Entrepreneurship among women is growing rapidly across the world, making women an increasingly important customer segment for financial institutions (FIs). Despite this potential, access to finance remains one of the biggest challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.
The objective of this course is to equip you with the knowledge and tools to design and deliver gender-sensitive financial products and services tailored to the needs of women-led MSMEs—both existing and potential clients. By understanding and addressing their specific requirements, you will be able to expand your institution’s market share and strengthen its loan portfolio.
The course is structured around three interconnected modules:
- Understanding Gender Concepts and Their Relevance to Financial Institutions – This module introduces key gender concepts, including gender parity and inequality, and explores global and country-specific trends that affect financial inclusion.
- Challenges and Opportunities in Women’s Access to Finance – This module examines the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in obtaining financial services and highlights how FIs can incorporate gender considerations into their operations and strategies.
- Building Capacity to Serve Women in Business (WiB) – The final module focuses on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively support women entrepreneurs and grow your institution’s WiB portfolio.
By the end of the course, you will have gained:
- A solid understanding of gender-responsive finance;
- Practical knowledge to analyze market potential and manage a growing WiB portfolio;
- Insights into developing non-financial services to address the unique challenges faced by WiB clients;
- The ability to create client profiles and apply effective communication strategies to engage, satisfy, and retain this key segment.
Target Audience: All staff members of financial institutions.