Explore the latest global and regional insights from Women’s World Banking’s work in policy, leadership, women’s entrepreneurship, gender lens investing, and more.
By Sophie Theis, Qualitative Research Specialist at Women’s World Banking Qualitative user research (also known as UX or user experience research) is a suite of strategies and methods that are essential in our work to design financial services for low-income women in emerging markets. User research infuses the design process
Lotte Schou-Zibell is the Chief of Finance Sector Group, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department at the Asian Development Bank. She also serves as a member of Women’s World Banking’s Southeast Asia Advisory Council. This post was originally published on the Asian Development Blog. In Asia and the Pacific 9
Often, many financial services providers only superficially tailor their products in order to reach the women’s market. If f they are to reach this untapped segment, they must articulate a clear business case, avoid being “gender-neutral” and use gender segmentation during product design and to meet women’s needs.
This Mother’s Day, a look at how Women’s World Banking has developed financial tools and resources for mothers to build a more secure future for herself and her family.
An exposure visit to Colombia unveiled Fundación delamujer’s client-centric approach toward innovating for the women’s market.
Players, new and old, are beginning to recognize their critical and interconnected roles in advancing women’s financial inclusion.
A new case study on our work with NBS Bank designing a digital savings account that addresses the barriers to banking facing low-income women in rural Malawi.
A series of one-pagers highlighting select topics from our comprehensive publication, “Health Microinsurance: An Inclusive Approach.”
An interview with the Head of Financial Inclusion at Diamond Bank (Nigeria) on the bank’s push to serving the unbanked, especially low-income women.
Our latest project with Diamond Bank in Nigeria, Y’ello, is highlighted.
We condensed our model of helping financial institutions begin offering individual loans to low-income women entrepreneurs into a handy guide.
Watch this video on our work developing financial services built on digital technology.
Martha Oluwatobi is the proud owner of a market stall in Lagos, Nigeria. She sells minerals used for health benefits by expectant mothers who routinely buy small amounts of clay-like ingredients a few times a week.
Roundtable participants share their thoughts on the importance of giving low-income women access to financial services through digital savings and how this delivery channel addresses the specific needs of women.
What do a typhoon and a refugee crisis have in common?
Women’s World Banking co-hosted a roundtable with financial inclusion players in Mexico to the challenges to offering individual lending in the country and a path forward to begin.
Diamond Bank PLC has announced its 2013 Quarter 3 results, reporting a 10% growth in profit before tax when compared to the corresponding period of 2012. The bank posted a profit before tax of N25.6 billion.
Baboucarr Khan, CEO of Reliance Financial Services in the Gambia was joined by Reliance co-founder and COO Ismaila Faal along with Women’s World Banking team member Alejandra Rios to discuss the leadership implications of product innovation during a webinar hosted by Women’s World Banking.
Women’s World Banking and Diamond Bank (Nigeria), with the support of Visa, developed a savings product to promote financial inclusion for low-income un(der)banked women in the country.
This elevated the bank to become a Hall of Fame awardee for the said category. Looking back, CARD Bank, Inc. was established on September 1, 1997 and envisioned to build a sustainable financial institution owned, managed and controlled by the landless rural women by providing continued access to financial services to an expanding client base by organizing and empowering landless rural women.
Can you imagine if the only product that your bank offered you was a loan? Or trying to live without a bank account and having to conduct every payment with cash? Or seeing your entire business and all the assets you had painstakingly accumulated jeopardized by the costs of caring for a sick child?
On May 30, 2012, Women’s World Banking (WWB) and network member Interfisa Financiera celebrated the launch of NdeVale, a new loan product targeted at Paraguay’s rural women population. NdeVale was developed so that it can be issued to all clients who have a income-generating activity, with minimal documentation requirements and flexible collateral and duration. Through market research, we knew that collateral was a concern for women as assets, particularly property, are traditionally owned by men.
A growing chorus of voices is calling for a shift away from cash-based economies in the developing world. For governments, non-governmental organizations and companies focused on expanding financial access to the underserved, it is fast becoming a top priority. Not only is it too costly and unsustainable to reach people
