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India’s Women Business Correspondents are Struggling: Three Steps to Increase Their Viability – And Boost Financial Inclusion
India is home to 17% of the world’s total female population, yet persistent gender gaps exist in the country's labor force – and its financial inclusion efforts. As Gaurav Sinha and Manpreet Kaur at Grameen Foundation India explain, these gender issues also impact India's Business Correspondents (BCs) – retail agents engaged by banks to provide financial services outside of bank branches or ATMs. They discuss how Grameen Foundation's Mittras program is addressing the obstacles faced by women BCs, and explore three ways to better support them.
- Categories
- Finance
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India’s Blanket Approach to Financial Inclusion Is Leaving Women Behind: Here Are Four Ways to Close the Gender Gap
India's Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana program has been a game-changer for financial inclusion in the country. But according to Akhand Jyoti Tiwari, Sonal Jaitly and Saloni Tandon at MSC, the campaign faces considerable challenges, as evidenced by India's substantial gender gap in account ownership and usage. They argue that the program's blanket approach has contributed to these gaps, by overlooking women’s unique needs while targeting the population at large. They explore four things the country can do to better enhance the financial inclusion of women.
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- Finance, Technology
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Building a Transformative Gender Approach into Graduation Programs: Lessons Learned from a Three-Year Initiative in Latin America
Latin America is home to 86 million people living in extreme poverty – and women in the region are particularly impacted. Graduation programs have shown their effectiveness at addressing the multi-dimensional challenges of poverty, but Laura Morínigo and Carolina de Miranda at Fundación Capital argue that these programs must do more to address gender inequalities. They discuss the results of an initiative that integrated a transformative gender approach into poverty graduation, and explore how this approach can amplify these programs' impact on women.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Engendering Regeneration for Supply Chains that Last
In a decade marked by climate shocks, pandemia, and global interconnection, the call to #InvestInOurPlanet is top of mind for individuals and companies – not just for Earth Day but for the future of life and business as we know it.
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- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Global
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Supporting Financial Health Startups: Four Lessons for Impact Investors, Foundations and Governments
Over the past few years, Village Capital has run Finance Forward, a global coalition to support early-stage entrepreneurs building tech-enabled solutions around financial health. Village Capital CEO Allie Burns shares highlights from a new report that analyzed data from the 1,000+ companies that applied to the program around the world. The report paints a picture of the global state of financial health startups, and offers lessons for impact investors, foundations and government leaders who hope to grow the ecosystem for financial health innovation.
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- Finance, Investing, Technology
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A Gender-Smart Renewable Energy Transition: Why Climate Change Solutions Can’t Overlook Inequality
The Sustainable Development Goals recognize gender equality (SDG 5) and affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) as imminent priorities. Yet Rachel Murphy at Deetken Impact argues that women have been left out of the clean energy conversation – and that the world is running out of time to meaningfully change course. She explains why no single SDG can be achieved without the integration of both a gender and climate perspective, and explores how can the energy industry can move toward greater inclusion and empowerment of women.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Getting Children Back to School: Lessons Learned from Uganda as it Ends the World’s Longest COVID-19 Shutdown
Uganda recently reopened schools after the world’s longest COVID-19 shutdown. Due to limited access to online education, most young people had not been learning for nearly two years – and officials estimate that roughly a third won't ever return to school. Atul Tandon and Andrew McCusker at Opportunity International explore the impact of pandemic closures on low-cost private schools in the country, discuss the particular risks of school closures for girls, and share three key lessons that can help schools successfully reopen and bring students back to the classroom.
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- Coronavirus, Education
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Financial Inclusion that Works for Women: The European Microfinance Award 2022
Lending to women clients has been at the center of microfinance since its modern inception. And as Joana Afonso, Gabriela Erice, Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas at the European Microfinance Platform point out, there has undoubtedly been progress in promoting women’s financial inclusion. But they argue that a myopic focus on outreach too often undermines the sector's understanding of the specific barriers women face. They discuss how the 2022 European Microfinance Award's focus on “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women" aims to encourage more effective gender strategies.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
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