Financial inclusion of women

inZambia

Category:

Lobbying and Advocacy

Provision of Services

Governance

Membership strategy

An initiative in lobbying and advocacy for advancement of women entrepreneurs

→ Conducted through a ‘snap survey’ and workshop for interaction between women entrepreneurs and members of the financial sector

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

Financial inclusion of women

• Objectives: o to highlight the financial situation of Zambian

women entrepreneurs;

o to showcase why financial inclusion of women

makes good business sense in Zambia; and

o to highlight the huge market potential for the

financial sector from the women entrepreneurs.

• Target audience: the financial sector in

Zambia, particularly the commercial banks. Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of

Women in Business

• Organizations involved: collaboration principally among the ILO, Bank of Zambia, Zambia Federation of Employers and Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business.

• Timing: survey conducted to coincide with workshop for interaction among women entrepreneurs and financial institutions.

• Financing: o financial support from ILO for the survey;

o financial support from ILO and Bank of Zambia for the workshop.

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

Main activities:1) Survey of women entrepreneurs’ access to finance in

Zambia:a) Demand-side:

how women finance start-up and expansion of businesses;

women’s access to general financial services; and

women’s knowledge of existing financial services.

b) Supply-side:

demand-side findings revealed that the gaps in access to finance for women constitute potential market for financial sector.

• Compiled a report on the findings on the supply-demand gap, which showed why financial inclusion of women makes good business sense for the financial sector in Zambia and good overall economic sense for the country.

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

1) Survey of women entrepreneurs’ access to finance in Zambia (cont.):

• findings were that majority of successful women entrepreneurs in Zambia

never borrow when starting business, usually due to prohibitive conditions;

• showed that lack of financial access continues to be a hindrance to

enterprise growth;

• showed worryingly low levels of appreciation of financial services among

women; and

• revealed a good proportion of bankable women remaining un-banked as a

result.

2) Workshop to present survey findings and use them to:

• engage women on views on access to finance;

• show financial institutions the potential for business in the un-tapped

market of women entrepreneurs.

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

3) Findings were also incorporated into Private sector Alliance Business Agenda (advocacy document for private sector in Zambia).

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

• Summary of key results:i. for the organizations involved: better understanding of the existing situation;

ii. for the financial institutions: discovery of an un-tapped market previously not seen;

iii. for the Bank of Zambia (Central Bank): factored as an additional component in its financial literacy programme, boosting its importance;

iv. for Zambia Federation of Employers and the wider private sector: offered a new perspective on the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, thereby improving effectiveness of advocacy;

v. for women entrepreneurs: new pro-activity by commercial banks to tailor services to them and seek them out as clients;

vi. for the labor market: better access to financing by women entrepreneurs increases employment opportunities as they tend to focus on labor-intensive businesses; and

vii. for wider economy: private sector groups forming new women-focused financial institutions with specific intention of growing from micro-finance to commercial bank status.

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

• Outstanding challenges:

o formal banking system still remains largely

MSMEs-unfriendly. Women entrepreneurs make

up the majority of the sector;

o still a relatively high degree of low financial

literacy in the country generally, more so

among women; and

o risk-averse culture of the country in general

impeding programmes for greater financial

inclusion and use of formal financial services.

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

Supporting documents• Hazele (2013): Study on the financial inclusion of women in

Zambia.

Contact details

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE)6662 Mberere RoadP.O. Box 31941Lusaka, 10101ZambiaEmail: zfe@zamnet.zm

Zambia Federation of Associationsof Women in Business (ZAFAWIB)297A Leopards Hill RoadP.O. Box 320153Lusaka, 10101ZambiaEmail: zfawib@yahoo.co.uk

FINANCIAL INCLUSION OF WOMEN MAKES GOOD SENSE:

to the financial sector; to women entrepreneurs; to the labor market; and to the wider economy as a whole.

THANK YOU

Financial inclusion of women

Zambia Federation of Employers Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business