Financial inclusion has been a key agenda for most developing countries, aimed at improving the livelihoods of individuals and promoting economic growth. However, in most societies, women face various barriers that hinder them from accessing financial services, thus widening the gender gap. This gender disparity is unacceptable, and a collective effort from all stakeholders is needed to bridge this gap.
One key way to eliminate gender disparity in financial inclusion is to increase financial literacy among women. Women, in most cases, lack the necessary knowledge and skills to access financial services, such as banking and savings. Therefore, providing education and training programs that specifically target women can help increase their financial literacy and reduce the gender gap.
Moreover, financial institutions must design products and services that cater to the specific needs of women. For instance, providing access to loans without collateral, which is often a challenge for most women, would go a long way in reducing gender disparity. Financial institutions must also increase their outreach to women in rural areas, who often have limited access to financial services.
Governments, on the other hand, must enact policies that promote gender equality in financial inclusion. This can be achieved through the provision of financial incentives to institutions that prioritize gender inclusion, such as tax breaks and grants. Governments can also support women-led businesses by providing them with funding opportunities and policies that facilitate women's economic empowerment.
The foregoing being said, technological innovation can play a critical role in eliminating gender disparity in financial inclusion. In recent years, digital financial services have emerged as a game-changer, allowing individuals to access financial services using their mobile phones or other digital devices.
Women, in particular, can benefit from digital financial services, as they provide a convenient and accessible way to access financial services without the need to physically visit a bank branch. Digital financial services also offer greater privacy and security, which is especially important for women in societies where cultural norms or laws restrict their access to financial services.
Moreover, technological innovation can help financial institutions develop new products and services that cater to the specific needs of women. For example, digital credit scoring models can be used to assess the creditworthiness of women who lack traditional collateral, thus enabling them to access credit on fair terms.
In addition, technology can help overcome the barriers of distance and cost associated with accessing financial services in rural areas. For instance, mobile money agents can be trained and deployed in remote areas to provide financial services to women who previously had no access to them.
However, it's important to note that technological innovation alone is not enough to eliminate gender disparity in financial inclusion. There is a need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to ensure that women are not left behind in the digital financial revolution. This includes policies that promote digital financial inclusion, investment in digital infrastructure, and efforts to increase digital literacy among women.
In conclusion, eliminating gender disparity in financial inclusion is not the responsibility of one stakeholder but a collective effort from all stakeholders. Financial institutions, governments, and civil society organizations must collaborate to ensure that women have equal access to financial services.
Technological innovation can be a powerful tool in the efforts to eliminate gender disparity in financial inclusion. Digital financial services can offer greater convenience, privacy, and security for women, while also enabling the development of new products and services that cater to their specific needs. However, a collective effort from all stakeholders to ensure that women are not left behind in the digital financial revolution, increased financial literacy, product design, policy frameworks, and outreach programs that prioritize women's financial inclusion is needed.
The writer is the CEO of Musoni Microfinance Ltd.
