Original Source: FMO
Looking at these figures, it’s no wonder female entrepreneurs report having low trust in banks. In fact, research shows that globally 73% of women are unsatisfied with how they are being served (GBA, 2018). “Banks are not interested in seeing me grow,’ is what I often hear from female entrepreneurs,” says FMO’s senior gender finance advisor Saskia Vossenberg. “Women can experience difficulties in getting appointments or having to rely on male relatives to set up a meeting with a loan officer. For those that do get appointments, often products are offered that are not suited for their growth ambitions. Either the ticket size is way above, or way below what female entrepreneurs require, and the tenure too short and the interest rate too high or the collateral requirement impossible to meet.”
International Women’s Day provides the perfect opportunity to focus on how we are working with our client banks to reduce the gender inequality gap in finance. Vossenberg is positive about the progress we are making: “Momentum is building, and our gender lens is starting to have an impact at the local level. We now have tools in place to make sure that our investments are contributing to improving the lives and businesses of female entrepreneurs. Women don’t need (pink) financial products, they need combinations of tailored financial and non-financial solutions.”
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