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank Group, its Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. All Briefs in the series can be accessed via: https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/brief/global-indicators-briefs-series. DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 Gender gaps are apparent in all three of the enablers of women’s develop new products, and target customers more appropriately with entrepreneurship—the ability to nancially transact, access credit, and nancial products (Iskenderian 2022). For all these reasons, the own property. For instance, the new 2021 Global Findex Report nds collection of nancial data disaggregated by sex is an important rst that 74 percent of men in developing countries have a bank account step toward expanding women entrepreneurs’ access to and use of compared to only 68 percent of womenhttps://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex/Report (Demirgüç-Kunt et al. 2022). tps:/ data2x.org/wp-cont nancial services ht(GBA, ent/uploads/2019/08/and Data2X, MeasuringWomensFi FOMIN nInclusion-Valueof SexDisaggData.pdf 2019). However, these averages mask the even higher gaps in certain countries, such as Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Jordan, where the gender A robust legal environment is needed to encourage gap in account access exceeds 25 percentage points. Data also show women’s entrepreneurship that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) owned by women have been left with an estimated $1.7 trillion of unmet credit demand e Women, Business and the Law (WBL) project measures legal https:/ financi (IFC rg/download/msme-finance-gIn alal ianceforwomen.o2017). ap/ the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, women-owned and regulatory barriers to women’s economic opportunities across rms were more than twice as likely to have their loan applications eight indicators following the life cycle of a working woman. Two of rejected than male-owned rms https://openknowl (Hyland etdbank.org/handl edge.worl al. 2021). e/10986/36087 these indicators are particularly relevant for women’s entrepreneurship: the Entrepreneurship indicator and the Assets indicator. Questions on Property-wise, women only own 20 percent of the world’s land women’s agency, present in other indicators, are also relevant in this (Villa 2017). An Africa-wide analysis found that with smaller asset context (box 1). ownership, women still struggle to get loans of the same size as men https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/31421 (World Bank Group 2019). Scores on WBL’s Assets indicator have varied considerably across its components and across economies over the past 52 years. Even e more that can be understood from data about how countries today, 76 of the 190 economies measured by WBL restrict women’s vary in rates of women’s entrepreneurship and success, and how property rights. Women do not have equal ownership rights to countries compare in enabling environments for women’s immovable property in 19 economies; daughters do not have the same entrepreneurship, the more peer learning between governments can inheritance rights as sons in 41 economies; wives do not have the same take place. Analysis by the Mastercard Foundation shows that women inheritance rights as husbands in 43 economies; wives do not have in Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, the Philippines, Uganda, and Vietnam equal administrative control over marital assets in 18 economies; and are making business inroads in entrepreneurship rates and progress the law does not provide for the valuation of nonmonetary beyond expectations, given local infrastructure and cultural contexts contributions to the family in 57 economies. ese data indicate that :/ www.mastercard.com/news/media/phwevxcc/the-mastercard-in2022). https(Mastercard dex-of-women-entrepreneurs.pdf regulatory and policy barriers still restrict women’s nancial inclusion. Creating an enabling regulatory and policy framework is an While areas measured by the Assets indicator have undergone a important step toward increasing women’s nancial inclusion. e slow pace of reform over the past 52 years, the Entrepreneurship more governments and policy makers know about the di erent needs, indicator shows that over the same time span, 107 economies have aspirations, and challenges that diverse underserved groups are facing, undertaken 124 positive reforms. As of 2023, only 2 economies do not the more they can target strategies and initiatives to reach such allow women to sign contracts in the same way as men; only 5 segments. e more providers know about their enterprising female economies do not impose the same legal requirements for men and customers, the better they can serve them. Analysis by nancial service women to register a business; and only 6 economies do not allow providers of nancial data disaggregated by sex has led them to women to open a bank account in the same way as a man. Given that enhance channels for women to cash in and cash out of their accounts, much progress has been achieved under the Entrepreneurship indicator, Several existing Women, Business and the Law (WBL) indicators measure legal and regulatory Box 1 barriers for women to set up and run a business e Entrepreneurship and Assets indicators of the WBL project together span the three areas outlined as necessary to support women entrepreneurs: the ability to nancially transact, to access credit, and to own property. Questions about entrepreneurship. e Entrepreneurship indicator contains four questions that assess the following laws and regulations: 1. Does the law prohibit discrimination in access to credit based on gender? 2. Can a woman sign a contract in the same way as a man? 3. Can a woman register a business in the same way as a man? 4. Can a woman open a bank account in the same way as a man? Questions about assets. e Assets indicator includes ve questions assessing the regulatory framework: 1. Do men and women have equal ownership rights to immovable property? 2. Do sons and daughters have equal rights to inherit assets from their parents? 3. Do female and male surviving spouses have equal rights to inherit assets? 4. Does the law grant spouses equal administrative authority over assets during marriage? 5. Does the law provide for the valuation of nonmonetary contributions? e ability to make and act upon one’s own decisions is fundamental to empowering women entrepreneurs. Questions about agency. e WBL project also measures laws that a ect dynamics within the household that can limit women’s agency. For example: 1. Can a woman choose where to live in the same way as a man? 2. Can a woman travel outside her home in the same way as a man? 3. Can a woman apply for a passport in the same way as a man? 4. Can a woman travel outside the country in the same way as a man? 5. Is there no legal provision that requires a married woman to obey her husband? 6. Can a woman be head of household in the same way as a man? 2 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 Box 2 De jure and de facto barriers to women’s financial inclusion Regulatory initiatives are not a silver bullet for women’s the credit they seek, except in high-income countries ieseg.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-ACF-01.pdf https:/ www.(Bertrand nancial inclusion. Gender-related social and cultural norms https:/ www.ieseg. and fr/wp-content/uploads/ Perrin 2022/01/2022-ACF-01.pdf 2022). play a role in in uencing regulators’ interpretation and implementation of policy guidelines, as well as their motivation CGAP has developed a social norms technical guide on and capacity for the enforcement of regulations. Social norms how to factor in gender norms when designing market systems also in uence women’s willingness and ability to take advantage interventions and has begun to take these analytical approaches of opportunities presented by new regulatory environments and into the policy space with legislative analysis on Ghana and how nancial service providers, policy makers, and other Pakistan http(Falsini s:/ www.findevgateway.org/sites/defauland inEquity-Gender_norms_affecting_DFS_enabl2021; t/files/users/user341/FImboden ers_Ghana_2021.pdf ht psRashid on%20Women%20EntrepreneurshImboden :/ economy.gov.mk/Upload/Documents/EN_Strategy%20and ip%20of%20RM%20-%20draft-%2018%20Oct%202018(1).pdf stakeholders behave. 2021). Context-speci c diagnostics to complement regulatory analyses are crucial for our understanding of when and how regulation can be leveraged and adapted to its full potential. Recent economic modeling shows that where legal ey begin with understanding why the system is not working protections are in place preventing providers from as intended; identifying the behaviors that hinder desired discriminating against women (in the form of broad outcomes, and understanding the norms and structural factors anti-discrimination clauses in the constitution or explicit that drive those behaviors. is informs a vision of how the prohibitions against gender-based discrimination in access to system can change to work as intended, spurring norm-aware, or credit in legislation), women are more likely to ask for credit, norm-transformative interventions, the impact of which must except in Muslim-majority countries. However, such legal be monitored to identify if and when adaptations are needed protections do not make providers more likely to grant women tps:/ www.cgap.org/research/ ht(Koning, publication/addressing-gender-norms-t Ledgerwood, ando-increase-fSinghinancial-inclusion-desi2021).gning-for-impact many of the measured legal restrictions have become nearly obsolete. married women need permission from their husbands). In 28 Instead, attention should shift to implementation of reforms (box 2). economies, procedures for passport applications are di erent for men is means that most of the variation in the Entrepreneurship indicator and women; in 10 economies women cannot travel internationally in is driven by the question of whether the law prohibits discrimination in the same way as men. Eighteen economies have legal provisions that access to credit. To this point, 101 economies lack legal provisions require wives to obey their husbands, and in 28 economies, women prohibiting discrimination against women in access to credit. Analysis cannot be designated heads of household in the same way as men. by the WBL project shows that more women have accounts at nancial institutions and debit cards in economies where the law prohibits Expanding the scope of Women, Business and the Law discrimination based on gender in access to credit ( gure 1). is legal indicators analysis suggests the importance of laws for women’s nancial inclusion and opens an avenue for deeper analysis on how laws and policies can Background research and discussions between the WBL team and support women’s nancial inclusion under the indicator. nancial sector experts, including the Consultive Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), identi ed several policies related to the enabling policy Even today, 55 economies have legal restrictions that constrain and regulatory environment for women’s entrepreneurship that need women’s freedom of movement. In 34 economies, a women cannot to be strengthened in order to promote women’s nancial inclusion choose where to live in the same way as a man (usually married women and enable women’s entrepreneurship. ese include the need for are required to follow their husbands); and in 14 economies, women nancial institutions to collect, analyze, and properly use cannot travel outside their homes in the same way as men (often sex-disaggregated data; improving access to insurance; enhancing More women have an account at a financial institution and own debit cards where the law Figure 1 prohibits gender discrimination in access to credit a. Holds an account in a b. Owns a debit card, female financial institution, female 57% 70% Percent of females age 15+ Percent of females age 15+ 52% 36% Yes No Yes No Does the law prohibit discrimination in Does the law prohibit discrimination in access to credit based on gender? access to credit based on gender? Source: Women, Business and the Law and Global Findex (2021) databases. Note: Analysis is based on 145 economies for which data are available. 3 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 consumer protection frameworks; developing appropriate tiered National Financial Inclusion Strategies across 44 know-your-customer (KYC) requirements (including e-KYC); economies highlight the need to promote women’s encouraging greater diversity in public procurement; and closing the financial inclusion digital access divide. With the advice of CGAP and other experts, WBL is exploring the expansion of existing questions to better re ect new is Brief presents new data collected by the WBL project on legal realities. and policy approaches to promote women’s nancial inclusion to assess the possibility of expanding the WBL index (box 3). e data Over the years, CGAP has engaged with international were collected in the summer of 2021 through WBL’s network of standard-setting bodies and consortia to advance the women’s nancial more than 2000 local legal experts. e data collection was inclusion agenda. Because WBL largely measures the de jure supplemented by desk research of the team and methodological review environment, national nancial inclusion strategies (NFIS) are taken as the starting point for understanding the level of commitment to by CGAP experts. women’s nancial inclusion at the highest governmental level, tting Only valid (current), o cial, government-issued national in with WBL’s data collection and methodological frameworks. NFISs nancial inclusion strategies, plans, or policies are considered. e serve as roadmaps of actions, agreed and de ned at the national or analysis nds that 8 economies had a nancial inclusion strategy at subnational level, that stakeholders follow to achieve nancial some point, but it has expired. Currently, 52 economies out of 190 / www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financBank inclusion objectivesht ps:(World ancial-inclusion-strategies In 2009, the Group of ialinclusion/brief/national-fin2015). have an NFIS. Of these 52, 44 economies speci cally highlight the Twenty (G20) at its Pittsburgh Summit made nancial inclusion one need to promote women’s nancial inclusion in their NFISs (map 1). of its pillars as it pledged “to adopt the policies needed to lay the is means that the national nancial inclusion strategy, plan, or foundation for strong, sustained and balanced growth in the 21st policy states women’s nancial inclusion as one of its objectives or lists century” (Reuters 2009). In doing so, it committed to improving women as one of its target groups. General gender equality strategies access to nancial services for the poor. Subsequently, the G20’s that do not su ciently address nancial inclusion and nancial literacy Financial Inclusion Experts Group identi ed nine principles for strategies do not qualify under WBL’s methodology as an NFIS. innovative nancial inclusion, catalyzing the creation of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2010. e GPFI is a In economies that already have high levels of nancial inclusion, global platform that aims to carry forward work on nancial inclusion. the need for inaugurating national nancial inclusion strategies seems Its establishment was a driving force behind the creation of national moot. Of the 123 economies covered by the 2021 Global Findex, 37 nancial inclusion strategies. In 2011, the Alliance for Financial have nancial inclusion rates of 95 percent or above. With the Inclusion (AFI), an alliance of central banks and nancial sector exception of Mongolia and ailand, all are high-income economies. regulatory institutions, launched the Maya Declaration. is Australia is the only economy among the 37 that has an NFIS. Among represented the rst global and measurable set of commitments by the the 42 high-income economies covered by the Global Findex in 2021, governments of developing countries and emerging markets toward 90 percent of the population has access to an account in all but ve: advancing the nancial inclusion agenda. Ten years was considered a Chile, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay. realistic goal within which most developing countries and emerging markets could achieve universal nancial inclusion ht ps(GPFI ts/GPFI%20Forum%20Report.pdf :/ w w.gpfi.org/sites/gpfi/files/documen2011). After ruling out OECD high-income economies that already have Over a decade later, it is clear how overly ambitious that goal was. high levels of nancial inclusion, South Asia is the world region with the highest proportion of economies that have an NFIS, followed by Following the release of the Global Findex data in 2015, which Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia and the Paci c (table 1). showed a persistent gender gap in nancial inclusion around the world, a concerted e ort began to apply a gender lens to national nancial e degree to which NFIS highlight women as a priority segment inclusion strategies. is was bolstered in 2016, when AFI members varies. Very often, women are lumped together with many other signaled their commitment to closing the gender gap in nancial groups—of which they may also form a part—such as young persons, inclusion by endorsing the Denarau Action Plan. Signatories committed senior citizens, and persons with disabilities. However, 17 economies themselves to “consider and implement best practices in integrating policies reference targets for women’s nancial inclusion in their NFIS (though for women’s nancial inclusion and gender considerations within national in two of them, the Philippines and Uganda, the targets are still to be w.afi-global.org/wp-content/uploads/pu2016). nancial inclusion strategies”ht ps:/ w(AFI blications/2016-09/Denar u%20Action%20Plan.pdf e relatively recent rise of determined). NFISs, and their approach to gender equality, provides an opportunity for new waves of policy reforms relevant to women’s entrepreneurship. For example, Cambodia’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy is was called out by the Economist Intelligence Unit 2019 2019–2025 recognizes the inter-sectional nature of women’s identities Microscope, which covers 55 economies, and found that only one-third and identi es ve target markets: the formally employed, informally of countries in the 2019 Microscope included a gender approach in their employed, self-employed, farmers, and dependents (Royal nancial inclusion strategies, and even fewer had set clear, gender-related Government of Cambodia 2019). It looks at sex-disaggregated trends goals https://www.ei (EIU 2019). u.com/n/ Greater focus on women’s nancial inclusion is within each. Cambodia’s Strategy commits to reducing women’s particularly bolstered by initiatives such as the mainstreaming of gender nancial exclusion by half, from 27 percent to 13 percent. Progress for in all of AFI’s working groups, which share best practices and produce women is called out despite the fact that men and women’s average guidance; gender-based trainings for regulators o ered by a host of formal nancial inclusion rates are nearly equal, according to di erent training institutions; and ongoing research on the evidence Cambodia’s latest FinScope survey (Cenfri 2017). is is particularly base for what proves e ective in promoting women’s nancial inclusion. relevant because at the margins, women are often the most di cult to reach and without concerted e orts, progress for men’s nancial Box 3 New research questions on women’s financial inclusion laws and policies e analysis reported in this Brief is based on four new research questions. 1. Does the economy have a current national nancial inclusion strategy? 2. If Yes, does the national nancial inclusion strategy highlight the need to improve inclusion for women? 3. If Yes, does the national nancial inclusion strategy call for the need to increase women’s access to credit? 4. If Yes, does the national nancial inclusion strategy call for collection of sex-disaggregated data? 4 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 Forty-four economies have National Financial Inclusion Strategies that highlight women’s Map 1 financial inclusion Source: Women, Business and the Law database. Note: Data were analyzed for 190 economies. Of the 52 National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS) identified, text for two (for Honduras and Uzbekistan) could not be obtained, and thus analysis on the content could not be performed. Additionally, Zimbabwe experienced a gap in financial inclusion strategies between the expiration of a previous strategy (at the end of 2020), and the enactment of a new one (in November 2022) and thus its NFIS is not reflected. inclusion risks outpacing that for women. For example, according to NFIS, many diverse segments of the population are identi ed as the Global Findex, the gender gap in account ownership in Costa Rica potentially bene tting from greater inclusion. went from nine percentage points in 2014 (60 percent of women and 69 percent of men had accounts, similar to rates in Cambodia) to 15 Highlighting gender in national nancial inclusion strategies is a percentage points in 2021 (61 percent of women and 76 percent of necessary but not su cient step in achieving greater women’s nancial men). While Costa Rica does not have an NFIS, the gap is causing inclusion. alarm and spurring government initiatives to pilot more development of products for women. e National Institute for Women began National Financial Inclusion Strategies are underutilized working on a nancial inclusion agenda in favor of women in 2019, to promote women’s access to credit and in 2020 issued guidelines for closing the gender gap w.caf.com/en/cur ently/news/202 /04/c2022). htps:/w(CAF osta-rica-launches-women-s financial-inclusion-project/ e Philippines had a reverse gender gap in 2017, with 39 percent of While women entrepreneurs require an array of women owning accounts compared with 30 percent of men, but by tailored/gendered financial products and services to enable their 2021, men’s progress had outpaced women’s, with 56 percent of men businesses, credit is consistently cited as a crucial constraint and an area having an account compared with 47 percent of women where gender biases and discrimination manifest (see, for example, tps:/ www.worldbank.org/en/publicet ht(Demirgüç-Kunt global2022). ation/al. findex/Report While the Philippines does have an Alibhai et al. 2019). WBL identi ed at least 10 NFISs that speci cally Table 1 Coverage of National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS) varies across world regions Region Percentage of economies in Number of NFIS that call out women’s the region that have NFIS nancial inclusion South Asia 75% 5 (out of 6) Sub-Saharan Africa 40% 19 (out of 20) East Asia and Paci c 32% 8 (out of 8) Latin America and the Caribbean 28% 6 (out of 9) Middle East and North Africa 20% 4 (out of 4) Europe and Central Asia 17% 2 (out of 4) High Income: OECD 2.9% 0 (out of 1) 5 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 address the need to increase women’s access to credit, six in popular gender-sensitive measure among countries in the IMF’s Sub-Saharan Africa, two in Latin America and the Caribbean, one in Financial Access COVID-19 Policy Tracker were income support and East Asia and Paci c, and one in the Middle East and North Africa. nancial assistance to SMEs (adopted by more than half of the Speci cs and practices vary widely, and further study is needed to countries in the sample). In low-income countries, loan assistance to develop a robust methodology singling out best practices. SMEs was the most commonly used measure, while in middle-income and high-income economies both income support and nancial Many NFIS call for greater access to an array of nancial services assistance to SMEs were popular (Tang et al. 2021). e IMF assessed including credit, and separately call out the need for greater women’s such measures for their likelihood of positively impacting women (for nancial inclusion—but this approach leaves a lot of scope for example, if initiatives included sectors where women were heavily interpretation and lacks clarity on who is accountable for concentrated) or their explicit targeting of women. implementation when it comes to credit. Lending quotas are one regulatory tool to provide women with Few National Financial Inclusion Strategies call for access to nance. For example, Bangladesh’s NFIS includes a collection of sex-disaggregated data commitment by Bangladesh Bank to ensure that 25 percent of credit disbursements go to cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprises, and Supply-side data provide insights on access and usage patterns of that at least 15 percent of such credit goes to women entrepreneurs. In users of nancial services. Such data are derived from nancial services addition, the strategy calls for the provision of help desks dedicated to providers and are based on transactions that can be documented as women entrepreneurs in all banks and nancial institutions. Djibouti administrative data. e IMF Financial Access Surveys (FAS) collect similarly calls for dedicated lines of credit to women (and young supply-side data with more than 100 data series mf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/ 0/28/pr21315-im2021). htps:/w w.i(IMF f-rel ase -the-2021-financial-ac es -survey-results As of entrepreneurs) to be created by the Economic Development Fund of October 2021, 71 jurisdictions out of 165 submitted at least some data Djibouti and the Partial Credit Guarantee Fund. disaggregated by sex. By contrast, demand-side data are collected from consumers, and can give greater insights into use of informal nancial Mexico’s NFIS includes a call to action and leverages existing services, how people manage risk, and actual or perceived barriers to mechanisms to ensure implementation by listing the growth of the people leveraging nancial services. credit portfolio of women as one of its action items. e government intends to monitor this by incorporating questions into an existing WBL identi ed at least 13 economies that mention survey used to create a nancial institution index. sex-disaggregated data reporting in their NFIS ( gure 2); however, practices vary widely on reporting and collection requirements, and Most Financial Inclusion Strategies that reference women’s many strategies are silent on what types of analytics are to be nancial inclusion do not call out particular segments of women, such conducted to inform policy. While some strategies, such as in Sri as entrepreneurs. Some middle- and high-income countries have Lanka, commit the government to regularly collect demand-side data separate strategies on women’s entrepreneurship—which may include (Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2021), others, like Tanzania’s NFIS lay out measures to increase nancial inclusion. For example, the Strategy for a set of basic indicators to be collected by nancial service providers, Women Entrepreneurship Development in the Republic of and demand-side surveys without a given timeframe (National Macedonia 2019–2023 calls broadly for coordination in the creation https: / www.fsdt.or.tz/wp-cont Financial ent/uploads/2019/0Council Inclusion l-IncluTanzania 1/National-Financiaof sion-Framework-NFIF-2018-2022. 2018). pdf Tanzania’s strategy and implementation of women’s economic development policies, and posits that indicators will be collected and reported on the bases of analysis of legislation that a ects women’s entrepreneurship (Ministry gender, business type (MSMEs), and age structure (including youth). tps:/ economy. htof gov.mk/Upload/Documentof Economy s/EN_Strathe tegy%20on%20Women%20Ent Republic repreneursof %20RM%20-%20draft-%2018%20Oct hip%20ofMacedonia %202018(1).pdf It also calls for 2018). enhanced training of women, increased representation of women in Fiji’s NFIS is unique in its references to numerous international policy making, improving access to favorable forms of nance, and :/ www.afi-global.org/wp-content/uploBank guidelines on nancial inclusion dataht ps(Reserve NAL-FINANCI ads/202 /05/FIJI-NATIOof Fiji N-STRATEGY-202 -2030.pdf It AL-INCLUSIO2022). cooperation with local government to incorporate women’s calls for the establishment of a robust monitoring and evaluation entrepreneurship into their development programs. Such strategies are framework with measures from both the supply- and demand-side. beyond the scope of this Brief but represent another area for potential e strategy cites AFI’s Core Set of Financial Inclusion Indicators, exploration in indicator development. Digital Financial Services, SME Finance Base, SME Finance Plus, Mobile Financial Services, Quality Indicators as well as the Paci c Governments’ awareness of women’s need for credit is Islands Regional Initiative (PIRI) set of indicators, and the G20 Set of demonstrated in the wake of the recent COVID-19 crisis. e most Women’s access to credit and sex-disaggregated data reporting in National Financial Inclusion Figure 2 Strategies Only 10 of the 44 address the need to increase women's access to credit 44 NFIS that highlight 138 women's financial Only 13 of the 44 call for inclusion the collection of sex- disaggregated data 8 NFIS that do not highlight Economies that do women's financial not have a NFIS inclusion 6 DECIG – Global Indicators Briefs No. 16 Financial Inclusion Indicators. e indicators are to be tailored to the Expanding WBL’s Entrepreneurship indicator to re ect commitments Fijian context and disaggregated by gender, age, and location and to women’s nancial inclusion can spur policy and regulatory reform collected by the Reserve Bank of Fiji on an annual basis. to this end, as the initiative has demonstrated in other areas of legislation. e incongruence between the 13 economies that reference sex-disaggregated data collection in their NFIS and the 71 jurisdictions Taken together with indicators on the state of nancial that submitted at least some sex-dis-aggregated data to the IMF FAS infrastructure (such as availability of access points, diversity of surveys indicates that many countries likely have mechanisms and/or providers, and depth of credit reporting), information on policies to requirements for such reporting without a direct mandate from the advance women’s nancial inclusion can help e orts to assess NFIS. countries’ strengths and weaknesses when it comes to creating an enabling environment for women’s entrepreneurship. In addition, In the Arab Republic of Egypt, for example (where no NFIS was taken over time, panel data on policy and regulatory landscapes will be in place as of the time of research, but one was launched in October 2022), the Central Bank established the Financial Inclusion Datahub, able to provide insights on drivers of change. which collects data from nancial institutions using the national ID as Our ndings show that national nancial inclusion strategies a unique identi er. e Central Bank issued two circulars in 2018 that could be an important tool to promote women’s nancial inclusion in mandate banks to report sex-disaggregated data on SMEs owned or economies with lower levels of nancial inclusion. Notably, countries owned and governed by women; and to report the primary data of with national nancial inclusion strategies are increasingly adopting a individual banking consumers that relate to deposits and electronic gender lens and calling out the need for concerted e orts to promote nancial services. women’s nancial inclusion. However, because NFIS display a wide Challenges in legislating for sex-disaggregated nancial data range in terms of policy pillars, level of detail, and degree to which reporting include determining the type of data to be collected, and implementation mechanisms are speci ed, the eld for indicator which providers are obligated to report them, as well as how to report development at both the policy and regulatory level remains ripe for them and to whom. In recent years, e orts have been underway to build exploration by WBL and others. Our initial foray also shows that more consensus on a de nition for women-owned enterprises so that robust could be done in NFIS on the topics of promoting credit to women and comparable data can be collected on how such rms access credit, entrepreneurs, and on national-level reporting of sex-disaggregated insurance, and other nancial products and services. Furthermore, data. Many countries collect some form of sex-disaggregated data when given the proliferation of digital nancial services o ered by digital it comes to nancial inclusion. However, it remains an open question banks, nancial technology rms ( ntechs), and mobile network whether stronger, speci c mandates in national nancial inclusion operators, questions arise whether such institutions are required to strategies that adapt international best practices in de nitions, lay out comply with reporting obligations from nancial sector regulators. complementarity of demand and supply-side initiatives, and build Countries like Zambia have more digital transaction accounts than capacity of nancial service providers to report data will pick up. e bank accounts, so reporting only by banks would provide a very potential for enhanced data collection exists. Similarly, the topic of incomplete picture of nancial inclusion ht(Republic -Financi tps:/ www.boz.zm/Nationalof al-Inclusion-Strategy- Zambia 2017-2022.pdf 2017). credit for women entrepreneurs is ripe for new creative approaches in Even amongst similarly situated and regulated nancial institutions, policy. e Alliance for Financial Inclusion provides guidance on data might be collected in di erent ways and have varying degrees of processes for countries to incorporate gender into their NFIS htps:/w .afi-g(AFI loba.rg/wp-conte /uploads/20 8/AFI-ntegrain-Gendr-andWomens-Fiancl-I usion-t Naionl-Straegis_20 .pdf quality, making them di cult to aggregate. In Kenya, where the gender oba.rg/wp-conte /uploads/20 8/AFI-ntegrain-Gendr-andWomens-Fiancl-Incusion-t Naionl-Straegis_20 .pdf Given the short terms of most strategies (three to ve years), htps:/w .afi-gl2022). gap in nancial inclusion is quickly narrowing, regulators do not more NFIS can be expected to incorporate a gender lens over time. e require sex-disaggregated reporting, but they request data on an proportion of regulators in the AFI network who indicated that as-needed basis https://data2x.org/wp-content/upl (Women’s Financial o ads/2022/08/DataDi Inclusion Data agnosti cs-Kenya-LATEST-1-1.pdf Partnership 2022). women’s nancial inclusion is a high priority increased from 58 Such challenges in data collection and how to diagnose them are percent in 2021 to 75 percent in 2022 (Hanning 2022). detailed by the Women’s Financial Inclusion Data Partnership (Buvinic 2x.org/wp-content/uploaRuf ht ps:/ dataand ta-Financial-Inclusion-Synthesi .pdGBA ds/202 /06/Gender-Da2022, f 2019). Initiatives such as the Women’s Financial As NFIS evolve, gender sensitivity can also be expected to increase Inclusion Data Dictionary h(Data2X ID-Data-Dictionary-Feb-202 .pdf are underway to harmonize t ps:/ data2x.org/wp-content/uploads/202 /02/WF2022) when it comes to promulgating legislation and regulations, ranging de nitions (box 4), and make data aggregation easier and data sets from agent banking laws to mobile money legislation, to directives to comparable. Supervisors will also need to have capacity to proof data banks on lending, to special guarantee funds for loans to women submitted, and to maintain the requisite databases. entrepreneurs, among others. In this regard, participatory models where advocates, representatives, and champions of provider and Future indicators on National Financial Inclusion consumer groups engage in shaping the policies to create inclusive Strategies can promote policy initiatives to promote systems will be crucial. e international nancial inclusion women’s entrepreneurship community needs to play an active role in helping to document and promote best practices in policy and regulatory approaches to women’s To level the playing eld for women entrepreneurs, their ability to nancial inclusion and entrepreneurship while supporting regulators manage money and access credit must be guaranteed and increased. through technical assistance and capacity building where required. Box 4 Additional targeted efforts are required to collect data on women-owned businesses e status of sex-disaggregated data for women entrepreneurs is nancial inclusion were likely lost as a result of insu cient support. even more dire than for women in general. is is a big obstacle in result of insu cient support. Short of global consensus, even assessing the true state of access to nance to women entrepreneurs national-level de nitions of women-owned enterprises would aid in and for developing targeted interventions to support this segment. e orts to understand more about this segment. 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