Strengthening access to finance for women-owned SMEs in developing countries

Abstract

This report was produced by IFC on behalf of the the G-20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion's (GPFI) SME Finance Sub-Group. Launched at the G20 Summit in November 2011, the report highlights key trends, challenges, and opportunities for advancing women's entrepreneurship and increasing their access to finance. Due to their high growth potential, women-owned SMEs in developing countries are of particular interest. The aim of this report is to provide evidence and recommendations on expanding the ability of women entrepreneurs to pursue economic opportunities, invest additional capital, hire more employees, and grow their businesses. Of particular focus is addressing the extent to which women are less able to access finance. If women cannot access financial resources, they are disadvantaged in their ability to pursue economic opportunities. This report highlights key trends, challenges, and opportunities for advancing women's entrepreneurship and increasing their access to finance. Due to their high growth potential, women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are of particular interest. The report therefore focuses on the presence of women owned SMEs in developing countries across different types of enterprises, and the ability of these business owners to access finance to grow their businesses; identifies financial and non-financial institutions with scalable approaches to increase access to finance for women entrepreneurs in developing countries; pinpoints specific knowledge gaps for which further research is recommended; and provides policy recommendations on expanding access to finance for women entrepreneurs.