Banking on Women
Madelein Kulab, Fisherwoman and Tour Boat Operator, Graduate of the Bank of Palestine Mini-MBA Program
Women customers present a substantial growth opportunity for pioneering financial institutions. Women own and lead roughly 6.6 million formal SMEs and 39 million micro-businesses in emerging markets, with a total estimated unmet credit demand of $1.7 trillion. IFC’s Banking on Women program provides financing and expertise to an extensive network of financial institutions to help them acquire women-owned SME and retail customers—and profitably finance them.
IFC provides a full range of senior and subordinated debt, Gender Bonds, equity, credit enhancement, and risk-mitigation products to financial institutions which, in turn, provide a suite of financial services to women-owned SMEs.
Through Banking on Women, IFC also helps financial institutions provide high-quality services to women customers, by providing advisory expertise in areas such as customer segmentation strategies and customer support services. Providing value to women customers generates bottom-line value for financial institutions.
Development Reach
The impact of IFC clients in 2017:
- 820Thousand WOMEN COLLECTIVELY EMPLOYED
- 29PercentOF IFC’S NOMINATIONS FOR BOARD POSITIONS WERE WOMEN
- 340Thousand SME LOANS MADE TO WOMEN-OWNED ENTERPRISES
- $11.4 BILLIONIN SME LOANS TO WOMEN-OWNED ENTERPRISES
Examples of our work:
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Crafting a Future for Women Entrepreneurs
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Banking on a Better Way to Drive Economic Growth in Cambodia
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Increasing Women's Financial Protection
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Backing Banks that Lend to Women-Owned Businesses
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Tailoring Solutions for Small Businesses in Kenya
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Maleeka Zakarneh: An Entrepreneur Thriving across Jordan
Banking outside the box:How BLC Bank helps women entrepreneurs succeed
Why Emerging Market CEOs Bank on Women
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