INF/MSME/W/46  
INF/TGE/W/7  
 
3 October  2023 
(23-6627) Page: 1/20 
  Original: English  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES  
ACCESS TO FINANCE FOR WOMEN -LED MICRO, SMALL AND  
MEDIUM -SIZED ENTERPRISES (MSMES): A COMPENDIUM  
OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION INITIATIVES  
OUTLINE  
The following communication, dated 3 October 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
Coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs, Ambassador Matthe w Wilson (Barbados) and 
the Chairs of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, Ambassador Ana Patricia Benedetti 
(El Salvad or), Ambassador Simon Manley (United Kingdom) and Ambassador Clara Delgado (Cape 
Verde) . 
 
_______________  
 
 
INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Women -led MSMEs make a critical contribution to growth, employment, and poverty reduction 
in their national economies. However, they do  not face the same growth trajectories as their male 
counterparts. Women -led businesses tend to be smaller, have lower levels of production efficiency, 
are less well connected to markets and institutions, and struggle to access finance on the same 
terms as  men.1 MSMEs  led or owned by women are particularly constrained by a lack of access to 
capital or financial services .2 The IFC estimates that the financing gap for women -owned MSMEs in 
2017 was USD 1.7 trillion and that women account for a disproportionate share of the financing gap 
facing firms in developing countries .3 
1.2.  In terms of trade dynamics, women -led MSMEs are less engaged in international trade than 
their male counterparts .4 Only one out of five exporting companies is led or owned by women. 
Supporting access to finance can help to increase the participation of wo men-led MSMEs in 
international trade.5 Increasing  women 's participation in trade by facilitating access to finance can 
enhance competitiveness given that trade -engaged firms are, on average, more productive than 
their non -trade counterparts .6 
 
1 Definitions for women -owned and women -led business are drawn from the International Workshop 
Agreement (IWA) on the Definition of a 'Woman ‐Owned Business ' and are as follows:  
(i) women -owned business  – a business where more than 50 % owned by one or more women, whose 
management and control lie s with one or more women, where a woman is a signatory of the business 's legal 
documents and financial accounts, and which is operated independently from businesses that are not owned by 
women ; (ii) women -led business  – a business that is at least 25 % owned by one or more women, whose 
management and control lie with one or more women, which has at least one third of the board of directors 
comprised of women, where a board exists, where a woman is a signatory of the bu siness's legal documents 
and financial accounts, and which is operated independently from businesses that are neither led nor owned by 
women . 
2 ITC. SME competitiveness surveys in 16 countries . 
3 IFC. MSME Finance Gap . (2017) doi:10.1596/28881.  
4 ITC. Unlocking Markets for Women to Trade . (2015) doi:10.18356/aa9eaa55 -en. 
5 ITC. ITC calculation based on surveys in 49 developing countries . (2023).  
6 Shu, P. & Steinwender, C. The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Firm Productivity and Innovation. 
Innov. Policy Econ . 19, 39–68 (2018).  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 2 - 
 
  1.3.  Addressing the financing gap for women -led MSMEs has numerous positive social and economic 
impacts and can directly contribute to the achievement of the United Nation 's Sustainable 
Development Goals.  This compendium provides a non -exhaustive summary of current initia tives led 
by governments and international and regional institutions which support access to finance for 
women -led MSMEs and serve to enhance women 's participation in the economy.  
1.4.  The compendium details common problems as well as success factors. Common pr oblems 
include the perceived risk of investing in women -led MSMEs, low levels of financial literacy among 
beneficiaries, high default rates, and difficulties associated with engagement with women in remote 
or rural areas. Common success factors include str ong political will, the development of new 
partnerships both within and outside of government, the presence of strong local institutions from 
either the public or private sectors, and robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks. The hope is 
that this compe ndium can be used to scale up, inspire and develop specific interventions to support 
women -led MSMEs.  
INITIATIVES  
2.1.  Today, governments, international organisations, financial institutions and CSOs have 
undertaken several initiatives to close the gender gap i n access to finance. The vast majority of 
initiatives are focused on facilitating access to finance through the provision of loans, grants or other 
sources of capital.  In addition, a number of initiatives provide non -financial support that is designed 
to facilitate access to networks, markets, and skills.  
2.1  Select Government -led initiatives  
2.1.1   Argentina: Reciprocal guarantee companies scheme  
2.2.  Argentina 's Reciprocal Guarantee Companies (SGR) scheme granted guarantees to over 
21,000  MSMEs in 2020 -21, including women entrepreneurs. In 2021, to expand the total number of 
MSMEs accessing the banking credit system and the securities market,  the government implemented 
new regulations raising the minimum number of MSMEs that the SGR must incorporate into its 
portfolio every year, including the requirement to meet a quota for MSMEs headed by women, as 
well as to incorporate new MSMEs into its guarantees portfolio in order to be authorized to expand 
its risk funds.  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Po licies (upcoming).  
2.1.2   Australia:  Aid for trade to support financial inclusion and access to markets  
2.3.  Australia supports regional Aid -for-Trade initiatives that seek to address constraints faced by 
women through the following programmes:  1) Pacific Trade Invest ; 2) the Pacific Private Sector 
Development Initiative IV ; 3) Pacific RISE ; and 4) the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme. These 
programmes are helping to address constraints by providing support to women -led small and 
medium -sized enterprises and facil itate their financial stability and growth and entry into new 
markets (among other objectives).  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.3   Australia: Partnering with impact investors to support women -owned SMEs  
2.4.  The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 's Investing in Women project partners 
with impact investors to strengthen access to finance for women -owned and led SME s in Indonesia, 
the Philippines and Vietnam, and to build a business case for a more i nclusive investing environment 
globally, across four components.  The first component consists of business partnerships supporting 
coalitions of larger employers committe d to driving gender equality in workplaces. The second 
component is focused on impact i nvestment, through partnerships with investors to s trengthen 
women SMEs' access to finance. The third component is related to government partnerships, which 
involves working with governments  to accelerate workplace gender equality through more 
gender -respo nsive policies and legislations. The fourth component involves advocacy and 
communications.  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 3 - 
 
  Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.4   Barbados: National Policy F ramework for the Development of MSMEs  
2.5.  Pillar 2 of Barbados' National Policy Framework for the Development of Micro, Small and 
Medium -sized Enterprises is Access to Finance. The policy objectives of this pillar are to mitigate the 
high level of bureaucracy experienced by MSMEs in accessing finance; strengthening the risk 
mitigation framework to improve access to finance; and introducing or expanding options for 
alternative and innovative financing for MSMEs. Developed in 2016, the national policy framework 
recognizes women as playing a significant economic role and looks to ensure their equality and 
equity of opportunities between women -owned and men -owned MSMEs through identifying factors 
that constrain women's business participation; building capacity; faci litating training; developing 
tools and support services to facilitate innovation; and creating specific enterprise and employment 
opportunities for women with commensurate funding.  
Source:  https://www.barbadosparliament.com/uploads/sittings/attachments  
2.1.5   Canada: Financial Inclusion for Micro - Small and Medium -Sized Enterprises  
2.6.  Canada 's Financial Inclusion Project aims to promote the economic prosperity of low -income 
women and men in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo by creating a means to increase 
their income and savings, improve their livelihoods, raise their quality of life, and increase their 
revenues. Project activities include: (1) increasing the number of people, specifically women, who 
benefit from financial services through an extension of branches and banking agents and the 
provision of training; (2) increasing the use of financial services by MSMEs , particularly those 
controlled by women; (3) increasing the use of agricultural financial services by agricultural 
entrepreneurs in Haiti; and (4) improving access to mobile savings services and medical insurance 
for low -income individuals, particularly wom en in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Results 
achieved as of September 2021 include: (1) reached 438,000 low -income people in the Democratic 
Republic of Congo and Haiti with financial services (36% women); (2) launched the Just for Her loan  
product in th e Democratic Republic of Congo, targeting micro , small, and medium -sized enterprises 
controlled by women. Also distributed USD  6.6 million to 1,001  women since its release in 
March  2021; (3) in Haiti, the agricultural loan product continues its success, wi th beneficiaries 
doubling in year four and reaching a cumulative total of 2,080 beneficiaries, of whom 83% women 
who work in the agricultural value chain; and (4) cumulatively trained over 216,000  clients in 
financial literacy (65% women).  
Source:  WTO Data base Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.6   Colombia : Women Entrepreneurs Fund  
2.7.  Created by decree, the Women Entrepreneurs Fund (Fondo Mujer Emprende) was launched in 
February 2021 by Colombia. Its objective is to finance and strengthen the capacities  of women's 
enterprises. It seeks to contribute to closing the gaps that women face when it comes to starting a 
business by facilitating : (1) access to finance; (2) structuring of profitable, sustainable, scalable 
productive projects and a source of qualit y employment; (3) ICT utilization;  (4) addressing barriers 
to integration into global value chains; (5) strengthening contact networks for commercialization. 
Priority sectors for rural women are avocados, cocoa, coffee, sugar cane, livestock and handicraft s. 
Fashion, tourism and processed foods, among others are priority areas for urban women. This Fund 
has resources from the national budget, international cooperation, and the business sector to 
support women entrepreneurs.  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Respo nsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.7   Colombia : Fund for financing development in the agricultural sector  
2.8.  The Fondo para el Financiamiento del Sector Agropecuario (FINAGRO) finances the production, 
marketing, processing and support services for agricultural, li vestock, fisheries, fish -farming and 
forestry and rural activities  including handicrafts, rural tourism, processing of precious metals and 
stones and mining. Loans can go to all producers that are natural or legal persons classified and 
defined by FINAGRO as small, medium -sized or large producers, low -income rural women or MSMEs. INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 4 - 
 
  The interest and discount rates on the loans depend on the category of producer requesting the 
loan, in accordance with FINAGRO's classification. The terms and grace periods for FI NAGRO loans 
depend on the production cycle of the activity to be financed. To be entitled to FINAGRO loans, 75% 
of the applicant's total assets must be invested in the agricultural sector, or two thirds of their 
income must stem from the sector. FINAGRO cr edit lines bring the farmer a number of benefits, 
since they give access to a loan at a capped interest rate, which is lower for smaller or vulnerable 
producers. Furthermore, FINAGRO encourages financial intermediaries to grant loans to farmers. 
This incen tive is based on the differential between the maximum interest rate for each category of 
producer and the rediscount rate granted by FINAGRO to the financial intermediary. This interest 
spread, or intermediation margin, varies between 7.5 and 12 percentage  points, depending on the 
category of producer.  
2.1.8   Colombia : Pact for Colombia  
2.9.  Colombia 's National Development Plan (2018-2022) "Pact for Colombia", includes a chapter on 
gender, the XIV Pact for Gender Equity for Women. Line G of the Gender Equity Pact considers  rural 
women to be agents of transformation of the countryside . The Pact  guarantees the  inclusion of rural 
women in the processes of social and productive planning, the provision of agricultural extension 
services, and access to credit, leading to equitable rural development. As part of the Pact,  the 
Ministry of Agriculture will promote both savings and access to credit ins truments. In particular, it 
will support  the inclusion of family farmers and small producers through the Agricultural Guarantee 
Fund (Fondo Agropecuario de G arantías  – FAG), as well as alliances with the Ministry of Environment 
and Sustainable Development to incentivise the use of payments for environmental services and the 
targeting of resources for the development of sustainable projects within the framework of the Green 
Growth Policy. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will also coordinate  strategies to 
provide relevant and effective economic and financial education for women in the financial education 
for women in rural areas.  
2.1.9   Colombia: Legal support for preferential access to credit  
2.10.  Colombia 's Law 731/02 explicitly prioritizes  rural women . Article 9 created credit lines with 
preferential rates for rural women. It opened access to the Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FAG) to 
support women entrepreneurs  with access to credit for productive activities. Resolutions 1 and 6/02 
of the National Agric ultural Credit Commission defines access to credit with resources from the 
Agricultural Financing Fund (FINAGRO). Conditions are defined for accessing credits and guarantees 
from the FGA ( Fondo Agropecuario de G arantías ) and FINAGRO is authorised to open l ines of credit 
to finance rural activities for women. Law 823/03  authorizes  credit for women and support for 
underprivileged single mothers for the development of productive projects.  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.10   Côte d 'Ivoire: Credit fund for women to start and expand their businesses  
2.11.  The Fonds d 'aide aux  femmes de Côte d 'Ivoire (FAFCI) aims to enable women in Côte d'Ivoire 
to create or expand their income -generating projects by providing access to cre dit at preferential 
rates. Women aged 21 or above, with an income -generating project, are eligible to apply for a loan 
from partner micro -finance institutions. Three types of credit instruments are available: credit for 
women who are at the initial stage o f income -generation , credit for women who are already 
implementing their income -generating project, and group credit for women 's groups and women 's 
NGOs. Since its launch, FAFCI has supported 250,000 women from various regions in Côte d'Ivoire 
and achieved  a loan repayment rate of 97%.  
2.12.  Success factors include political will and effective local micro -finance institutions.  The FAFCI  
is supported by the Office of the President and the First Lady. With the support of government, the 
initial FAFCI budget was inc reased from USD 2 million to USD 8 million. The Office of the President 
aims to eventually increase the budget to USD 40 million in 2025. In addition to government support, 
local micro -finance institutions are key partners for the project. These micro -finance institutions are 
responsible for housing funds, assisting women in opening their own bank accounts, and managing 
the loans.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 5 - 
 
  2.1.11   Ecuador: Improving access to finance for rural women  
2.13.  BanEcuador , a national development bank in Ecuador, created two financial products 
specifically for women : Credito Super Mujer  and Credito Mujer Emprendedora . Credito Super Mujer  
is targeted at women in agriculture who seek to finance their agricultural activities. Credito Mujer 
Emprendedora  is aimed at financing the purchase of f ixed assets and working capital for women 
entrepreneurs in the production, commercial, and services sec tors. 
2.14.  In 2021, BanEcuador granted USD 187.2  million worth of total credit to women. This 
represented 42.51% of the total credit awarded by Ban Ecuador across all their credit lines. In total, 
69,813  women's credit operations were generated.  Under the Credi to Super Mujer, loans were 
granted to women entrepreneurs managing family gardens or farms. In 2021, 9,285 loans, worth 
approximately USD 23 million, were directed to 9,259 women . 
2.15.  Challenges to implementation include the geographical distance of the rural population, a lack 
of trust in the banking institutions, and rural poverty and gender inequality. Success factors include 
political will, especially from BanEcudador and the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the development 
of new partnerships and synerg ies between Ban Ecuador, the Ministry of Agriculture, UN WOMEN, 
and the ProAmazonia Project of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry 
of Environment.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.12   European Union: Revolving fund to provide access to interest -free credit  
2.16.  The European Union 's Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) provide s women 's groups with 
interest -free credit for enterprise development. To ensure successful implementation of their priority 
enterprise s and full repayment of the fund,  women  are required to be in groups of 10 -15 members. 
In addition , funds are allocated t o women for institutional support, beneficiary groups receive basic 
training in bookkeeping, among other entrepreneurial and business management skills development  
projects . 
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.13   Fiji: Supporting the sustainable growth of SMEs  
2.17.  In 2002, Fiji passed the Small and Micro Enterprise Development Act and established the 
National Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (NCSMED) to support sustainable 
growth, investment, and meaningful employment in SMEs. NCSMED runs business  support 
programmes which are designed to enhances beneficiaries skill, product development, and facilitate 
access to finance. Some of this training has been specifically targeted at women traders.  
2.18.  Training has been undertaken in 13 major areas in Fiji, be nefitting 832 communities and 
villages.  Participating entrepreneurs have reported an increase in range, quality and sales volume.  
There is strong government support for the NCSMED to continue providing these training 
programmes and assisting entrepreneurs.  International agencies have recognized the importance of 
NCSMED and partnered to provide specialized training for women involved in specific agricultural 
projects.  The training is in high demand, as it is tailored to meet the needs of participants.  
Source : https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.14   Guyana: Women of Worth  
2.19.  The Women of Worth (WOW) is a microfinance scheme , established in 2010 through an Act 
of Parliament,  with the objective of assisting  single mothers in Guyana to start or expand their own  
MSMEs. The  programme is a public -private partnership between  the Government of Guyana, through 
the Ministry of  Human Services and Social Security, and a private  commercial  bank, the Guyana 
Bank for Trade and  Industry . Business ventures under multiple sectors were supported  under the 
programme. These sectors include agriculture  and agro -processing, health and beauty, handicraft,  
childcare, design and fashion, and dressmaking.  Under the W OW, women – who are  single parents 
and e arning less than USD 195 per month – can access  loans up to USD 1,200. The interest rate is INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 6 - 
 
  6% per  annum and the maximum repayment term is 24 months.  Between January 2011 and 
May 2015, 3,422 l oans were issued to 3,296 women, including repeat borrowers. The total amount 
of loan disbursed during this period was USD 1.85 million.  
2.20.  WOW faced a number of challenges including a concentration of borrowers from urban areas, 
low survival rates for busine sses, and excessive documentation requirements for accessing loans. 
Measures taken to address these challenges include: expanded engagement efforts to increase the 
geographical spread of loans, mentorship and support programmes to increase business surviva l 
rates, and support from loan officers in preparing documentation.  
2.21.  Success factors that underpin WOW include political will, the involvement of beneficiaries, and 
the development of new partnerships.  WOW received bipartisan support from parliament, the 
provision of counselling and mentoring opportunities which encourage engagement, and a  
public -private partnership between the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the 
Guyana Bank for Industry and Commerce.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.15   Kenya: Affordable credit for women to improve lives  
2.22.  In 2007, the Ken yan Government set up the Women Enterprise Fund to promote access to 
affordable credit for women entrepreneurs.  The Fund offers unsecured lending, interest free loans 
and other business services (such as capacity -building on marketing and networking) to women in 
business.  It has also established a partn ership with Safaricom to offer mobile banking for loan 
repayments and other related services.  The Fund has provided over 1.6 million beneficiaries from 
all 47 counties of Kenya with loans totalling K ES 16,653,170,580 (approx. US D 157 million).  One 
group of  women who received funding from the Women Enterprise Fund reported better nutrition 
for their families, stable homes because of reliable incomes, additional projects providing diversity 
of income, improved access to health care and co ncomitant health bene fits, better housing, and the 
ability to pay school fees.  
2.23.  Challenges to the Fund 's operations include low uptake in some areas, low levels of financial 
literacy, high default rates, public transport challenges, regional insecurity, lack of self -confidence 
among participants, droughts, and a lack of suitable partners in remote counties. Political will, the 
development of new partnerships, and the deployment of technology have all been cited as success 
factors.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.16   Malawi: Promoting women's transition from the informal sector with a loan fund  
2.24.  In order to mitigate the specific challenges women face in accessing credit, such as lac k of 
access to collateral, Malawi has established a targeted loan fund which provides opportunities to 
women entrepr eneurs.  The Ministry of Gender Affairs is the leading institution and coordinates and 
provides technical assistance, in collaboration with s elected commercial banks, who grant and 
administer loans. As a complement to funding, women -owned MSMEs receive capacity building 
training.  The fund uses a group approach to ensure that groups, clusters or associations monitor 
each other to reduce the risk  of default. This initiative has not reached full implementation yet due 
to delays in releasing the seed c apital by the National Treasury.  This fund is possible thanks to a 
close public -private partnership between the Government of Malawi and commercial ba nks. 
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.17   Malaysia: Financing for women in rural areas  
2.25.  MARA (the People's Trust Council) , a government agency, provides a loan scheme s pecifically  
designed for women. This initiative targets rural women particularly those who are  most vulnerable 
in Malaysia.  It requires only one guarantor and is open to businesses that are solely online. MARA 
awards l oans from MYR 10,000 up to MYR 50,000. Mara also provides entrepreneurship courses for 
participants in the loan scheme to foster suc cessful use of the loans.  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 7 - 
 
  2.26.  This loan scheme has provided  417 women across Malaysia the opportunity to start or expand 
their businesses . Since 2017, the programme has a llocated MYR 11.8 million, out of the 25 million 
initially allocated, out of which 5 milli on have been used f or entrepreneurship training for women 
who have participated  in the loan scheme.  
2.27.  Most applicants having little business training. This was remedied by also providing capacity 
building as a complement to funding.  The overall success  of the scheme is a function of political will 
and the reach of MARA. The Minister of Rural Development, a woman, has been supportive of the 
scheme. MARA  is presen t in state offices across the country, which  facilitates rural wom en's' to 
access financial information and resources.  
Source : https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.18   Maldives: Financi al instruments tailored to SMEs  
2.28.  The SME Development Fi nance Corporation (SDFC) was established as a specialized financial 
institution to provide financial products and ancillary services to MSMEs and entrepreneurial 
start-ups in Maldives. The  SDFC provides 25% of its loan portfolio to women, youth and persons  
with disabilities.  The SFDC provides three primary types of loans: loans targeted at startups ( Fashaa 
Viyafaar  Loan), loans for agricultural producers ( Dhanduveri Nafaa Loan) , and a COVID -19 recovery 
loan ( Viyafaari Ehee Loan) . 39 applications were grante d loans amounting to MVR 18.04 million  
under the startup loan scheme alongside 4 loans valued at MVR 985,400  under the agricultural loan 
scheme. A total of 576 women applicants had been approved for  MVR 117.4 million under the 
COVID -19 recovery loan scheme.  
2.29.  Factors that have enabled the financing operations of the SDFC include political will, 
engagement from applicants, and the development of new partnerships. SDFC's capital is allocated 
from the national government budget which demonstrates a national commit ment to 
SME development.  The high volume of applications from both existing MSMEs and startups highlights 
clear interest and need of applicants.  Emphasizing the importance  of partnership development, SDFC 
works in collaboration  with various national organi zations, including the Business Centre Corporation 
(BCC), the AgroNet  Corporation, and with the relevant Ministries to develop products  targeted to 
priority sectors.  
Source : https://www.shetrades.com/out look/home . 
2.1.19   Mexico: Supporting women entrepreneurs with targeted financial products  
2.30.  Mexico 's Nacional Fina nciera (NAFIN) is mainstreaming gender in credit products to as sist 
women entrepreneurs in growing their businesses.  NAFIN has in troduced two financial products 
aimed at women  entrepreneurs: Mujeres Empresarias and Mujeres R égimen de Incorporación  Fiscal 
(RIF)-Crezcamos Juntas. Both offer loans with preferentia l conditions to foster growth and 
compe titiveness  in small and medium entrepreneurships owned by women.  
2.31.  Mujeres  Empresarias offers women -owned businesses up to MXN 5 mi llion ( USD 251,000) for 
working capital and fixed asset acquisition. It does not require any collateral for loans up to 
MXN 2.5 million ( USD 125,000).  Mujeres RIF -Crezcamos Juntas is aimed at women registered with 
the RIF and offers loans up to MXN  300,000 ( USD 15,000) for work capital and fixed asset 
acquisition.  The two products have a national coverage. Between 2015 and 2021, 20,234 loan s have 
been granted, totaling an amount of MXN 26,184  million ( USD 132 million). Out of the granted loans, 
16,152 were awarded to women -led businesses.  
2.32.  One of the challenges in introducing these financial products was getting commercial banks 
to accep t them. To address this challenge, participating banks were sensitized to the need for 
differentiated financial products for wo men entrepreneurs with the help of concrete statistics. 
Political will resulting in the coordination of national institutions, th e development of new 
partnerships between national institutions and private banks, and strong local institutions including 
commercial banks were critical success factors.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.co m/outlook/home . INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 8 - 
 
  2.1.20   New Zealand: Supporting women exporters through capacity building and 
investment events  
2.33.  New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), in partnership with Te Taurapa Tuhono, hosts 
events to support women exporte rs: InvestHer Showcase and Women in Export Leadership. 
InvestHer Showcase is a platform for women -led companies to raise investments by pitching their 
ideas to investors. Women -led companies receive coaching to develop and deliver their pitches. Each 
year a different partner organization in the investment ecosystem is chosen to host the event and 
ensure investors participate. Women in Export Leadership is a networking event for women exporters 
to share knowledge and experiences in participating in trade. On line events last for one hour, with 
the first half dedicated to a woman sharing her export story and the second half focused on 
questions/feedback on the story. In -person events are longer and include an additional half hour for 
networking, followed by a p resentation and feedback or questions. Two InvestHer Showcases were 
hosted in the last three years. In the latest showcase, six women entrepreneurs raised investments 
totaling more than NZD 6.6 million.  
2.34.  NZTE faced two primary challenges:  ensuring that the language used in the I nvestHer and 
Women in Export Leadership events was strength -focused and pushback regarding the women -only 
nature of the events. Success factors include strong local institutions – including investment which 
are willing to increase the  representation of women in their portfolios – as well as the political will 
of NZTE itself.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.21   Rwanda: Government guaranteed loans  
2.35.  To guarantee funding for women entrepreneurs, the Government of Rwanda,  under the 
Business Development Fund, created the Women 's Guarantee Fund,  which covers between 50 and 
75% of collateral required by a lending institution . Women are supported to apply for a loan, and if  
it is determined to be viable, the financial  institution applies to the Women 's Guarantee  Fund for a 
credit guarantee for the loan.  The maximum guaranteed amount is RWF 500 million  for agricultural 
projects and  RWF 300 million  for other sectors, within a maturity period  of 10 years.  To date, the 
Women 's Guarantee Fund has  administered RWF 89,212,654,691 (approx. USD 93 million) to over 
40,000 women support access to  finance.  
2.36.  The major challenge facing  the Women 's Guarantee Fund has been a general lack of 
understanding of the Fund 's goals and operation by women entrepreneurs. Some women 
entrepreneurs thought that the Fund provided grants rather than loans . This  misunderstanding 
resulted in loan defaults.  To overc ome this, the organizing institutions conducted joint awareness 
campaigns to ensure that women  understand the nature of funding opportunities and their liabilities 
and responsibilities in relation to funding. More broadly, the Fund has been successful due to high 
levels of political will as evidenced by the level of funding for the Fund that is drawn from the 
government ordinary budget and the engagement of partners from both the public and private 
sectors.  
Source : https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.22   Senegal:  Supporting women 's entrepreneurship through microfinance  
2.37.  The government  of Senegal h as created the National Fund of Credit for Women (Fo nds 
National de Crédit pour les Femmes – FNCF) to promote women 's access to microfinance.  The FNCF 
has established a line of credit and a financing system for the activities of women's organizations 
to: develop productive  and income -generating activities; strengthen, through training, managerial 
capacitie s; propel women towards formal entrepreneurship;  create project incubator spaces in 
promising market niches;  and contribute to the fight against the feminization of poverty . The FNCF 
has raised more than XOF 2.5 billion for female beneficiaries. More than 3,000  women  received 
financial support, whereas 2,387 additional women benefited from capacity building a nd technical 
support on project management.  
2.38.  The FNCF has been supported by political will, the involv ement of beneficiaries in novel loan 
management processes, and the development of new partnerships. The FNCF benefits from an 
annual sub sidy provided by the Government of Senegal. This subsidy supports the continuous INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 9 - 
 
  operation of FNCF.  Most of the loan ben eficiaries are or ganized in groups which provide refina ncing 
to all active members and ensure full repayment of the loan . Each group is well-organized, with a 
president, a treasurer, a  secretary, and an auditor. Finally, having an extended network of fi nancial 
partners makes it possible  to reach the maximum number of targets throughout the countr y. 
Source : https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.23   Senegal: Access to finance for women  
2.39.  The National Fund for the Promotion of Women's  Entrepreneurship (Fonds National de 
Promotion de  l'Entreprenariat Féminin – FNPEF) is a  government agency that provides  women with 
access to financial resources to support  them in carrying out income -generating activities. The Fund 
aims to provide financial services to increase  women 's access to finance, and technical and 
non-financial  assistance to women through training, networking and  information dissemination.  
Funding for the FNPEF is provided by the national government budget on an annual basis. The FNPEF  
has worked to increase the participation of women in its activities by including women 's network in 
its steering committee.  
2.40.  FNPEF faced challenges in reaching women, especially in rural areas. This was addressed 
through partnerships with insurance companies, which enabled the fund to expand and reach more 
women in rural areas.  Monitoring and evaluation become a challenge for FNPEF. To remedy this, 
monitoring is conducted through regular on -site visits. Following the site visits, road maps are 
developed to consider potential problems and solutions.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.24   Seychelles: Grants help seed women -led startups  
2.41.  Seychelles ' Seed Capital Grant -Scheme aims to enhance the development of more 
competitive and resilient businesses and provides seed capital to businesses less than 3 years old. 
In 2017, the grant  scheme was administered by the Department of Industry an d Entrepreneurship 
Development.  In 2018, the grant sch eme was moved to the Enterpris e Seychelles Agency (ESA) for 
administration . Eligible startups can each receive up to S CR 50,000 (approx. USD 3,600) to assist 
them in the ir early stages of development. The Seed Capital Committee, under th e Enterprise 
Seychelles Agency, administers the s cheme. The committee is co mprised of representatives from 
the Department of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development , the Ministry of Finance, Trade, 
Investment and Economic p lanning, the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation , 
and membe rs of the private sector . In 2017, a total of 278 grants were administered from various 
sectors such as agriculture, cleaning, maintenance, fisheries, manufacturing and handicrafts 
– 54% of grantees were  women.  
2.42.  The Grant -Scheme faced a number of challenges including, the low literacy rates among 
applicants, a lack of compliance reporting, weak administration and enforcement of the scheme, 
unclear responsibilities for committee members, and the lack of an appeal mechanisms. Measures 
taken to addres s these challenges include assistance in the drafting and submission of applications, 
the provision of advisory services to beneficiaries to assist in compliance reporting, changing the 
designated authority to the Enterprise Bangladesh Agency, revision to the governance structures of 
the committee, and the inclusion of an appeals mechanism.  The Grant -Scheme has been facilitated 
by the political will and commitment of the Government of Seychelles . 
Source :  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.25   South Africa: providing access to finance and industry and export market 
development  
2.43.  South Africa 's Women 's Fund provide affordable, usable and responsive  finance to enterprises 
to accelerate the economic empowerment of women. It targets formally registered enterprises that 
are 50% + 1 share owned and/or managed by women. The fund supports start -up enterprises and 
expansions. While not especially targeting the export sectors, these  women could operate in export 
sectors.  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 10 - 
 
  2.44.  South Africa 's Sector Specific Assistance Scheme (SSAS ) aims to develop the  industrial  sector  
and broaden  the export base . The SSA S addresses factors that  constrain  export growth  and supports 
the participation of women in the export sector (among other groups). The scheme is a n 
80:20  cost-sharing  grant for projects to develop particular sectors, find new export markets , and 
promote the economic empowerment of women.  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.26   Switzerland: Advisory services to financial institutions  
2.45.  Switzerland 's Women Banking Champions Program is designed to  increase access  to financial 
services for women and women entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Afr ica region through 
the provision of advisory services to financial institutions (banks and microfinance institutions). More 
specifically, the Program will provide support to financial intermediaries in key Middle East and North 
Africa markets to position themselves  as women banking champions, in turn creating a 
demonstration effect in their respective markets. The support provided will help financial institution 
expand their offering s, including financial and non -financial services, such as networking 
oppor tunities and trainings to women clients. The indirect impact of the project is to improve women 
economic empowerment and ease the business environment for women in the region.  
Source:  WTO Database  Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.27   Togo:  National  Fund for Inclusive Finance  
2.46.  Togo's National Fund for Inclusive Finance (Fonds national de la finance inclusive  – FNFI)  was 
set up in 2014 to strengthen the financial and operational capacity of decentralised financial service 
providers (FSPs) to meet, on a permanent basis, the need for local financial products expressed by 
communities that do not have access to traditional financial services. The FNFI provides loans 
designed to support and encourage income -generating activities (petty trading, agriculture, crafts, 
etc.) among women and men. By 21 July 2023, more than 1.8 million people from all socio -economic 
strata had bene fited from loans allocated via 13 fund products with a repayment rate of  94.76%.  
While the number of beneficiaries is evolving, the Togolese authorities are maintaining their 
2025 vision of reaching 255,000 additional beneficiaries by 2025.  
Source:  WTO Database  Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.28   Tunisia: Assistance services to women entrepreneurs  
2.47.  Tunisia 's Competitiveness Support and Export Development Fund (TASDIR+) promotes 
exports by offering a range of support and assistance services such as p artial subsidies with 
non-reimbursable co -financing to individual businesses and trade associations. It gives preference 
to companies headed by women (among others).  
2.1.29   Uganda : Promoting affordable credit and financial literacy  
2.48.  Uganda 's Women Entrepreneurship  Programme (UWEP) aims at improving access to financial 
services for women and equipping them with skills for enterprise growth, value addition and 
marketing of their products and services. This programme is implemented as a Rolling Programme 
under the Min istry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD). The Programme is designed 
to address the challenges women face in undertaking economically viable enterprises.  One of the 
four targeted objectives of the Programme is to provide affordable credit and support access to other 
financial services to enable women establish and grow their business enterprises. The Programme 
established the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) providing women groups with interest -free credit for 
enterprise development on a revolving f und basis. Women are required to be in groups of 
10-15 members to  ensure successful implementation of their priority enterprise and full repayment 
of the fund. In addition , funds are allocated to women for institutional support – beneficiary  groups 
receive basic training in bookkeeping, among other entrepreneurial and business management skills 
development.  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 11 - 
 
  2.1.30   United Kingdom: Investing in Women Code  
2.49.  The Investing in Women Code is  a commitment to improving female entrepreneurs' access to 
tools, resources, and finance in the United Kingdom (UK). The Code commits signatory financial 
services organisations (currently 215) to promoting female entrepreneurship b y: (1) h aving a 
nominated  member of the senior leadership team who will be responsible for supporting 
gender -equality ; (2) increasing the transparency of financial services firms' data concerning support 
for female entrepreneurs ; and (3)  Adopting internal practices to improve fema le entrepreneurs' 
access to finance.  The Code's signatories (e.g. Banks, Angel Investors and Venture Capital Funds) 
represent over GBP 1 trillion in assets managed.  The Investing in Women Code continues to grow. 
As more signatories join, the gender desegre gated data set increases and more of the market is 
covered. Thanks to the Code, more organisations are committed to supporting women -owned MSMEs 
to access finance and reduce the gap between men and women . 
2.50.  The UK supports  The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We -Fi). This is a World Bank 
hosted partnership among 14 governments, 6 multilateral development banks, and others. Modelled 
closely on the UK Code, We -Fi is developing the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code. This  initiative 
aims to get financial institutions globally to consistently track levels of women -owned MSME 
financing and to take measures to expand financing . 
Source:  WTO Database  Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.31   United States: Strategy on Global  Women's Economic Security  
2.51.  The United States ' Strategy on Global Women's Economic Security (January 2023) is centred 
on: (1) increasing the availability of financial products and services (savings, credit, investment and 
insurance ) adapted to the unique needs  of women and women entrepreneurs  – this include s 
insurance, micro enterprise credit, and agricultural credit (among others) ; (2) fostering access to 
property and land ; (3) promoting  climate finance that increases gender equality ; and,  
(4) encouraging  the use of digital finance.  
Source:  WTO Database  Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.32   Zambia: fostering women's financial participation through inclusive strategies  
2.52.  The Zambian Ministry of Finance has incorporated gender concerns in its Na tional Financial 
Inclusion Strategy (2017 -2022) and the National Strategy on Financial Education  (NSFE II)  for 
Zambia (2019 -2024).  These strategies require the collection of gender disaggregated data by 
survey. The programme is ongoing and the full impact will be established during the mid -term review 
and at the end of the implementation period in 2024.  
2.53.  The implementation of the programme has been limited by the financial and human reso urces 
allocated to the programme and the limited financial sophisticatio n of the target population and 
consumers at large . Political will remains a critical factor in the success of the programme as does 
the development of new partnership between government and the private sector.  
Source : https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.1.33   Zambia  : 50 Million African Women Speak Platform  
2.54.  Zambia 's 50 Million African Women Speak Platform aims to empower women entrepren eurs 
by providing access to financial and non -financial business information. The project targets 
connecting 50 million women across Africa through a web -based platform. The areas that the project 
addresses are: (1) access to business information (financia l and non -financial); (2) learning 
(Peer -to-peer); (3) knowledge transfer; and (4) ideas and business opportunities. The online 
platform was operationalized  in July 2019 and has enrolled more than 3,000  women entrepreneurs.  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 12 - 
 
  2.1.34   Zambia: Export Development Fund  
2.55.  Zambia 's Export Development Fund (ZEDEF), managed by Zambia's Development Agency 
(ZDA), is designed to facilitate export finance. ZEDEF provides low interest loans provided to 
exporting com panies as well as those with the potential to export. Loans are mostly for the purpose 
of pre -shipment or post shipment requirements by exporters. To date, the Fund has worked with 
various Producer Association s to support the  interests of members such as the Association of 
Zambian Women in Mining (AZWIM).  
Source:  WTO Database Gender -Responsive Trade Policies (upcoming).  
2.1.35   Zimbabwe: Providing accessible financial services to women  
2.56.  The Zimbabwe Women 's Micr ofinance Bank (ZWMB) is a state bank, which was established 
to champion wome n's financial inclusion, economic and social empowerment by providing low-cost 
financial resourc es to women. ZWMB aims to reach the unbanked and under -banked population in 
the economy, including women, yo uth and people with disabilities.  
2.57.  From 2018 to 2020, ZWMB has seen an increase i n the number of saving accounts opened by 
women. A total of 85,876 savings acco unts were opened by women. ZWM B also granted 
84,789  loans to women and disbursed ZW L 95,432,417 ( USD 264,000).  
2.58.  ZWMB faced a shortage in foreign currency to acquire robust technological systems. 
Consequently, ZWMB liaised with the Central Bank to secure the necessary foreign currency. Success 
factors include political will – the government provided fin ancial and moral support – as well the 
development of new strategic partnerships between organizations in the agricultural sector which 
enabled farmers to access hard currency.  
Source:  https://www.shetra des.com/outlook/home .  
2.1.36   Zimbabwe  : Women 's development fund  
2.59.  Zimbabwe 's Women 's Development Fund was established in 2005 to address the lack of 
collateral among  women and the high interest rates being charged by banks. 75% of a given loans 
is provided to purchase equipment and 25% as cash for working capital. Beneficiaries are train ed 
prior to any disbursement of the project loans. The first disbursement of USD 1 million was made in 
2010. The Fund is being administered by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and 
Medium Enterprise Development through the People 's Own Saving s Bank ( POSB).  To date  
1,917 women 's groups have benefited and USD 3,459,156 has been disbursed resulting in more 
than 9 ,585 employment opportunities.  The Ministry has included a monitoring and evaluation 
process as part of the Fund's activities.  
2.2  Select Fi nancial institution -led initiatives  
2.2.1   Bangladesh: a policy framework for financial institutions  
2.60.  Bangladesh Bank 's SME and Special Programmes Department formulated and instituted a 
policy framework to be implemented by banks and non -bank financial institutions. It includes specific 
policy suggestions, target -based SME financing plans, refinancing schemes and training 
programmes. The policies also target at least 15% of all the SME funds to be allocated to 
women -owned businesses. Bangladesh Bank inst ructed banks and financial institutions to advertise 
all the facilities made available by the policy framework in print and electronic media. Due to this 
intensive and targeted information campaign, over 35,000 aspiring women entrepreneurs, including 
many in rural areas, were able to launch their businesses. Banks and financial institutions have 
loaned BDT 8.93 billion (USD 106 million) in capital and BDT 256 billion  (USD 3 billion) of refinancing 
to women -owned businesses in 2018 and 2019. Many banks and f inancial institutions in Bangladesh 
now place a higher priority on women applicants, have special provisions for women -owned 
businesses that are unable to leverage collateral, and provide special advice and service centres for 
women entrepreneurs . INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 13 - 
 
  2.61.  Women en trepreneurs and women -owned businesses in Bangladesh face several challenges 
in accessing finance and financial services, including the perceived risks of investing in 
women -owned businesses, lack of information about opportunities among women entrepreneur s, 
and loan processing delays. Political will, the involvement of beneficiaries, and transparency and 
disclosure of information were cited as success factors.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/ho me. 
2.2.2   El Salvador: Development Bank of El Salvador (BANDESAL – Banco de Desarrollo de 
El Salvador)  
2.62.  The Development Bank of El Salvador supports the sustainability of Salvadoran female -led 
MSMEs, through  a number of specific  credit lines including the credit line for the economic recovery 
of Salvadoran female entrepreneurs. Pr ovided by BANDESAL second -tier lines,  this credit  promot es 
economic recovery by facilitating access to working capital and investment in fixed assets.  Other 
credit lines include a special credit line and a direct credit line for female entrepreneurs. The first 
helps meet the working capital and fixed asset requir ements of female entrepreneurs (natural or 
legal persons) seeking to grow their businesses, who request financing from eligible intermediary 
institutions.  The second f inances female entrepreneurs from MSMEs who are interested in investing 
in productive pro jects that include capital formation expenditure and current expenditure or working 
capital . 
2.2.3   The Gambia: A financial product built for women entrepreneurs  
2.63.  Reliance Financial Services  – a non -bank financial institution – conducted detailed market 
research i n Gambia to identify the needs and market potential of financial products and services 
specifically designed to support women entrepreneurs. These financial products include micro loans, 
savings  plans, and life insurance.  The average loan amount  ranges fro m USD 100, and based on 
savings capacity, can be  increased to USD  500. Loans typically have a six-month  term, with a 
two-month  grace period in repayment between the two  principal and interest repayments on the 3rd 
and 6th months after disbursement . For over 99% of the women in the programme,  this product is 
their first interaction with a formal  financial institution.  Since its inception, over 40,000  borrowers 
have used this financial product across Gambia . Annual disbursements to busine sses average  
USD 15 million with a repayment rate of 98%.  
2.64.  The following challenges were identified:  i) funding challenges stemming from  high 
subscription rates  – this has been overcome by arranging contingency lines of credit with local banks, 
as well as b y obtaining funding from other organizations that offer concessionary loans ; ii) the cost 
of product delivery. This cost was underestimated because of the great distances between some of 
the communities and the  branches as well as the manual nature of the record -keeping . The 
programme has started automating the groups ' financial records to  overcome this challenge, and in 
the long run, plans to activate mobile accounts for members, for the purposes of disbursement and 
loan repayments, in order to minimise transport costs . At the macro level, programme success has 
been driven by the development of new partnerships and high levels of beneficiary engagement in 
the programme.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.2.4   Mauritius: No -guarantor loans to help women -owned businesses expand in 
value -added sectors  
2.65.  The Development Bank of Mauritius provides a special loan scheme  designed to assis t women 
entrepreneurs to start a business  in sectors with high valued -added potential including 
manufacturing and agriculture.  This loan scheme has a ceiling of MUR 500,000 at a  preferential fixed 
interest rate of 3%, with a period  of repayment of up to se ven years, and a  moratorium of up to one 
year. This loan does not require a personal guarantor, which is often a factor of economic exclusion 
for women.  It is designed to cover up to 90% of the cost of a project.  To date more than 
300 women -owned businesses have benefitted from the scheme. Since its inception over 
MUR 20 million have been disbursed.  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 14 - 
 
  2.66.  Limited business knowledge and skills of applicants  and a lack of awareness of different 
financing options posed challenges to the operation of t he scheme. Sensitization efforts designed to 
inform women entrepreneurs about the different specialized schemes available to them have been 
undertaken  in order to address the latter challenge.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
2.3  International and regional -led initiatives  
2.3.1   The African Development Bank  
2.67.  The African Development Bank (A fDB) provides a ffordable finance for women entrepreneurs, 
training of financial  institutions and reform of regulatory frameworks to improve the business 
environment  through AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa), a pan -African 
initiative to bridge the USD 42 billion financing gap facing women in Africa – including 
USD 15.6 billion in agriculture alone. The expected projects under consideration include ; (i) a f inance 
aspect: lending to women is seen as riskier, so they face prohibitive interest rates  – in addition, 
women often lack traditional collateral and guarantees; (ii) a capacity aspect: financial institutions 
lack the capacity to understand and respond ap propriately to women entrepreneurs, who also often 
lack the financial and business acumen to respond to the needs of financial institutions; and (iii) a 
business environment aspect: in many countries, legal and regulatory frameworks hinder women's 
full par ticipation in private sector growth.  
2.3.2   The Asian Development Bank: Small and Medium -sized Enterprises Line of Credit 
Project in Sri Lanka  
2.68.  Since 2016, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)  has been imple menting a US D 175 million 
credit line through 10 local banks to underserved SMEs, including women -led firms. In 2018, the 
project enhanced its gender -related impact with the introduction of a USD 12.6 million gra nt from 
the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We -Fi). The expanded support includes blended finance  
through an SME line of credit and We -Fi grant, and capacity development support for women 
entrepreneurs, banks, government organizatio ns, and other key stakeholders.  1,305 women -led 
SMEs have borrow ed from ADB 's credit line. With the additional We -Fi supp ort in 2018, a 
USD 6.3 million grant blended with USD 25.2 million in ADB credit line has been accessed by 
637 women -led SMEs that were previously capital -constrained. Capacity deve lopment is also on 
track. As of February 2020, 187 women entre preneurs had completed business development training 
across the country. G ender gap assessments have been carried out for 10 participating banks, three 
government organizations, and two chambers of commerce to improve their service delivery to 
women.  
2.69.  Challenges include  prevailing inequities in the labour market and in rates of women 's 
entrepreneurship.  High-level government  engagement and ownership has been vital for achieving 
successful implementation and sustainable institutional behavioral shifts . The development of 
partnerships with local financial institution to deliver project goals in conjunction with the 
implementation of a robust monitoring and evaluation system and the provision of technical 
assistance has also been necessary. The efforts hav e been supported by a proactive dissem ination 
campaign to boost awareness among potential female beneficiaries as well as banks as to how to 
access new opportunities provided by the project to imp rove their business practices. These lessons 
highlight the i mportance of design ing responses which address the mu ltiple gender -specific barriers 
women SMEs face.  
2.70.  Bearing the challenges in mind, the ADB also has a Guidance Note on Fostering Regional 
Cooperation and Integration for Recovery and Resilience, which reco gnises and advocates for 
supporting women's entrepreneurship through skills training and greater access to finance and 
technology. Areas of focus can include : (a) promoting women's access to and trade skills 
(e-commerce) and tourism activities ; (b) helping  women in border communities participate in 
cross-border activities ; (c) protecting migrant workers' benefits ; and (d) enabling women -led MSMEs 
to join the cross -border supply chain and trade activities, among others. Recommended policies 
include identifyi ng private sector solutions to overcome capital constraints such as supply chain 
finance solutions/incentives for financial institutions, among others.  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 15 - 
 
  2.3.3   Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) Provisions  
2.71.  Various WTO Members have integrated non -binding provisions in their existing trade 
agreements focusing on the need to improve women 's access to finance, with a particular attention 
to female entrepreneurs; therefore, acknowledging that this is a barrier to address. These provisions 
range from financial training, financial assistance and literacy programmes; facilitating access to 
loans and credits, supporting business women in accessing financial instruments. Other provisions 
focus on providing an enabling legal, administrative, institutional, technical,  tax and financial 
frameworks for the setting up and expansion of MSEMs, including women's entrepreneurs' small 
businesses. Also, some state parties committed to eliminate all laws, regulations and practises that 
hinder women 's access to financial assistan ce including credit, especially in agriculture. While these 
RTAs clearly recognise the systemic barriers that affect women in trade and investment and in 
accessing finance, they are not many. Also, they create general objectives in terms of enhancing 
women 's access to finance, but they do not develop the kind of specific measures that state parties 
would take to implement these measures. In sum, they are outlining what to do but not how to do 
it. Hence, so far, concrete commitments and strategies are missin g from these RTAs on how parties 
can improve women entrepreneurs' access to finance.7 
2.3.4   The United Nations Capital Development Fund : Shifting Financial Policies and 
Practices to Include Women  
2.72.  The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)  leads the Shaping Inclusive Finance 
Transformations (SHIFT) in ASEAN programme. The activity was  funded by the Australian 
Government 's Department of  Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).  SHIFT aims to  improve the living 
standards of vulnerable groups by openin g the door towards digital  financial inclusion as well as 
expanding the potential for enterprise development,  employment, and increased economic 
participation . It does this by stimulating investment, business innovations, and regulatory reforms 
to advance financial inclusion and accelerate access to economic opportunities for  marginalized 
groups including women . The programme has four components (policy and advocacy, data and 
analysis, learning and skills development, and grants) and covers Cambodia, Lao PD R, Myanmar and 
Vietnam (including ASEAN at the regional level).  
2.73.  To date, 4 new financial products have been the direct result of the initiative. Two of these 
are in Myanmar and specifically target women, whilst the other two target MSMEs more generally 
and young homebuyers in Cambodia. SHIFT has also taken forward data training activities in 
Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. With respect to policy, an indirect result has been the recent 
approval of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in Cambodia. Althoug h not approved based on 
the training conducted by SHIFT, its development was partially informed by the programme.  Insights 
created as part of SHIFT were transformed into blogs, infographics, and a working paper that were 
presented to the ASEAN regional pla tforms of regulators to share best practices and inform policy.  
2.74.  Factors that have been critical to SWIFT 's success include the development of new 
partnerships between local financial services providers and regulators, the involvement of 
beneficiaries throu gh pre -training surveys, and the deployment of data analytics to facilitate capacity 
development and knowledge transfer to market actors.  
Source:  https://www.shetrades.com/outlook/home . 
PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS: CONSIDERATIONS FOR GOVERNMENTS AND FINANCIAL 
INSTITUTIONS  
3.1.  Investment professionals, asset managers, investme nt funds, private equity firms, 
development f inance institutions, microfinance institutions and banks t argeting MSMEs have an 
important role to play in meeting the financial needs of women -led MSMEs. A review of good 
 
7 Anoush Der Boghossian, Amrita Bahri, "Finding Feet on Trade Agreements: Empowering Women 
Entrepreneurs Amidst a Pandem ic", (2023), 50, Legal Issues of Economic Integration, Issue  1, pp.  13-40. INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 16 - 
 
  practices highlights key recommendations for investors who aim to invest in women -owned or -led 
businesses8,9: 
1. Ensure internal buy -in. An investment strategy centered on supporting women -led MSMEs 
requires commitment from senior management. Making internal strategy and staffing changes 
to create a gender focal point, such as appointing a gender specialist, forming a gender 
committee, or establishing a transformation office, can help to achieve internal buy -in and 
ensure that investment strategies are gender -responsive.  
2. Adopt a common language . The development of an efficient and profitab le investment 
strategy requires a design that is coherent. The need for coherence becomes more acute when 
investment strategy is undertaken in partnership with external stakeholders. A necessary 
precondition for achieving investment strategy coherence that  supports women -led MSMEs is 
the development of a common language and alignment of priorities.  
3. Use existing initiatives or expertise as a starting point.  Using existing information and 
working with gender and investment experts can catalyze and accelerate investment 
strategies and processes to support women -led MSMEs.  
4. Leverage networks to give firms visibility. Partnerships between  women industry 
networks, women associations and trade organizations can help to establish linkages with 
women -led MSMEs and lea ders and make them aware of funding opportunities.  
5. Adopt a targeted marketing approach. Targeted marketing can encourage women -led 
MSMEs to access existing financial services and products.  
6. Appoint a gender focus person or team internally: As noted above, a gender focus person 
or team can help to ensure internal buy -in. A similar role can also be used to build trust with 
women -led MSMEs and to ensure that women 's business and financial needs are being 
adequately met by existing processes.  
7. Add non -financial products and services. Access to finance is a necessary but not 
sufficient condition for women -led MSMEs to thrive. Non -financial support and services that 
facilitate women 's access to netwo rks, information, and mentorship are critical to achieving 
long-term business success.  
8. Upgrade your team.  Staff training and the inclusion of women as relationship managers is 
crucial to ensuring that staff address unconscious bias, are aware of the market  potential of 
women -led MSMEs, and are adeptly incentivized to meet the needs of women -led MSMEs.  
9. Adapt the firm 's value proposition.  Women -led MSMEs  face unique challenges, such as 
access to collateral, relative to their male counterparts. Firms should ta ilor products and 
develop partnerships to circumvent inappropriate collateral requirements and high interest 
rates for women -led MSMEs . 
10. Explore options to reduce transaction costs. Leveraging established and emerging 
technologies, including mobile technolo gy, cloud computing and blockchain, to automate 
underwriting and loan servicing tasks can reduce transaction costs. In turn, reductions in 
transaction costs can facilitate economies of scale which make it easier and cheaper to provide 
financial services to  micro and small businesses.  
11. Collect data and measures outcomes.  Building the case for enhanced investments in 
women -led MSMEs requires access to continuous, comparable, and granular data.  
12. Target sectors that suffered during the COVID -19 pandemic.  Women -led MSMEs are 
concentrated in sectors, such as tourism and textiles, most impacted by the COVID -19 
 
8 The recommendations presented in this compendium were developed by the ITC in consultation with 
the Chairs of the WTO Micro, Small and Medium -sized Enterprise Informal Working Gro up and the WTO  Trade 
and Gender Informal Working Group.  
9 ITC. Twelve Lessons in Gender Lens Investing . (2021).  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 17 - 
 
  pandemic.  Building back better from the pandemic will require targeted interventions including 
measures to increase the resilience of women -owned and led firms  to exogenous shocks.  
NEXT STEPS  
4.1.  Key issues emerging from the compendium for Member States . 
4.2.  Potential next areas of work . 
 
 
_______________  
  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 18 - 
 
  ANNEX  
Country  Initiative Name  Type of 
Organization  Name of 
Organization  Start 
Date  End Date  
ARGENTINA  Reciprocal Guarantee 
Companies (SGR) scheme  Government 
Agency  - - - 
AUSTRALIA  Partnering with impact 
investors to support 
women -owned SMEs  Government 
Agency  Department of 
Foreign Affairs 
and Trade  2016 Ongoing  
AUSTRALIA  1) Pacific Trade Invest ; 2) 
the Pacific Private Sector 
Development Initiative IV ; 
3) Pacific RISE ; and 4) the 
Pacific Financial Inclusion 
Programme  Government 
Agency  - - - 
BANGLADESH  Banks build women -friendly 
financial structures  Private Sector  Bangladesh Bank  2010 Ongoing  
BARBADOS  National Policy Framework 
for the Development of 
Micro, Small and Medium -
sized Enterprises  Government Agency  2016 Ongoing  
CANADA  Financial Inclusion for Micro - 
Small and Medium -sized 
Enterprises  Government 
Agency  - - - 
COLOMBIA  Women Entrepreneurs Fund 
(Fondo Mujer Emprende); 
FINAGRO;The National 
Development Plan 2018 -
2022; National Laws  "Pact 
for Colombia", includes a 
chapter on gender, the XIV 
Pact for Gender Equity for 
Women  Government 
Agency  - - - 
CÔTE D'IVOIRE  Credit fund for women to 
start and expand their 
business  Government 
Agency  Fonds d 'aide aux 
femmes de Côte 
d'Ivoire (FAFCI)  2012 Ongoing  
ECUADOR  Improving access to finance 
for rural women  Government 
Agency  Ban Ecuador  2019 Ongoing  
EUROPEAN 
UNION  Women Enterprise Fund 
(WEF)  Government 
Agency  - - - 
FIJI Supporting the sustainable 
growth of SMEs  Government 
Agency  National Centre 
for Small and 
Medium 
Enterprises 
Development  2002 Ongoing  
GAMBIA  A financial product built for 
women entrepreneurs  Financial 
Institution  Reliance 
Financial 
Services  2014 Ongoing  
GUYANA  Women of Worth  Government 
Agency  Ministry of 
Human Services 
& Social Security  2010 Ongoing  
KENYA  Affordable credit for women 
to improve lives  Government 
Agency  Women 
Enterprise Fund  2007 Ongoing  
MALAWI  Promoting women's 
transition from the informal 
sector through a loan fund  Government 
Agency  Ministry of 
Gender Affairs  2016 Ongoing  
MALAYSIA  Financing for women in rural 
areas  Government 
Agency  MARA (the 
People's Trust 
Council)  2017 Ongoing  
MALDIVES  Financial instruments 
tailored to SMEs  Government 
Agency  SME 
Development 
Finance 
Corporation 
(SDFC)  2019 Ongoing  
MAURITIUS  No-guarantor loans to help 
women -owned businesses 
expand in value -added 
sectors  Financial 
institution  Development 
Bank of Mauritius  2019 Ongoing  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 19 - 
 
  Country  Initiative Name  Type of 
Organization  Name of 
Organization  Start 
Date  End Date  
MEXICO  Supporting women 
entrepreneurs with targeted 
financial products  Government 
Agency  Nacional 
Financiera 
(NAFIN)  2015 Ongoing  
NEW ZEALAND  Supporting women 
exporters through capacity 
building and investment 
events  Government 
Agency  New Zealand 
Trade and 
Enterprise  2019 Ongoing  
RWANDA  Government -guaranteed 
loans enable women 's 
access to finance  Government 
Agency  Ministry of 
Gender and 
Family Promotion 
(MIGEPROF), 
Business 
Development 
Fund, and others  2011 Ongoing  
SENEGAL  Supporting women 's 
entrepreneurship through 
microfinance  Government 
Agency  National Fund of 
Credit for 
Women  (Fonds 
National de 
Crédit pour les 
Femmes - FNCF)  2010 Ongoing  
SENEGAL  Access to finance for women  Government 
Agency  Fonds National 
de Promotion de 
l'Entreprenariat 
Féminin (FNPEF)  2004 Ongoing  
SEYCHELLES  Grants help seed women -led 
startups  Government 
Agency  Enterprise 
Seychelles 
Agency  2017 2021 
SOUTH AFRICA  Women's Funds; Sector 
Specific Assistance Scheme 
(SSAS)  Government 
Agency  - - - 
SWITZERLAND  MENA Financial Inclusion: 
Women Banking Champions 
Program:  Government 
Agency  - - - 
TOGO  National Fund for Inclusive 
Finance (Fonds national de 
la finance inclusive  – FNFI)  Government 
Agency  - 2014 Ongoing  
TUNISIA  The Competitiveness 
Support and Export 
Development Fund 
(TASDIR+)  Government 
Agency  - - - 
UGANDA  Uganda Women 
Entrepreneurship 
Programme (UWEP)  Government 
Agency  - - - 
UNITED STATES  
OF AMERICA  Strategy on Global Women's 
Economic Security  Government 
Agency  - 2023 Ongoing  
ZAMBIA  Fostering Women's Financial 
Participation through 
Inclusive Strategies  Government 
Agency  Ministry of 
Finance  2019 2024 
ZAMBIA  50 Million African Women 
Speak Platform; Zambia 
Export Development Fund 
(ZEDEF)  Government 
Agency  - - - 
ZIMBABWE  Providing accessible 
financial services to women  Government 
Agency  Zimbabwe 
Women 's 
Microfinance 
Bank (ZWMB)  2018 Ongoing  
ZIMBABWE  Women 's Development Fund  Government 
Agency  - 2005 Ongoing  INF/MSME/W/46  • INF/TGE/W/7  
 
- 20 - 
 
  Country  Initiative Name  Type of 
Organization  Name of 
Organization  Start 
Date  End Date  
ADB Small and Medium -sized 
Enterprises Line of Credit 
Project in Sri Lanka  Financial 
Institution  Asian 
Development 
Bank 2016 Ongoing  
CARIBBEAN 
EXPORT 
DEVELOPMENT 
AGENCY  WE-Xport  Regional agency  Caribbean Export 
Development 
Agency  2018 Ongoing  
UN CAPITAL 
DEVELOPMENT 
FUND  Shifting Financial Policies 
and Practices to Include 
Women  Regional or 
International 
Organization  United Nations 
Capital 
Development 
Fund 2015 Ongoing  
 
 
__________