HER FINTECH EDGE
﻿Market Insights for Inclusive GrowthAcknowledgements
This report was a collaborative effort between IFC’s Banking on Women team, Dalberg Advisors, and Dalberg Research.
The overall project was led by an IFC team comprising Anushe Khan, Jorge Godoy, Minakshi Ramji, Sebastien Veit and Angela Lumanau. The
research in the report was funded by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), with the specific aim of advancing economic andfinancial opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Contributing IFC and World Bank experts and peer reviewers were Beniamino Savonitto,
Heather Kipnis, Jaylan Elshazly, Leora Klapper, Pamela Lian, and Tatiana Alonso Gispert. Contributing Communications colleagues were Elena
Gex, Fredrica Lissakers Mayer, and Linda Smiroldo Herda. The IFC team would also like to recognize Patrick Friend for copy editing and Cynthiaël Hasbani for the design process. For their guidance and feedback throughout, the team would also like to acknowledge Jessica Schnabel,Hans Koning, and Shinya Yoshino.
Dalberg team comprised Kunal Walia, Vineet Bhandari, Jasper Gosselt, Naoko Koyama, Kashvi Trivedi, Saksham Khosla, Ria Gupta, Daniel
Omollo, Peter Otienoh, and Emmanuel Ng’ososei.
The authors would like to thank the individuals and organizations who kindly shared their time, experience, and knowledge. This report would
not have been possible without the generous contributions of the fintech firms that participated in the survey and interviews, sharing theirexpertise and feedback.
The authors would also like to thank sectoral experts who provided valuable insights: Amie Patel (Elevar Equity), Camilo Tellez-Merchan(Better Than Cash Alliance), Esther Njoroge (FMO), Gayatri Murthy (CGAP), Gisela Davico-Thaler (Better Than Cash Alliance), Gonzalo Sanchez(Finnovista), Graciela Herrera (Finnovista), Irene Arias Hofman (IDB Lab), Kristin Sadler (Quona Capital), Musheer Ahmed, and Shilpi Shastri.
The authors also thank partners and industry associations for their support in conducting this research: African Women in Fintech & Payments,
Alliance of Digital Finance Associations Philippines, AVPN, Convergent View Research & Consultancy Pvt Ltd, Eksen Research, FinStep Asia
Limited, Fintech Alliance.ph, Fintech Association of Nigeria, Fintech Philippines Association, Global Impact Fintech Forum - Africa Chapter,
Hussein Mbode, Indonesia Fintech Association, Indonesia Fintech Lending Association, Kalungi Faissol, Luyanda Mnuna, Mercaplan, Mitchris
Chapman Kodam, SALL Kalidou Ibrahima, The Payments Association of South Africa, Tracy Akach, Wahida Mohamed, X Market Ray, Zinsou
Ruth Udoka.

ABOUT IFC
IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
advances economic development, and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries. It
achieves this by creating new markets, mobilizing other investors, and sharing expertise. In doing so, it creates jobs and raises living standards,
especially for the poor and vulnerable. IFC’s work supports the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting sharedprosperity on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

ABOUT DALBERG
Dalberg is a global group of businesses working to build a more inclusive and sustainable world where all people everywhere can reach
their fullest potential. Dalberg was established in 2001 with the mission of bringing the best of private sector strategy to address global
development challenges. Dalberg combines rigorous analytical capabilities with deep knowledge and networks across emerging and frontiermarkets. Dalberg’s clients span the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. They work collaboratively to address pressing global problems
and generate positive social impact from programs, investments, and initiatives. For more information, visit www.dalberg.com.

ABOUT WE-FI
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is a collaborative partnership among the 14 governments that havemade financial contributions, six multilateral development banks that serve as implementing partners, and other public
and private stakeholders. We-Fi was formally established in October 2017 as a Financial Intermediary Fund hosted by theWorld Bank. We-Fi invests in programs and projects that help unlock billions of dollars in financing to address the full range of barriers facing women
entrepreneurs—increasing access to finance, markets, technology, and mentoring, while strengthening policy, legal and regulatory frameworks. As
one of the We-Fi Implementing Partners, IFC supports private sector clients with investment and advisory services to expand financial services andmarket access for women-owned/led firms, as well as increasing the capacity of women entrepreneurs to run high-growth businesses. For more
information, visit www.we-fi.org

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

1

CONTENTS
FOREWORD 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

6

DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

11

1. INTRODUCTION 14
2. WOMEN IN FINTECH PORTFOLIOS18
2.1 Women’s Representation in Fintech Business Models19

2.2 Fintech Firm Maturity and Market Characteristics

20

3. SERVING WOMEN STRATEGICALLY

21

3.1 Strategic Approaches to Serving Women 

23

3.2 Fintech Firm Maturity and Market Characteristics

29

4.BUSINESS CASE32
4.1 Unit Economics of the Women’s Market

33

4.2 Impact of Serving Women Strategically

35

5. DRIVERS AND SUPPORT AREAS 37
5.1 Drivers for Fintech Firms

38

5.2 Areas of Support

39

6. OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ECOSYSTEM  42
6.1 Building an Enabling Ecosystem for Fintech Firms

43

7. CLOSING REMARKS45
ANNEX I: Study Methodology and Limitations 46

ANNEX II: Research Framework and Bibliography

48

2

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

LIST OF FIGURESFIGURE 1. Categorization of countries based on economic gender gap17

FIGURE 2. Percentage distribution of lending-focused fintech firms reporting
the proportion of a) women business customers and b) women retail customers
compared to their total customer base19
FIGURE 3. Percentage distribution of savings- and payments-focused fintech firms
reporting the proportion of a) women business customers and b) women retailcustomers compared to their total customer base19
FIGURE 4. Practices for fintech firms to serve women strategically22
FIGURE 5. Practices adopted by fintech firms to serve women effectively (N=114)23
FIGURE 6. Self-reported barriers to collecting sex-disaggregated data (n=47)24
FIGURE 7. Strategies for serving women across funding stages29
FIGURE 8. Strategies for serving women across markets with different gender gaps31
FIGURE 9. 90-day NPL rates for women vs overall portfolio33
FIGURE 10. Share of lending fintech firms stating that the default rate for womenis less than, more than or equal to men (n=49)33
FIGURE 11. Share of lending fintech firms that believe women’s loyalty is more than,less than, or equal to that of men (n=49)34
FIGURE 12. Share of lending fintech firms that state women’s CLV is more than,less than, or equal to that of men (n=49)34
FIGURE 13. Share of non-lending fintech firms that state women’s loyalty is more than,less than, or equal to that of men (n=56)35
FIGURE 14. Share of nonlending fintech firms that state women’s CLV is more than,less than, or equal to that of men (n=56)35
FIGURE 15. Share of fintech firms that state women’s CLV is more than,less than, or equal to that of men36
FIGURE 16. Share of fintech firms that state CAC for women is more than, less than, or equal to men36
FIGURE 17. Key support areas cited by fintech firms to enable serving women strategically (N=114)39
FIGURE 18. Distribution of survey sample across region, maturity, and business model46

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

3

4

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTHFOREWORD
Technology can advance women’s financial inclusion; yet despite the potential, women face barriers to accessing and using digital financial
services. According to the GSM Association’s Mobile Gender Gap Report 2023, 900 million women are not using mobile internet and are 19%
less likely than men to use it. Additionally, the World Bank Findex Report 2021 found that about 740 million women do not have an accountat a financial institution or through a mobile money provider.
Current literature highlights that fintech firms hold the key to bridging these gaps and boosting financial inclusion for women. However,
the research is limited to quantify the degree to which fintech firms are delivering on the promise of women’s financial inclusion, and what
specific practices or characteristics lead to success.
To explore these questions, IFC and Dalberg conducted a survey of 114 fintech firms from 17 countries around the globe to better understandthe potential – and shortfalls – of fintech firms to drive financial inclusion for women in emerging markets. The survey includes informationfrom fintech firms that provide lending, banking, insurance, and payment services. It uses quantitative and qualitative data to identify thedrivers, barriers, and opportunities fintech firms encounter when serving women.
While progress has been made, significant gaps remain in serving women customers effectively. Fintech firms need to deepen theirunderstanding of women's financial preferences and needs, identify and track the performance of women customers, develop marketspecific knowledge, and leverage best practices to create value propositions that resonate with women.
What is clear from this study is that the unique and intertwined barriers that women face – including low digital literacy, social and cultural
norms, and access to digital financial services – call for fintech firms to offer differentiated solutions to women. In doing so, fintech firms
can unlock the full potential of the women’s market – a valuable customer segment that generates revenue and exhibits both greater
loyalty and lower default rates.
We hope this report inspires investors, incubators, financial institutions, and the entire ecosystem to support fintech firms to contributeto women’s financial inclusion. At IFC, we will continue to support these efforts by working with fintech firms and digital financial services
providers that serve women customers and demonstrate the clear business case for investing in this important market.

Emmanuel Nyirinkindi
Vice President, Cross-Cutting SolutionsIFC

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Digital financial services (DFS) have been considered agame changer for women’s financial inclusion and economic
empowerment. Despite the potential of DFS, barriers to access andadopt DFS persist. Fintech firms are believed to be better positioned
to bridge this gap relative to traditional financial service providers,through their DFS arms. However, to date, there is limited researchthat quantifies the degree to which fintech firms are trying todeliver on this promise and what specific practices or characteristics
of fintech firms are leading to success. This study draws on asurvey of 114 fintech firms across 17 countries, as well as interviews
with leaders from 25 fintech firms, to fill these knowledge gaps byanswering a number of key questions.
These questions explore the extent of women’s representation
within fintech firms’ portfolios and the factors influencing thisrepresentation. They investigate whether fintech firms actively
target women customers and, if so, the strategies they employ.
And they examine the performance of women customers incomparison to fintech firms’ overall portfolios, considering metrics
such as loyalty, customer lifetime value, and default rates. In
answering these questions, the study identifies the support needsof fintech firms to serve women strategically and outlines future
opportunities for the fintech ecosystem.

strategies informed by analysis of sex-disaggregated data(SDD). By embracing these practices, fintech firms could capitalizeon the under-tapped women’s market and add to their bottom lines
while contributing to greater financial inclusion. To accelerate thisjourney, fintech firms in this study highlight several needs, which
could be an opportunity for the ecosystem: investors, development
actors, industry bodies, and incubators.
Although the study benefits from a larger sample size thantypical in similar research, it lacks representation of the broader
fintech sector in the focus countries. The sample is therefore
likely skewed toward fintech firms intentionally serving women anddisproportionately features digital lenders, giving rise to an uneven
distribution across markets. Consequently, a more comprehensive
analysis of the broader fintech sector in focus countries iswarranted.
The intended audience includes fintech firms that can apply
intentional strategies to design tailored products and offeringsin their business by leveraging the report’s findings and casestudy examples.

The results of the study provide emerging evidence in favor of
fintech firms serving women intentionally through business

6

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Key Insights
Many fintech firms report that women constitute <25% of
their customers—with lower representation among businesscustomers and lending-focused fintech firms.
Share of lending-focused ﬁntech ﬁrms
that report women comprising lessthan a quarter of their customers

Share of savings and payments-focusedﬁntech ﬁrms that report women comprisingless than a quarter of their customers

63%

27%

36%

19%

Business customers

Retail customers

Business customers

Retail customers

Lending-focused fintech firms
Business Customers: Among surveyed fintech lenders, 63% reportthat women comprise less than 25% of their business customers.
Retail Customers: Results are more encouraging in the retailsegment: 27% of fintech lenders report that women comprise lessthan 25% of their retail customers.

Savings and payments-focused
fintech firms
For fintech-provided savings and payments services, women are
more prominently represented in the customer base:Business Customers: Among surveyed fintech firms deliveringsavings and payments, women represented less than 25% of thebusiness customer base for only 36% of the firms.
Retail Customers: For surveyed fintech firms offering savings andpayment services in the retail segment, women comprised less than
25% of the retail customer base for only 19% of firms.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

7

59% collect sex disaggregated data, but few use it; less than athird tailor their products and services towards women.
Practices adopted by ﬁntech ﬁrms to serve women eﬀectively (N=114)

59%

45%

39%

32%

21%

report collecting
sex-disaggregateddata* (SDD) for
their customer
base, but most do
not analyse SDD totailor their value
propositions forwomenreport using
diﬀerentiatedmarketingmaterials orchannels to reach
new womencustomers**

report using
targeted
partnerships
to leverage
partners’ networkof womencustomers/sellers,deliver
educational
programmes, orbuild last-mileaccess**reportcustomizing
ﬁnancial
products
for womencustomers bydesigning for
niche segments,
building ﬂexibility,or bundling**

report providing
support services
to address
ﬁnancial/ digital
literacy-related
barriers or
increase thevalue of DFS
for women byoﬀering businesscoaching**(*) SDD could include either or both: information of customer’s sex collected during onboarding; demand-side research disaggregatedby sex; (**)Firms reporting tailored marketing, partnerships, products, and service may or may not collect and analyze SDD.

The majority of fintech firms considered women...

more loyal

less risky

more orequally valuable

Share of ﬁntech ﬁrms that believe
women’s loyalty¹ is greater than ■or equal to ■ that of men’s

Share of ﬁntech ﬁrms that believe
women’s default rate2 is lower
than ■ or equal to ■ that of men’s

Share of ﬁntech ﬁrms that believe
women’s Customer Lifetime Value(CLV)³ is greater than ■ or equalto ■ that of men’s

Lending

Lending

Lending69%

29%

Savings and Payments

51%

30%

58%

40%

49%

43%

Savings and Payments

47%

23%

(1) Loyalty refers to degree of commitment, trust, and continued engagement that customers have towards a ﬁntech ﬁrm.
(2) Default rates refer to 90-day non-performing loan ratio for a ﬁntech ﬁrm.
(3) Customer lifetime value refers to average revenue generated by a customer over their lifetime with the ﬁntech ﬁrm.

8

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Fintech firms who tailor products/services towards womenreport higher lifetime value, despite occasional higher costs.
Fintech ﬁrms customizing their products andservices for women more often observe a higher
CLV among women¹

In certain cases, tailoring for women can increase
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) given targetedmarketing, partnerships, or education programmes

Share of ﬁntech ﬁrms who state
women’s CLV is higher than men’s

Share of ﬁntech ﬁrms who state
women’s CAC is higher than men’s

63%

38%

30%

14%

Among ﬁntech ﬁrms who
tailor products andservices for womenAmong ﬁntech ﬁrms who
do not tailor products
and services for womenAmong ﬁntech ﬁrms who
tailor products andservices for womenAmong ﬁntech ﬁrms who
do not tailor products
and services for womenThis study estimates that intentionally targeting women can be commercially viable, evenwith up to a 40% higher CAC for women compared to men, owing to the former’s higher CLV(1) The study cannot determine whether ﬁntech ﬁrms report a higher CLV due to their investment in tailored products and services forthe women's segment or if they make this investment based on their pre-existing belief in women having a higher CLV

Knowledge and research, financial support, and technicalassistance are critical to effectively tap into the women’smarket.

Knowledge
and Evidence

Capital▪ Research on
women’s needs
and pain points▪ Financing andfunding▪ Case studies ofsuccess stories▪ De-risking
instruments

Business Model
Customization

Internal
Capacity/Culture

Enabling
Environment▪ Partnerships▪ Gender expertise▪ Product design /delivery support▪ Management
commitment▪ Regulation /policy reforms▪ Internal incentive
structures▪ Competitive
pressure▪ Evidence ofbusiness caseSigniﬁcant Need

Moderately Signiﬁcant NeedHER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		LessSigniﬁcant Need

9The ecosystem can accelerate fintech firms’ progress instrategically serving women by providing tailored support
based on market conditions and the firms’ stage.
Markets with low economic
gender gaps

Markets withmoderate-to-high economic
gender gaps

FINANCIAL SUPPORT▪

Encouraging collection and reportingof SDD▪

Competitive grants and risk-sharing facilities
for leading early-stage ﬁntech ﬁrms▪

Patient capital or concessional debt
for focus on traditionally underserved
segments▪

De-risking instruments for
growth-/late-stage ﬁntech ﬁrms to support
experimentation▪

Evidence or grant support for foundational
demand-side customer research▪

Brokering partnerships▪

Technical assistance for data collection

NONFINANCIAL SUPPORT▪

▪

Technical assistance for ﬁntechﬁrms that see low representation of
women
Support in building business cases forunderserved segments

ECOSYSTEM BUILDING

10▪

Market-speciﬁc research and business
cases

▪

Convening of ﬁntech leaders to drive
cross-pollination

ECOSYSTEM BUILDING▪

Market-speciﬁc research and business cases▪

Convening of ﬁntech leaders to drive
cross-pollination▪

Policy changes in nascent ﬁntech markets

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH﻿DEFINITIONS
AND ABBREVIATIONSHER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

11

Definitions
Active users

The number of active users of the fintech firm’s offering. For business-to-consumer fintech firms, active users are
the number of users who have made a transaction in the last 30 days for transactional products (savings, payments,
lending) or who have an open account in good standing (insurance, lending).

AgencyThe capacity to make decisions about one’s own life and act on them to achieve a desired outcome.

Customer acquisition
cost (CAC)

Average sales and marketing cost spent on acquiring a customer.

Customer lifetime value(CLV)

Average revenue generated by a customer during the course of their relationship with a financial institution.

Default rate

90-day non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for a fintech firm.

DFS gender gap

Disparity between women and men in accessing and utilizing digital financial services (DFS).

Digital bank/neobank

A digital-only financial institution that operates without physical branches, providing banking services primarily
through mobile apps or online platforms.

Digital financial services(DFS)

Services that rely on digital technologies for their delivery and use by consumers.

Digital literacy

The ability to use and navigate digital technologies effectively.

Economic gender gap

Disparity between women and men in economic participation and opportunities. This has been calculated based on
World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Index, 2022.

Financial inclusion

The access to and availability of affordable financial services for all individuals, especially underserved or marginalized
populations.

Financial literacy

The knowledge and skills required to make informed and effective decisions regarding personal finances.

FintechAdvances in technology that have the potential to transform the provision of financial services spurring thedevelopment of new business models, applications, processes, channels, and products.1

Fintech firm

A firm that specializes in offering DFS to consumers.2 Such firms range from small start-ups to large, established,technology firms (often called ‘big tech’ firms). This study focuses on digital payment providers, digital insurers,
digital-only savings providers, and digital lenders that deliver DFS to women-owned businesses and individual womencustomers. This definition excludes incumbent, traditional financial institutions such as banks and microfinanceinstitutions offering these digital services.

Gender-lens investing

Also referred to as gender-smart investing, is an investment strategy that seeks intentionally and measurably to use
capital to address gender disparities between women and men and to better inform investment decisions.3

Loyalty

Degree of commitment, trust, and continued engagement that customers have toward a firm.

Sex-disaggregated data
(SDD)

Customer data or market research that is disaggregated based on sex.

Women customers

Includes individual women retail customers as well as women-owned/-led businesses (including small and medium
enterprises [SMEs]).

Women’s economic
empowerment (WEE)

A woman is economically empowered when she has access to skills, resources, and institutions necessary to effectively
participate in markets, as well as power and agency to act on personal preferences in making economic decisions,
including the control of personal and household financial resources. This study refers to WEE in a similar vein as to theeconomic gender gap.

Women’s financial
inclusion (WFI)

Ensuring that women and women-led businesses can access useful and affordable financial products and services thatmeet their needs, and that are delivered responsibly and sustainably. This study draws parallels between WFI and the
DFS gender gap.

1

World Bank, Fintech and the Future of Finance – Market and Policy Implications, 2023

2

World Bank, Fintech and the Future of Finance – Market and Policy Implications, 2023

3

IFC, Private Equity and Value Creation, 2020

12

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Abbreviations
AI

Artificial intelligence

CAC

Customer acquisition cost

CLV

Customer lifetime value

DFS

Digital financial services

ESG

Environmental, social, and governance

FSP

Financial service provider

MSME

Micro, small, and medium enterprise

NPL

Nonperforming loan

SDD

Sex-disaggregated data

SME

Small and medium enterpriseHER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

13

1.

﻿INTRODUCTION
The widespread adoption of digitalfinancial services (DFS) offers an
unprecedented opportunity toaccelerate women’s financial inclusion.
However, progress in closing the gender
gaps in access and use of DFS has
been slow. Fintech firms are believed
to be uniquely positioned to serve
underserved segments—including
women—effectively and efficiently, by
circumventing the challenges facedby traditional financial institutions.
However, there is a lack of robust
evidence that explains why and to what
extent that might be the case.

This study seeks to confirm the extent to which fintech firms
possess such an advantage, as well as to identify the drivers,
barriers, and opportunities fintech firms encounter in serving
women. The study draws on quantitative and qualitative datacollected in a survey of 114 fintech firms across 17 developing
countries and in-depth interviews with 25 fintech leaders. The
study seeks to quantify the extent to which fintech firms are
currently serving women in their portfolios, identify best practices
and their links with performance, and reveal opportunities forthe ecosystem to support fintech firms going forward. The resultsof this study are intended for fintech firms, investors, and otherecosystem actors such as development partners, incubators,
industry bodies, and impact and gender-lens investing networks
that can leverage the findings to understand what they can do to
unlock the promise of fintech for women.

14

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTHThe adoption of DFS has risen exponentially and more uniformly
across low- and middle-income economies in the last three
years, driven in part by the impact of COVID-19. Recent years
have seen the rapid adoption of DFS across many developing
countries. From 2017 to 2021, the average rate of account ownershipin developing economies increased by 8 percentage points, from
63 percent of adults to 71 percent of adults. In Sub-Saharan Africa,
this expansion largely stems from the adoption of mobile money.4
Increased account ownership is supported by the rapid adoptionof digital payments services: the proportion of adults in developing
countries receiving or making digital payments rose from 44% in2017 to 57% in 2021.5 This trend can also be seen in other DFS. For
example, in Latin America, digital lending grew by 45% annually

between 2017 and 2021.6 In emerging markets across Asia-Pacific,7
the share of customers using digital banking grew from 54% to
88% between 2017 and 2021.8 COVID-19 emerges as a major driver inthis context, evidenced by a substantial population making its first
digital payment after the start of the pandemic: 80 million+ adults
in India, 40% of digital payers in Africa, and 15% of utility bill paying
adults in Latin America.9
A large body of research establishes that DFS carry significant
potential to advance women’s financial inclusion. The literaturesuggests that DFS offerings, when designed appropriately, candirectly address access and usage barriers for women, as indicatedin Table 1.

Table 1. Opportunities created by DFS for women’s financial inclusion
Lending

Payments

Savings and banking

Insurance

Mitigating
barriers toaccessDigital credit providers canhelp women lacking physicalassets access credit by using
nonfinancial digital data10

By allowing women totransact at a time and placeof their choosing, mobile
money can address women’stime poverty and mobility
constraints11

Basic mobile savings accounts
that carry minimal knowyour-customer requirements
can help circumvent a lack ofofficial ID, which prevents one
in five women from opening
an account12

Mobile-based microinsurance allows women toaccess insurance with lessdocumentation and fewer
ID checks than required bytraditional products13

Mitigating
barriers tousage

Flexible loan terms andrepayment options tailored to
women’s financial goals andunpredictable revenue cycles
for women-owned small
and medium enterprises canimprove uptake14

Mobile money offers
more privacy, control, andconvenience than traditional
financial services—all factors
valued by women

Low account fees andtransparent pricing, with
dense agent networks, canremove trust-based barriers
to usage

Bundling digital insurancewith other DFS (e.g., credit)
helps address women’s multidimensional financial needs
and goals and can improve
uptake and loyalty15

4World Bank, Global Findex Database 2021, 2022

5World Bank, Global Findex Database 2021, 2022

6Inter-American Development Bank, Fintech in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2022

7

Mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam

4
8

World
Bank,
Global Findex
Database
2021, 2022
10 2021
World Bank, Disruptive Technologies in the Credit Information Sharing
McKinsey,
Emerging
Markets
Leap Forward
in Digital Banking Innovation and Adoption,
Industry, 2019
World Bank, Global Findex Database 2021, 2022
The World Bank, COVID-19 Drives Global Surge in use of Digital Payments, 2022
11
Microsave, Women and DFS - Microsave, 2022
Inter-American Development Bank, Fintech in Latin America and theWorld Bank,
Disruptive Technologies in the Credit Information Sharing Industry, 201912
Caribbean,
2022
Demirguc-Kunt et al., The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial

5

9

6

10

711
12

8

13
14
9
15

Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution, The World Bank, 2018
Microsave,
Women
andIndonesia,
DFS - Microsave,2022
MainlandChina,
India,
Malaysia,
the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
13
BMGF, Digital Financial Tools for Women Smallholder Farmers, 2022
Thailand, and Vietnam
Demirguc-Kunt et al., The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution, The World Bank, 2018
McKinsey, Emerging Markets Leap Forward in Digital Banking Innovation
14
Plan International, Disruptive roles in gender lens investing in Kenya, 2022
BMGF, Digital Financial Tools for Women Smallholder Farmers, 2022
and Adoption, 2021
15
BMGF, Digital Financial Tools for Women Smallholder Farmers, 2022
PlanWorldInternational,
Disruptiveroles
in gender
investingin Kenya,2022
The
Bank, COVID-19
DrivesGlobalSurgelensin useof Digital
Payments,
2022
BMGF, Digital Financial Tools for Women Smallholder Farmers, 2022

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

15

However, the disparity in access to and usage of DFS between
women and men remains persistent. Men were six percentage
points more likely than women to use digital payments in 2021,
a gender gap that has remained consistent across developing
economies since 2014, in part driven by a broader gender gap inaccess to digital services.16 The gap is not limited to payments; ina sample of 28 countries, research points to a similar DFS gender
gap—eight percentage points—in the adoption of a broader set ofservices, i.e., payments, borrowing, insurance, financial planning,
and investment services.17 Gender gaps in access to and use of
DFS are linked to gender gaps in economic participation, financial
literacy, digital literacy, and sociocultural norms, such as the roleof women in households, gender gaps in education levels, agency
among women.18 DFS, if not carefully designed and rolled out, could
actually exacerbate existing gender inequalities. These gender gaps
also put women at greater risk of experiencing fraud (e.g., phishing
and agent fraud), lack of transparency (e.g., undisclosed fees), andinsufficient grievance redressal (e.g., due to lack of female agents)
with DFS.19
This study explores the potential of fintech firms to address
gaps in access and use of DFS, a topic that has been extensively
studied theoretically but less often analytically. For the purposesof this study, ‘fintech firms’ are those that specialize in offering DFS.
This definition excludes traditional financial service providers (FSPs),
like commercial banks, that also feature DFS verticals or offerings.
A substantial body of literature details how fintech firms exhibit
promise in driving financial inclusion for underserved populations,particularly women. By using alternative data, advanced riskcalculation techniques, and tech-driven supply chains, among otherapproaches, fintech firms are uniquely positioned to lower costs(commissions and fees), reduce minimal thresholds for financial
products, offer tailored products for niche segments, and simplify
user experience relative to incumbent financial institutions.20 While
many fintech firms in emerging markets were founded to boost
financial inclusion, limited research exists that comprehensively
quantifies how specific practices or characteristics contribute toclosing the DFS gender gap.

banking, insurance, and payment services, a focus that intends tocapture the practices and impact of fintech firms that reach retailwomen consumers and women-owned businesses directly. Firms
participated from 17 countries across East Asia and the Pacific,
Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, theMiddle East and North Africa, and South Asia and Sub-SaharanAfrica (see Figure 1 for list of countries). Countries were selected
to offer diverse contexts surrounding the underlying gender gaps
in economic opportunities and to generate insights that would be
relevant across the developing world.21
The study aims to fill these knowledge gaps by answering thequestions:•
How well are women represented within fintech firms’
portfolios and what are the driving factors?
•
Are fintech firms strategically targeting women customers
and, if so, how?
•
How do women customers perform relative to fintech firms’
overall portfolio (e.g., loyalty, customer lifetime value (CLV),
default rates) and what practices lead to better results?
•
What support do fintech firms need to serve womenstrategically?
•
What are the opportunities for the ecosystem going forward?

The study also aims to identify market- or firm-specific factorsthat may impact the degree to which and how fintech firms
serve women. Two key dimensions used are•

Based on a survey of 114 fintech firms, this study is one of thefirst to investigate consumer-facing fintech models acrossa wide range of developing countries. Moreover, the study
includes interviews with 25 fintech firms to supplement the survey
data. The survey focuses on fintech firms that provide lending,

16

World Bank, Global Findex Database 2021, 202217

Chen et al., The Fintech Gender Gap, 2021

18

Khera et al., International Monetary Fund, Women in Fintech: As Leaders and Users, 2022

Economic gender gaps in the country. The economic
opportunities and level of participation for women in acountry can have a direct influence on their demand forfinancial services as well as the barriers they may encounter.
Consequently, these factors are highly likely to shape how
fintech firms cater to women’s needs. This study uses
economic gender gap instead of absolute degree of economic
participation or financial inclusion of women, as this is more
likely to be a better driver of differentiation in fintech firms’
strategies for women versus men. Countries are divided into
three categories based on their ranking in World Economic
Forum’s Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex.22
Figure 1 outlines the definitions and classifications.

19

CGAP, Break the Bias: Evidence Shows Digital Finance Risks Hit Women Hardest, 2022

20

World Economic Forum, 5 Types of Fintech Startups That Can Drive Financial Inclusion, 202021

Detailed methodology in Annex I

22

Based on fintech’s primary market ranking for Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex in World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Index, 2022. The
Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex uses indicators such as the labor force participation rate, earned income, and representation of women in senior
positions to measure the extent to which women can participate in economic activities on par with men.

16

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Figure 1. Categorization of countries based on economic gender gap

Low Economic Gender Gap

Moderate Economic Gender Gap

High Economic Gender Gap

Between ranks 1-50

Between ranks 51-100

Ranked 100 and above

Kenya			6Tanzania		

65

Ghana		

108

Thailand		

15

Uganda			73

Mexico		113

Philippines		

16

Indonesia		

80

Côte d'Ivoire		

119

Nigeria			50

Brazil			85

Turkey		135

South Africa		

92

Senegal		136

Colombia		 93Egypt		

142

India			143Note: This classification draws from the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex of WEF’s Global Gender Gap Index, which uses indicators like labor
force participation rate, earned income, and representation of women in senior positions to measure the extent to which female participation in economic
activities.

•

Maturity stage of the firm. The maturity of a firm can
influence its ability to serve women as customers, basedon its focus customer segments and capabilities. This study
categorizes firms into three stages: (i) early-stage, which
includes unfunded, pre-seed, and seed companies; (ii)growth-stage, encompassing series A to C; and (iii) latestage, consisting of Series D and beyond, public companies,
and subsidiaries.

While the study has a comprehensive scope, it has certain
limitations. The sample size (N=114) limits a detailed statisticalanalysis and in-depth insight for each business model. However,as lending is a primary focus and lenders (accounting for 43% of
respondents) are intentionally over-sampled, the study does provide
detailed data and insights for this particular group. Similarly, sample
size per country remains small, and therefore the data have notbeen used to present country-level insights or trends. Finally, it isimportant to note that, despite reaching out to some 400 firms and25 fintech associations, fintech firms that prioritize serving women
may have been more likely to respond to the survey.

The intended audience for this study are•Fintech firms that can apply intentional strategies to design
tailored products and offerings in their business by leveraging
findings and examples from this study.
•
Investors who can use these insights to understand thebusiness case for serving women and support their investees.
•
Other ecosystem actors such as development actors, impact
and gender-lens investing networks, and incubators who candevelop approaches to effectively support fintech firms.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

17

2.

WOMEN IN FINTECH PORTFOLIOSHow well are women represented within
fintech firms’ portfolios and what drives
this?
Key Insight 1: More than half of fintech
firms report that women constituteless than 25% of their customers—withlower representation among businesscustomers and lending-focused fintech
firms.

18

Representation of women in fintech firms’ portfolios is suboptimal,and performance is unevenly distributed across markets and firms.
Fintech firms in markets with relatively low economic gender gaps
report better representation of women in their portfolios thanthose with high economic gender gaps. Nonetheless, women
still constitute a minority of most fintech firms’ portfolios, evenin markets with relatively low economic gender gaps, thereby
indicating opportunities for further penetration in such markets.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

2.1 Women’s Representation in Fintech Business Models
63% (n=16) of lending-focused fintech firms report that womencomprise less than a quarter of their business customer base,while 27% (n=27) report that women comprise less than aquarter of their total number of retail customers (Figure 2).
Firms with low representation of women attribute this to theprevailing sociocultural and digital barriers faced by women. Suchfirms also consider women’s limited economic participation incertain markets, their reliance on informal sources of credit, and low

loan size requirements as limiting demand for credit from women—
this is particularly emphasized by business lending fintech firms.
Some also suggest, although not always substantiated by data, thatwomen may exhibit lower digital savviness when using financial
services, mentioning that women tend to be more cautious andprefer some degree of in-person interaction rather than fully relying
on digital platforms for financial matters.

Figure 2. Percentage distribution of lending-focused fintech firms reporting the proportion of a) women business customers and b) womenretail customers compared to their total customer base23

Business customers (n=16)

Retail customers (n=27)

12%
27%
25%

46%

63%
27%

<25% women customers

25%-50% women customers

Savings- and payments-focused fintech firms report marginallybetter representation of women customers than lendingfocused fintech firms. 36% (n=11) report that women comprise>50% women customers

less than a quarter of their business customer base, while 19%(n=16) report that women comprise less than a quarter of their
total number of retail customers (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Percentage distribution of savings- and payments-focused fintech firms reporting the proportion of a) women business customers
and b) women retail customers compared to their total customer baseBusiness customers (n=11)

Retail customers (n=16)

9%
25%

55%

36%

56%
19%

<25% women customers

23

25%-50% women customers>50% women customers

The relevant survey questions: ‘Number of retail customers’ and ‘Percentage share of women retail customers’; ‘Number of business customers’ and ‘Percentage share ofwomen-owned businesses’. The options for each women’s share question were Less than 10%, 10–25%, 26–50%, 51–75%, More than 75%, Do not collect SDD, Other(please specify). Respondents could select only one of the answer choices.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

19

Fintech firms with a primary focus on payments report a lesser
degree of business engagement, both in terms of usage value
and volume, among women customers compared to lending
firms. Close to half (n=12) of the payments-focused fintech firms
report that women and women-owned businesses constitute lessthan a quarter of their total annual transactions and total annualtransaction value. In comparison, 40% (n=22) of lending-focused
fintech firms report that women and women-owned businesses
make up less than a quarter of their total outstanding loans.

There are commendable examples of fintech firms thathave deliberately established targets to attain significant
representation of women in their customer base. For instance,
one African neobank has an internal mandate to achieve a 50:50
gender split by 2050. Similarly, Quickpay, a Senegal-based payments
service provider, aims to achieve a 60% representation of womenin their portfolio. Most of these fintech firms report implementing
targeted measures to address the barriers mentioned earlier. A
fintech firm based in Mexico has achieved 86% representation of
women in its portfolio by focusing on the informal sector niche.

2.2 Fintech Firm Maturity and Market Characteristics
2.2.1 FINTECH MATURITY

2.2.2 MARKET GENDER GAP

Women are better represented in the retail portfolios ofearly-stage fintech firms compared to late-stage firms.24 39%(n=18) of early-stage firms and 12% (n=17) of late-stage firms reportthat women constitute more than half of their retail portfolio. Ininterviews, many of the early-stage startups disclose their strong
mission-driven approach, aiming to establish a niche within
underserved sub-segments of the population. As discussed earlier,some also have explicit targets for the gender split in their customer
base and there is an opportunity to support the growth aspirationsof such early-stage firms while maintaining their strong gender
focus.

Fintech firms operating in markets with low economic gender
gaps report better representation of women in their portfolios
compared to fintech firms in markets with moderate to higheconomic gender gaps.25,26 42% (n=12) of fintech firms operatingin markets with low economic gender gaps report that womenconstitute more than half of their portfolio. In contrast, 22% (n=41)
of fintech firms operating in markets with moderate to higheconomic gender gaps report that women constitute more thanhalf of their portfolio.
However, even in markets with low economic gender gaps,
women still constitute a minority of the portfolios for most of
the fintech firms, suggesting that there are opportunities forfurther market penetration. In these markets, 58% (n=12) of firms
report that women constitute less than half of their portfolios, with25% (n=12) reporting that women account for less than a quarter.
Therefore, an opportunity exists to support laggards in thesemarkets to improve the gender balance of their portfolios.

24

Due to the small sample size of only 27 fintech firms reporting business portfolio data, a similar analysis was not conducted for women’s share of the business portfolio.

25

Based on fintech’s primary market ranking for Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex in World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Index, 2022. The
Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex uses indicators such as the labor force participation rate, earned income, and representation of women in senior
positions to measure the extent to which women can participate in economic activities on par with men:Low economic gender gap, defined as rank of 50 or less: Kenya (6), Thailand (15), Philippines (16), Nigeria (50).
Moderate economic gender gap, defined as rank of 51–100: Tanzania (65), Uganda (73), Indonesia (80), Brazil (85), South Africa (92), Colombia (93).
High economic gender gap, defined as rank of 100+: Ghana (108), Mexico (113), Côte d’Ivoire (119), Turkey (134), Senegal (136), Egypt (142), India (143).

26

Due to the small sample size of only 27 fintech firms reporting business portfolio data, a similar analysis was not conducted for women’s share of the business portfolio.

20

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

3.
﻿SERVING WOMEN STRATEGICALLY
Are fintech firms strategically targeting
women customers and, if so, how?
Key Insight 2: 59% of fintech firms
collect sex disaggregated data, but
few use it; less than a third tailor theirproducts and services toward women.

27

Research shows that women consume financial services differently
than men, requiring providers to tailor their value propositions.27
Despite this, less than a third of the firms report deeply
differentiating their value propositions with tailored products or
nonfinancial support services for women. Most firms collect SDD
without strategically using it to target marketing for women or
undertake partnerships to reach more women. Fintech firms inmarkets with high economic gender gaps are more inclined to
tailor their products and services toward women, recognizing theadditional digital and economic barriers women face.

CGAP, FinEquity Knowledge Guide: Incorporating Gender-intelligent Design in Financial Services, 2022

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

21

Extensive social and consumer research reveals distinct barriers,
needs, and behaviors that influence women’s use of financial
services.28 Such findings suggest that financial providers needto strategically tailor their value propositions to better serve
women customers. Studies examining women’s financial behavior
as microfinance clients, retail banking clients, mobile moneyusers, and small enterprise owners, indicate that women are morefinancially prudent, prefer deeper, often in-person engagement, andapproach decisions with caution and a reliance on information.29
Furthermore, socio-economic factors such as education and literacy
levels, income/economic status, access to technology and theinternet, and cultural norms influence women’s awareness of andability to adopt and use DFS.
To address these barriers and socio-economic factors, financial
providers can derive benefits from tailoring their financial andnonfinancial products and services. Employing targeted marketingand sales approaches, informed by the analysis of SDD, can enhancethe effectiveness of reaching and serving women. Figure 4 outlines
five approaches that fintech firms can take to serve womenstrategically.

Figure 4. Practices for fintech firms to serve women strategicallyCollected sexdisaggregated data

Targeted
marketing

Leveraged uniquepartnerships

Tailored productdesignOffered support
services

SDD is collected
and used to tailor
messaging, experience,and engagement,
as well as measure
women's performancewithin the portfolio
and course correct

Marketing messaging
and channels are
tailored to attract more
women customers

Firms establish uniquepartnerships withfinancial and nonfinancial organizations,especially to gain
access to womencustomers easily

Products are designed
based on research that
demonstrates women's
unique needs andpreferences

Additional nonfinancial services areoffered to address
the barriers thatprevent women fromusing digital financial
services or create
bundles that are more
appealing to womencustomers

This section assesses the extent to which fintech firms cater towomen and the strategies employed, including the underlying
characteristics that influence their approach. Section 3.1
examines the degree to which firms use SDD and tailor theirproducts, services, and marketing and distribution strategies toserve women. It also highlights exemplary firms across various

business models, aiming to share best practices for adoption byothers. Building on insights from section 2, in which the maturity offirms and the broader gender gaps in their operating markets can beseen to affect the gender composition within their customer base,section 3.2 investigates whether these factors also impact a fintech
firm’s approach to serving women.

28

CGAP, FinEquity Knowledge Guide: Incorporating Gender-intelligent Design in Financial Services, 2022

29

DFS Lab, Caribou Digital, and Caribou Data, Payment System Design and the Financial Inclusion Gender Gap, 2021; D’Espallier et al., Women and Repayment in
Microfinance: A Global Analysis, 2011; Global Banking Alliance for Women, How Banks Can Profit From the Multi-Trillion Dollar Female Economy, 201422

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

3.1 Strategic Approaches to Serving Women
Figure 5 outlines the most common practices adopted by the fintech firms to better serve women customers, including collecting SDD (59% offirms), tailored marketing (45% of firms), and partnerships (39% of firms).
Figure 5. Practices adopted by fintech firms to serve women effectively (N=114)30

Collected sexdisaggregated data

Targeted
marketing

59%

Leveraged uniquepartnerships

Tailored productdesign

39%

32%

45%

Oﬀered support
services

21%

3.1.1 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA
SDD is critical for FSPs to size the market opportunity, understandcustomer behavior, identify gender-based differences in the
adoption and use of financial services, evaluate the performanceof their product portfolio, build the business case, and—whencollected consistently by all—shape policy.31 The collection andanalysis of SDD are often regarded as the initial step for fintech
firms in tailoring their business models to align with the needs andbehavior of women customers.
A majority of fintech firms collect gender information from
customers during the onboarding process, but only about athird leverage SDD to tailor their marketing or products toward
women. 59% (N=114) of the fintech firms report collecting SDD,
but a limited number analyze it to inform business decisions. While
many fintech firms collect gender information during onboardingof retail customers, this practice is less common for businesscustomers. Most fintech firms do not analyze SDD to inform theirproduct design or marketing. Firms attribute this largely to thechallenge of translating SDD into actionable insights for productdesign or marketing, or difficulty in articulating a compelling
rationale for the importance of SDD in informing business decisions.

However, there are instances of fintech firms successfully using SDD
to•Understand women customers better. For example,
Koinworks, an Indonesian credit-led micro, small, andmedium enterprise (MSME) neobank, uses data analytics tounderstand the drivers behind the adoption and retention of
women-owned businesses.
•
Improve product design and marketing and distribution
strategies. For instance, Apollo Agriculture in Kenya has
been collecting SDD since its inception to evaluate the credit
quality of its women customers and correct for gender-based
gaps in access to credit.
Among fintech firms not collecting SDD (n=47), almost
half do not consider gender an essential factor in decision
making. Traditional FSPs are often limited in their ability tocollect SDD because of legacy management information systems
or inconsistent data aggregation across internal departments.
However, fintech firms do not mention such obstacles and are more
likely to have advanced IT systems that allow data disaggregation
across different demographic segments.

30

The relevant survey question was ‘What does your organization do to target or serve women?’. The options were Tailored products for women customers, Targetedmarketing to existing or new women customers, Other support services targeted to women customers, Partnership with financial or nonfinancial organizations toreach or serve women customers, Market research to understand women segment(s), No tailored processes for women customers, No separate product design ordelivery for women customers but revised businesses processes based on their preferences, Other (Please specify). Respondents could select all applicable answer
choices.

31

Global Banking Alliance for Women, The Value of Sex-Disaggregated Data, 2019

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

23

Figure 6 maps the key reasons reported by fintech firms for notcollecting SDD. The two most common reasons are,•Gender is not regarded as an essential cut. Late-/growthstage fintech firms more commonly cited this as a rationale
compared to their early-stage counterparts, suggesting thatthese firms possess the capability but lack the inclination
to collect SDD. While the limited sample size restricts
the analysis according to business models, in interviews,
payments-focused fintech firms cite this as a reason for notcollecting SDD more frequently than lending-, insurance-,•or savings-focused fintech firms. Significantly, among
lenders, business lenders prioritize a firm’s characteristics
such as size, age of the business, or sector as more crucial forbusiness decisions than the gender of the business owner.
Small customer base. As expected, early-stage fintech firms
more commonly cite this as a reason for not collecting SDD
than growth-/late-stage fintech firms. In particular, thosewith a business-to-business focus face the challenge of
having a smaller customer base.

Figure 6. Self-reported barriers to collecting sex-disaggregated data (n=47)32

51%

Gender not an essential cut
41%

Small customers baseLack of resources

22%

Data collection in org not advanced

22%
15%

Data privacy norms
Lack of know-how

7%

Social norms

7%

3.1.2 TARGETED MARKETING
Fintech firms have the opportunity to shape their marketingmessages and channels in a way that fosters trust and relatability
among women. However, it is crucial that fintech firms avoid thepitfalls of ‘pink marketing,’ characterized by superficial changes
such as altering colours or featuring more women in marketing
materials.33
Almost half of fintech firms tailor their marketing approach tobetter reach women customers, regardless of whether they are
informed by SDD or not.
Fintech firms report:•
customizing their marketing materials and messaging.
For example, Azima Instant Loans from Pay24, a micro-••

lending, payments, and money management platformin Uganda, features female influencers and ambassadors
who have adopted its digital microloans in its marketing
materials, resulting in an increase in the share of womencustomers in its customer base from 35% to 40% (time period
unknown).
running targeted campaigns during specific times of theyear. For example, RappiPay, a Colombian digital neobank,launched a targeted marketing campaign offering prizes towomen customers performing the most transactions over a
special weekend.
using specific marketing channels. For example, one
fintech firm (confidential) reports promoting its financial
products on skincare websites.

3.1.3 UNIQUE PARTNERSHIPS
Fintech firms can collaborate with FSPs and other ecosystem
players, tapping into their network of women customers, especiallywomen entrepreneurs. These partnerships offer fintech firms
avenues to enhance their value propositions, which could involve
bundling their products with both financial and nonfinancial
offerings, utilizing partners for delivery of nonfinancial support
services, or optimizing last-mile distribution through strategic

collaborations. Such partnerships can allow fintech firms to ‘bewhere the women customers are and operate within their social
context’ 34
39% (N=114) of fintech firms use targeted partnerships toonboard women customers conveniently or cost-effectively.
Fintech firms report partnering with other financial andnonfinancial services to:32

The relevant survey question was ‘What are the top three reasons for your organization not to collect sex-disaggregated data?’ The respondents could select top threebarriers together; there was no relative ranking between the options.

33

Financial Alliance for Women, How Fintech firms Can Profit from the Multi-trillion-dollar Female Economy, 2020

34

Medium, How three companies are making fintech work for women, 201924

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

•gain rapid access to women customers in their network,often with lower investments. Fintech firms partner withcooperatives, aggregators, local entrepreneur networks,
and other financial institutions (microfinance institutions,commercial banks, and nonbanking financial fintech firms)
to gain access to women customers, especially in rural areas.
Similarly, fintech firms partner with e-commerce platforms
to reach their supplier network.In India, for example, Bike
Bazaar, a two-wheeler finance company, markets its loans
for purchasing two-wheeler vehicles to women gig-economy
workers on a local online platform for services. This enables
gig-economy workers, who typically have poor or no credit••

history, to access credit and purchase two-wheelers that
help increase their productivity at work.
deliver educational or other support services using thepartner’s network. For example, a Mexican lending firm
partners with remittance agents to establish a humantouchpoint in last-mile delivery, recognizing its particularimportance for women.
conduct targeted customer research. To understand theneeds of the informal economy, Wizall, a savings-focused
fintech firm in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, partnered with localorganizations, interviewed potential women customers tounderstand their needs, and developed a proof-of-concept
test to evaluate the requirements of over 200 women.

3.1.4 TAILORED PRODUCTS
Research indicates that women exhibit different needs andbehavior in consuming financial services, further accentuated bysociocultural barriers such as digital access disparities and financial
illiteracy.35 In response, fintech firms can tailor their products
to enhance appeal and accessibility for women customers. Thisdifferentiation can be accomplished by making products more
flexible and fit-for-purpose, simplifying the onboarding experience,
striking a balance between technology and human touch, designingalgorithms that consider gender nuances instead of ignoring them,and bundling products to comprehensively meet women’s needs.
Only a third (N=114) of fintech firms report tailoring theirfinancial products to women customers. It is worth noting thatsome firms cite examples of aesthetic changes (e.g., ‘pink cards
which stood out for women’) as tailored products, indicating thateven fewer fintech firms might be genuinely tailoring products for
women. This observation underscores an opportunity to enhance
fintech firms’ understanding of the difference between marketingtactics and genuinely differentiated products that address theunique needs of women. The hesitancy among fintech firms to tailor
products often stems from concerns about potentially alienating
male customers (perceived as early adopters of technology) or
facing resource constraints. Firms that tailor products for womenoften note that these differentiated products are launched as smallscale ‘pilots,’ backed by impact-oriented grants, and they sometimes
do not see a full commercial launch.
There are a few examples of fintech firms intentionally tailoring
their products to•offer better terms to women. For instance, Juancho Te
Presta, a Colombian digital lender, piloted women-only credit
products that provide more favorable terms for women, withapproximately a 15% lower cost of installment compared tothose for men.

35

•

•

•

create small ticket size products for women. For example,
India-based Indifi reached out to e-commerce players withextensive networks of women entrepreneurs, with the aimof understanding the barriers faced by these entrepreneurs.
This led to the creation of short-term loans with small ticket
sizes to help women-led MSMEs build credit history.
create products for niche sub-segments of womencustomers. For example, an Egyptian fintech firm discoveredthat elderly and widowed women often encounter
harassment and incur high time and travel costs for monthly
cash transfers. Therefore, the firm has developed a mobile
wallet solution in collaboration with Nasser Social Bank anda telecom operator in Egypt. This enables the secure andinstant delivery of monthly social transfers, supporting cashout options for over 700,000 women.
bundle products to serve women’s needs morecomprehensively. For example, Wizall (Côte d’Ivoire,
Senegal) is developing a digital group savings product (a‘tontine’) bundled with insurance policies for informallyemployed women.

Only a small number of fintech firms have incorporated SDD
to guide their product design for women. The majority rely on
subjective perceptions or qualitative research, either conductedby themselves or others, to tailor products for women. Notably,
Juancho Te Presta and Asante stand out as two fintech firms that
not only use SDD to shape product customizations for women but
also to establish a compelling business case for these adaptations(case studies below).

See Footnote 27

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

25

CASE STUDY
Juancho Te Presta provides better credit terms to
women than men

ModelFoundedActive market

Maturity

Lending2018

ColombiaSeed

One of Colombia’s fastest growing fintech firms, Juancho Te Presta, has disbursed over $5 million equivalent36 to womencustomers, accounting for 60% of its existing portfolio, as a result of its intentional approach to designing digital credit
solutions for women customers and address gender disparities in financial inclusion. It first established a positive
business case for serving women customers, then collected SDD and customized its products to address women’s uniqueneeds across different economic segments.
Establishing the business case for serving
women customers.

Providing preferential credit terms and targetedmarketing for women.

Juancho Te Presta has identified a positive business casefor providing credit to women compared to men. Despite
submitting fewer loan applications, women have higher
loan approval rates, reflecting their caution when seeking
credit during periods of high interest rates or economic
instability. Additionally, women have demonstrated greater
financial discipline, resulting in lower NPL rates compared
to men, justifying their gender-based approach.

In its efforts to promote gender equity, Juancho Te Presta
actively seeks to balance its loan portfolio in favor ofwomen through preferential rates and ‘over-marketing’ towomen. Women are offered better loan terms, resulting ina monthly instalment cost that is approximately 15% lower
than that for men. Moving forward, the company aims torefine its approach by implementing tailored marketingstrategies and reducing credit costs for the best-performing
sub-segments of women customers (i.e., professional/
working women).

Collecting SDD and developing women-specificalgorithms.
Juancho Te Presta takes a deliberate approach to collecting
SDD, recognizing the importance of adopting a gender lensacross its entire business model, from customer researchto risk assessment scorecards and the company’s internal
processes. It also invests in data analytics capabilities todevelop women-specific algorithms and uncover insightsthat can help inform product design and conduct targetedmarketing.

36

26

Financial Alliance for Women, New Member Spotlight: Juancho te Presta, 2022

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTHCASE STUDYAsante leverages partnerships to deliver targeted
offerings for women customers driven by its
strong internal mission
ModelFoundedActive market

Maturity

Lending2016

Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria

Series A

Asante Financial Services Group is a credit-led neobank that supports Africa’s growth through the provision of financial
services to growing businesses. Asante’s desire to serve women customers stems from a mission to improve women’swell-being, strong investor interest in gender-sensitivity, and an awareness of the commercial potential of the women’smarket. With a strong gender agenda in place, its board has mandated that the company target a 50:50 split in the
representation of male and female consumers by 2025.
Establishing the business case for serving
women customers.
Driven by robust SDD collection and analysis, the firm
identifies a clear commercial case for serving women,
focusing on default rates and customer lifetime value (CLV).
Default rates are 2% lower for women customers compared
to men, and women customers have a higher CLV due togreater financial discipline, responsibility, and consistency
with their service provider. Asante plans to use such data
insights to refine credit assessment processes for new
products.

Bundling financial services to increase
attractiveness of the offering.

customers that repay loans. It aims to continue developing
new products in the future.

Forming local partnerships to design tailoredproducts and access distribution channels.
Asante has established partnerships with the goal of better
serving women. One notable partnership is with a telecom
company, that is assisting in the distribution of an ongoing
lending program pilot targeting women farmers in Uganda.
Looking ahead, Asante plans to develop financial products
specifically tailored to women taxi operators, recognizing
their inclination to invest in vehicles. This was inspired by
the successful ‘Ladies and Family Taxi’ services in Dubai, an
initiative that not only provides a valuable service but also
serves as a noteworthy public relations activity.

Asante is piloting the delivery of bundled financial services,such as free health insurance, as an incentive for womenHER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

27

3.1.5 SUPPORT SERVICES
Nonfinancial support services are needed to address uniquefinancial and digital literacy-related barriers, thereby increasing thevalue of DFS for women. Evidence shows that women in developing
countries trail behind men in digital and financial literacy.37 In
addition, an IFC study found that well-integrated nonfinancial
support services for women-owned SMEs yield positive return on
investment (ROI) within one to two years. This is demonstrated
through four key metrics: increased interest income; share of wallet,
which includes cross-sell, deposit volume and fee income, including
fees charged for nonfinancial support services participation; loyalty;
and reduced risk.38 By incorporating services that foster women’s
digital and financial capabilities, fintech firms can bridge thesegaps, driving increased adoption and usage of their products.39
However, fintech firms seldom provide nonfinancial support
services specifically for women. Only 21% (N=114) of firms
offer additional support services for women customers. Somefirms report providing support services, such as educational
workshops, recognizing that women take more time and need more
information to make financial decisions. Fintech firms also mention
the development for women entrepreneurs of support services that
contribute to the broader support of their businesses. For example,
an agriculture and financial technology firm in Indonesia, Crowde,

offers a selection of nonfinancial services to women farmers, aiming
to build their financial management and technical capabilities. This
includes training in budgeting, financial literacy, and agricultural
techniques. The increased awareness from women farmers
attending these training sessions, in turn, generates demand as
they develop an interest in obtaining financial services to initiate
their own cultivation projects.
Similarly, InTouch, a pan-African payment and digitalized accesssolutions company, partnered with the Mastercard Foundation
to launch a financial inclusion program supporting 10,000 young
agents, with a particular focus on young women, providing acomprehensive range of support mechanisms.40 This includes
a unified platform to distribute all services for money transfers,
mobile wallet deposits, and bill payments. Additionally, it includes
support in formalizing their businesses, providing visibility at the
point of sale, entrepreneurial mentorship, and training in the
products and tools offered by InTouch, among other services.
Another Indian firm, Lxme, uses gamification to educate womenin goal-based savings. Some fintech firms also offer dedicatedcustomer support services as a ‘high touch’ model—a mix of digitaland personal engagement—to increase trust among womencustomers.

37

Leora Klapper and Lusardi Annamaria, Financial Literacy and Financial Resilience: Evidence From Around the World, 201938

IFC, Non-Financial Services - The Key to Unlocking the Growth Potential of Women-led SMEs for Banks, 2020

39

Women’s World Banking, Empowering Women on a Journey Towards Digital Financial Capability, 2021

40

Mastercard Foundation, In Collaboration With the Mastercard Foundation, the Pan-African Fintech Intouch Is Launching Its 10,000 Jambaars Program to Support and
Mentor 10,000 Young Entrepreneurs in Senegal, 2020

28

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

3.2 Fintech Firm Maturity and Market Characteristics
3.2.1 FINTECH MATURITY
More late-stage fintech firms report tailoring products andservices for women than early-stage fintech firms. Most latestage firms in the study operate in medium to high economic
gender gap markets, which may explain the lower reported
shares of women despite their increased customization
efforts. Figure 7 shows the percentage of fintech firms by growthstage undertaking the various products and services tailored to
women.41 52% (n=25) of late-stage fintech firms report tailoring theirproducts toward women customers, compared to 27% (n=45) of
early-/growth-stage firms. This is likely due to better availability ofresources and increased competitive pressure on late-stage firms to
expand market share.
Figure 7. Strategies for serving women across funding stages42

Tailored products
Support Services

Targeted marketing
Unique partnerships

53%
48%

52%

43%
38%

36%

34%

28%

27%

27%
22%

16%

Early-stage (n=45)

Growth-stage (n=44)

Late-stage (n=25)

The study identifies several exemplary early-stage fintech firmsthat are intentionally serving and targeting women, addressing
the underlying obstacles that women, or specific subgroups ofwomen, encounter when accessing and utilizing DFS. Such firms, as
discussed in section 2, are seeing better representation of women in
their portfolios. The case study below outlines how an early-stage
firm, mfarmPay, is intentionally targeting women through a multipronged approach.

41

Early-stage: unfunded, pre-seed, seed; Growth-stage: series A-C; Late-stage: Series D+, public, subsidiary42

The relevant survey question was: ‘What does your organization do to target or serve women?’ The options were Tailored products for women customers, Targetedmarketing to existing or new women customers, Other support services targeted to women customers, Partnership with financial or nonfinancial organizations toreach or serve women customers, Market research to understand women segment(s), No tailored processes for women customers, No separate product design ordelivery for women customers but revised businesses processes based on their preferences, Other (Please specify). Respondents could select all applicable answer
choices.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

29

CASE STUDY
mfarmPay lowers the qualifying criteria for womensmallholder farmers to access credit

ModelFoundedActive market

Maturity

Lending2019

Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria

Pree-SeedmfarmPay offers a digital finance platform combining data and resources to de-risk and deliver financing for smallholder
farmers. mfarmPay deliberately considers gender as part of its aim to address the lending gap between financial
institutions and smallholder farmers. The firm recognizes the need to target this huge, untapped, and commerciallyappealing customer segment: women farmers display better loan repayment patterns and tend to be consistently involvedin agriculture compared to men, who might switch to more financially rewarding industries. The strong presence of
women in mfarmPay’s management team helps the company identify gender constraints and inform tailored productdesign and features.
Aggregating data across unconventional sources
to determine credit score.

Lowering qualifying criteria and targeting
women-centric farming activities.

mfarmPay uses insights from SDD collected by its parent
company (which has delivered digital bundled services
to farmers in Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya over the past
decade), such as the number of farmers subscribing toa digital services vendor or using and benefitting fromexisting products in the market. It also gathers insightsfrom customers through interviews at trade shows/field events and training events to understand market
positioning and product rollout.

mfarmPay helps increase women’s access to loans bylowering the prequalification threshold for womensmallholder farmers as part of its credit risk assessment
services. It is developing a first-loss credit guarantee
instrument with partner financial institutions in Ghana
that aims to provide 41,000 rural women farmers withaccess to credit. It also places significant emphasis oncommodities in which women farmers are highly engaged
in production. For example, mfarmPay strategicallyfocused its product rollout toward women smallholder
farmers specializing in yam cultivation because of the large
number of women actively involved in the cutting andpost-processing of yam products.

Targeting women-oriented platforms as key
distribution channels.
mfarmPay targets women customers through farmer
cooperatives with large women smallholder farmer
networks.

30

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

3.2.2 MARKET GENDER GAP
Fintech firms operating in markets with low economic gender
gaps tend to be less inclined to tailor their value propositions
to women. Figure 8 shows the percentage of fintech firms
undertaking each of the approaches detailed above acrossmarkets with low, moderate, and high economic gender gaps (seedefinitions in footnote).43 Close to half of the firms in markets with ahigh gender gap in economic participation and opportunities (e.g.,
India, Turkey) report tailoring their products for women; these firms
recognize the gender gaps in accessing and using financial services,
and are trying to carve a niche for themselves in populations
underserved by traditional FSPs. In markets with low economic
gender gaps (e.g., the Philippines, Kenya), firms often do not finda compelling need for gender-differentiated strategies, despite
recognizing a strong commercial value in the women’s market:
in the words of one interviewee, ‘Women in these societies are
well-positioned and face limited additional barriers when accessing
financial services.’ Fintech firms in these markets tend to focus onother underserved segments, such as those employed in informaljobs or migrant workers.
Figure 8. Strategies for serving women across markets withdifferent gender gaps44

Tailored products
Support Services

Targeted marketing
Unique partnerships

46%

43% 43%

41%

28%
23%

44%

42%

25%

24%
20%
14%

Low gender gap
markets (n=30)

Moderate gender
gap markets (n=29)

High gender gap
markets (n=55)

43

See definition in footnote 25

44

The relevant survey question was ‘What does your organization do to target or serve women?’ The options Tailored products for women customers, Targeted marketing
to existing or new women customers, Other support services targeted to women customers, Partnership with financial or nonfinancial organizations to reach or serve
women customers, Market research to understand women segment(s), No tailored processes for women customers, No separate product design or delivery for womencustomers but revised businesses processes based on their preferences, Other (Please specify). Respondents could select all applicable answer choices.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

31

4.
﻿BUSINESS CASE
How do women customers perform
relative to fintech firms’ overall portfolio
and what practices are yielding better
results?
Key Insight 3: A majority of fintech
firms consider women customers to
be more loyal, less risky, and more orequally valuable relative to men.

Previous evidence has demonstrated that women are an attractive
segment for FSPs due to their higher loyalty, higher lifetime value,and lower default risk compared to men. 45, 46
Fintech firms customizing their products and services for women
more often observe a higher customer lifetime value (CLV) among
women. In certain cases, tailoring to women can increase customer
acquisition cost (CAC), given targeted marketing, partnerships, or
education programs. This section seeks to determine whether sucha commercial case holds true for fintech firms. Results indicate that
intentionally targeting women can be commercially beneficial,even with a higher CAC for women compared to men, owing to theformer’s higher CLV.

Key Insight 4: Fintech firms that tailor
products/services toward womenreport higher lifetime value, despite
sometimes incurring higher costs.

45

IFC Banking On Women, Business Case Update #6, Lower Nonperforming Loans (NPLs) for Women-Owned SMEs, 2023

46

The Economics of Banking on Women: 2019 Edition How Banks Can Profit from the Multi-Trillion Dollar Female Economy, 201432

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

This section examines the economics of serving womencustomers and how fintech firms can benefit from tailoring
their value propositions to women. Section 4.1 assesses theperformance of women for each business model, relative to theoverall portfolio, based on the following metrics:•
Lending. (i) 90-day NPL rate reported for women and overall
portfolio by fintech firms in the survey; (ii) default rates,
loyalty rates, and CLV of women compared to those of men,ranging from significantly better to significantly worse,
based on participants’ perceptions.
•
Savings, payments, and insurance. loyalty rates and
CLV of women compared to those of men, ranging fromsignificantly better to significantly worse, based onparticipants’ perceptions.

Section 4.2 examines how serving women strategically canstrengthen the commercial case for fintech firms. The profitability
metrics mentioned above are compared, distinguishing between
those companies that report tailoring their products andservices and those that do not. The section reviews how thesecustomizations impact CAC for women customers in an attempt
to understand the trade-off between performance and cost.
By analysing these metrics, the impacts of product and service
customization on the financial performance of fintech firms areassessed.

4.1 Unit Economics of the Women’s Market
4.1.1 LENDING
Women default less in lending-focused fintech firms’ portfolios;
firms describe women as being more prudent borrowers thanmen.
More fintech firms report NPL rates of less than 10% for their women’s
portfolio.47 And in discussions, many firms indicate that NPL rates arelower for women customers than for men customers. For example,
an African lender reports a 90-day NPL rate of 2.5% for women-owned
businesses, while the rate for men-owned businesses is 4%. Similarly,
an Indonesian lender has a 90-day NPL rate of 3.5% for women-owned
businesses and 3.9% for men-owned businesses. In the case of a
Colombian lender, the NPL rate for women-owned businesses is 8%,
compared to 14% for men-owned businesses. Perception-based data
provides additional confirmation: 58% (n=49) of lending-focused fintech
firms state that women’s default rates are lower compared to men.
This is in line with an IFC survey of banking clients, which revealed
that over six consecutive years, loans extended to women-owned
SMEs consistently demonstrated lower rates of non-performing loanscompared to the overall SME portfolio.48

Figure 9. 90-day NPL rates for women vs overall portfolio

NPL 10-25%

16%
42%

NPL <10%

84%
58%

Women portfolio Overall portfolio(n=19)(n=19)

Figure 10. Share of lending fintech firms stating that the default
rate for women is less than, more than or equal to men (n=49)

More
Equal
Less

2%
40%
58%

47

Based on 90-day NPL rates reported by 19 lending fintech firms

48

In a survey of 140 IFC client financial institutions in 2022, the average NPL ratio for loan portfolios of women-owned SMEs was 3.6%, significantly lower than the average
NPL ratio for total SME loan portfolios (4.7%), comprising both men- and women-owned SMEs. This data follows the same trend of better performance for womenowned SMEs over the past five years.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

33

Fintech firms attribute lower default rates to women’s morefinancially risk-averse behavior and a greater social pressure to
repay loans compared to men—although such pressure is not always
desirable. This aligns with previous research49 in the financial services
sector.

Figure 11. Share of lending fintech firms that believe women’s loyalty
is more than, less than, or equal to that of men (n=49)

More
Equal
Less

2%
29%

"Women are more reliable than men. We tend to see a lot
more of them operating in the agricultural value chain forlong periods. This can also reduce loan default, which is alonger process compared to the other population."

69%– Kenyan lending fintech firm

"Women generally have lower NPL rates due to greater
financial discipline. But when crisis strikes, they generally
have lower balances and weaker forms of support to fall backon, which may end up increasing their NPL rates."– Colombian lending fintech firm

Women are described as more loyal borrowers than men bymost lending firms.
Fintech firms note how women take longer to build trust with digitalplatforms, but once they do, they prove to be ‘stickier’ customers thanmen.

"Men have a higher propensity to do what we call loan
stacking—taking loans from multiple lenders—as they havehigher risk appetite. Women are consistent with respect tosticking with one provider."

Women borrowers are considered to have a higher CLV thanmen borrowers by almost half of the firms.
In interviews, fintech firms uniformly report that women’s better
repayment and default profile leads to a better risk-return profile.
Despite lower average loan sizes—a difference of 30% according to an
Indonesian digital lender—better repayment and loyalty metrics drive
greater CLV for digital lenders.

"On the commercial side, in my experience, we’ve seenmuch better payment records and LTV with women-owned
businesses. That encourages us to give better terms to
women-owned businesses just to encourage them."– Credit-led neobank in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria
Figure 12. Share of lending fintech firms that state women’s CLV is
more than, less than, or equal to that of men (n=49)

More
Equal
Less

8%

– Nigerian lending fintech firm

43%

49%

4.1.2 SAVINGS, PAYMENTS, AND INSURANCE
Just over half of the nonlending fintech firms describe women as
more loyal customers compared to men.
In interviews, firms note that men have a significantly higher churnrate, driven by a greater willingness to try multiple financial services
applications. A Senegalese digital payments firm, for example,
noted that 90% of women customers were likely to remain active
users after a year compared to 70% of men customers.

49

34"It takes time but when they build trust and know thatyou can help build their finances, they are very loyal to
you and even recommend to other women to save on theplatform."– Ghanaian digital banking platform

Refer to Footnote 45

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

In contrast, for those fintech firms reporting lower loyalty among
women, this is attributed primarily to the perceived preference forphysical transactions over digital ones, leading women to sign up
but remain inactive on the platform. Another possible explanationis the belief that women engage in smaller but more frequenttransactions, influencing a preference for cash transactions overdigital ones.
Figure 13. Share of non-lending fintech firms that state women’s
loyalty is more than, less than, or equal to that of men (n=56)

More
Equal
Less

19%
51%
30%

Close to half of the savings, payments, and insurance
firms stated that women generate greater CLV.
Some firms indicate that women have a relatively higher tendency
to maintain insurance premium payments or transact more often
on payment or savings platforms, contributing to higher CLV relative
to men. However, the overall low share of women in transactions
for payments firms (as discussed in section 2) suggests that thelatter might not be the case for most fintech firms.
"Women undertake twice the number of transactions asmen. For us, women do 20+ transactions per month versus
men, who only do 10 transactions per month. This is because
women have more everyday spending activities (like going tomarket daily)."– Senegalese payment firm
Figure 14. Share of nonlending fintech firms that state women’s CLV
is more than, less than, or equal to that of men (n=56)

More
Equal
Less

30%
47%
23%

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

35

﻿4.2 Impact of Serving Women Strategically63% (n=30) of fintech firms that customize their products andservices for women believe that women generate more CLV thanmen, compared to only 38% (n=29) that do not. However, the study
cannot determine whether fintech firms report a higher CLV due totheir investment in tailored products and services for the women’ssegment or if they make this investment based on their pre-existing
belief in women having a higher CLV.
Figure 15. Share of fintech firms that state women’s CLV is morethan, less than, or equal to that of men

Less

24%

Less

Equal

34%

52%

33%

37%

17%
More
20%

Equal

Figure 16. Share of fintech firms that state CAC for women is morethan, less than, or equal to men

38%

30%
14%
Not tailoring
Tailoringproducts/services products/services(n=29)(n=30)

63%
More

38%

Not tailoring
Tailoringproducts/services products/services(n=29)(n=30)
Tailoring products and services might increase CAC in certain
cases.
Firms tailoring their products and services to women more
frequently mention that the cost of acquiring women is higher thanthat for men. Firms cite the additional marketing costs of reachingspecific women sub-segments, expenses related to providing
services to overcome digital or financial literacy-related barriers,
and costs associated with unique acquisition channels.

"The cost of acquisition is 45% higher for a women customer.
For a man who has a bit of English understanding or
understands dealing with money, it will take an agent about
five minutes to get them to install the app. For a woman,
who does not understand the language or the app, thisincreases to 8–10 minutes. "– Ugandan digital lender

Business lending: unit economics of women versus men
To examine the trade-off between higher CLV and higher CAC
when serving women strategically, the study compared the unit
economics for women versus men in a business lending context
using the CLV:CAC ratio. The analysis was based on data gathered
through secondary research and portfolio data collected fromfintech firms.
The high-level findings of this analysis indicate that
intentionally targeting women can be commercially beneficial,even if there is a higher CAC for women compared to men.
Although anecdotally, women may require a higher initial CAC
compared to men in certain situations, these investments canbe recovered through women’s higher CLV over the long term.
Based on the available data, the results suggest that fintech
firms can achieve equal profitability by implementing intentional
practices that lead to higher CLV for women, even when spending
1.4 times more in acquiring women relative to men.50 Fintech firms
attribute the higher CLV to women’s greater loyalty and lower
default rates, even when their loan sizes are smaller compared tothose of men.
It is worth noting that this business case is not universally
applicable to all fintech firms and relies on the assumptionthat intentionally serving women results in improved CLV, as
qualitatively evidenced in the previous section. The results highlightthe need for a more detailed analysis of the broader fintech sector in
focus countries.

50

Estimates considered the following data and assumptions:The average loan size for men-owned businesses was $7K (based on data from Indian fintech). During
discussions, some lenders reported that women’s loans are 30% smaller than men’s loans. No difference in duration of loans was assumed; CAC for men-owned
businesses was assumed to be 2.5% (based on secondary research). During discussions, lenders reported CAC for women-owned businesses to be in the range of 1–1.45
times more than for men-owned businesses; The NPL ratio was assumed to be 4% for men-owned business (based on secondary research and interviews). Three fintech
firms confirmed 10–40% lower NPL rates for women-owned businesses. The NPL rate for women-owned business was assumed to be 3%; Revenue per user was
assumed to be the same—at 25%—for men-owned and women-owned businesses based on secondary research.

36

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

5.
﻿DRIVERS AND SUPPORT AREAS
What support do fintech firms need toserve women strategically?
Key Insight 5: Fintech firms needknowledge, research, financial
support, and technical assistance tofully capture the women’s market.

To target women intentionally, fintech firms’ leadership andinvestors must strongly internalize the business case for serving
women along with the social value of women’s financial inclusion.
However, this alone is insufficient. A high proportion of fintech
firms express that they need market-specific knowledge of women’s
needs and market size, seek best practices, and want to see awell-evidenced business case before moving in this direction. A
similar proportion of firms report needing financial support throughearmarked grants, patient capital, and concessional debt to design
and iterate on such business models. Internal expertise or dedicatedresources for serving women customers are a less common request.
The necessity of an enabling policy or regulatory environment ismore commonly cited by firms in nascent fintech markets.

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37

5.1 Drivers for Fintech Firms
5.1.1 INTERNAL DRIVERS
The presence of leaders who have internalized the social orcommercial value of serving women is the strongest internal
driver for firms intentionally targeting women. 58% (N=114) offirms attribute their strategic focus on women to leaders’ belief
in the importance of women’s financial inclusion. Similarly, 58%(N=114) of fintech firms point to leaders believing in the role ofwomen customers in expanding the firm’s customer base andmarket share as a driver, and 36% attribute it to the belief that firms
should have public-service-oriented goals. These trends hold acrossvarious business models and markets.
Leaders reference three common explanations for these beliefs:•
Women are a high-potential, underserved segment.
Leaders frequently cite that their interest in targeting
women customers is driven by the recognition of womenas an underserved, high-quality (as discussed in section4) customer segment. Developing solutions for themis considered essential for expanding the base of active
customers. Firm leaders who focus on sectors where womenare overrepresented in sub-segments of their customer
base, such as informal home-based women entrepreneurs
for fintech firms lending to MSMEs, or women smallholder
farmers for fintech firms providing agricultural credit, also
report the same rationale.
•
Women drive nationwide progress in financial inclusion.
Other leaders base their understanding of the need for
women’s financial inclusion on data related to their country’s•

national financial inclusion goals, which state that suchinclusion cannot succeed without closing gender gaps.
Personal experiences. Several leaders, both men andwomen, cite formative experiences from their upbringing inrespective societies that underscored the costs of women’s
exclusion from financial services. These experiences haveinfluenced their approach in designing specific fintech
solutions.

Interestingly, although fintech firms do not highlight internal
gender diversity as a key driver for serving women strategically,in interviews, several mention that having women in leadershiphelps build the case for serving women intentionally. Onlyaround 25% (N=114) of fintech firms cite high representation of
women in management or staff as an important driver for serving
women more intentionally as customers. Additionally, there is noobserved correlation between the internal gender diversity among
management or staff, the implementation of tailored practices tosupport women (as discussed in section 3), or the proportion of
women in the customer base. However, in interviews, some firms
acknowledge that having more women in management and on
the board helps them become more gender-sensitive internallyand externally. For instance, a digital lender in Kenya, Uganda,
and Ghana, believes that having strong representation of womenin management influences the organization’s decisions to finetune products and services for more external representation of
women, as it is easier to build a case for gendered constraints in this
scenario.

5.1.2 EXTERNAL DRIVERS
45% (N=114) of firms most frequently cite investor support or
mandates as the external driver most needed to push them toserve women better. In interviews, firms typically reference oneof the following three channels through which investors influence
their intentionality to serve women:•
Board-level mandates to ensure gender-parity within thefirm’s customer base or establishing targeted product ordelivery channels to reach women customers. For example,
one firm reports how impact investors are influencing thedevelopment of firm-level targets to ensure a 50–50 gender
split in its customer base by 2025.
•
Financial support to design or deliver products or services
for women. Several firms highlight how impact investors,

38•

part of their investor base, strongly influence firm leadershipor actively provide financial support to pilot or expand such
efforts. Many of these firms continue or scale such pilots only
when they see a strong commercial case for such endeavors.
Impact measurement frameworks that prioritize firm-widereporting of both internal- and external-facing gender
statistics. Several firms report how the increasing useof environmental, social, and governance complianceframeworks prioritizes reporting and demonstrating
progress on financial inclusion (both adoption and usageof financial services) and the financial resilience of target
customers through the fintech firm’s services.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

﻿5.2 Areas of Support
Figure 9 maps the key support areas and their relative significance that fintech firms cite to enable them to serve women strategically.
Figure 17. Key support areas cited by fintech firms to enable serving women strategically (N=114)

Knowledge
and Evidence

Capital▪ Research on
women’s needs
and pain points▪ Financing andfunding▪ Case studies ofsuccess stories▪ De-risking
instruments

Business Model
Customization

Internal
Capacity/Culture

Enabling
Environment▪ Partnerships▪ Gender expertise▪ Product design /delivery support▪ Management
commitment▪ Regulation /policy reforms▪ Internal incentive
structures▪ Competitive
pressure▪ Evidence ofbusiness caseSigniﬁcant Need

Moderately Signiﬁcant Need

Less Signiﬁcant Need

5.2.1 KNOWLEDGE
Importantly, fintech firms aim to gain a better understandingof women customers. 67% (N=114) of firms want more research on
women’s needs and pain points to successfully capture this market.
Fintech firms want to understand what drives women to seek
DFS compared to traditional financial services, women’s productpreferences when considering DFS or comparing similar solutions,and the acquisition and distribution channels to which they arelikely to respond positively.
"It will be helpful to get more insights on what is stopping
women entrepreneurs from going to digital lenders, specificbiases in the female borrower that we can understand,and ways to identify if we can reach out to more and morecustomers."– Indian digital lender

Fintech firms seek to learn from successful business practices
serving women and are looking to other firms in their market
for guidance. Half (N=114) of the fintech firms highlight thelimited body of knowledge available to help them target womencustomers; these firms want to learn about successful examples of
product design, distribution, and nonfinancial support. Firms findcase studies more ‘believable’ when they come from others in theirmarket or region due to both demand-side factors (e.g., significant

variations in gender norms across markets) and supply-side factors(e.g., variations in the state of the fintech sector and regulatoryenvironment across markets).
"Best practices in the first place will be very helpful, notonly on the product but also on the literacy part. I feel like
we’re all inventing the wheel by developing financial literacy
programmes. We did a lot of desk research to find bestpractices, but often you can’t compare the geography, or
you can’t compare the type of product, or it’s offline versus
online."– Indonesian digital lender

Fintech firms are looking to clearly articulate the businesscase for serving women customers. 45% (N=114) of fintech firms
demand evidence for a clear business case for women. Firms
underscore, in several interviews, the importance of constructing
a rigorous business case, a principle evident in IFC’s previous
experience. To persuade internal stakeholders, such as their board
or senior management, executives seek a clear, data-backed
business case demonstrating that revenues from differentiatedpractices for women and the growth potential of women segments
outweigh ongoing and upfront costs.

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39

"The first step [to tap into the women’s market] would be
to present this as a business case and for that to happen,
we have to get the data right in terms of the percentageof women, and how that translates into our revenue andso forth. If the data and numbers add up, and the board
wants to go towards that direction, then we can look forstrategic partners that would like to walk with us in thatjourney.""We can use support on how to build a story that tells theimpact story and also a very sustainable story. There’s a lotof people doing interesting things, but then struggle raisingmoney or can’t grow or just become a cool case study in areport. The ecosystem can highlight the ones that actually
are scaling and making revenue and driving impact andwhy."– Mexican lending provider– Indonesian payments provider

5.2.2 FINANCIAL SUPPORT"We are open to partnering with an equity investor or
partner, but we are very picky in ensuring [that the investor]
is supporting our impact. Our vision is democratizing fintech
within the last mile. While it would be easier to focus on
payday loans within cities, our purpose will take a little moretime, but we know it will create more impact. So that is thekind of investor we would be looking for. "62% (N=114) of fintech firms view financial support as criticalto serving women customers better. Fintech firms highlight anumber of financial instruments that can assist them in offsetting
the additional cost or time needed to undertake strategic initiatives
for women.
Distinct forms of support are required for different efforts:•
Grants. Fintech firms report needing grants, accompanied
by technical assistance, to design pilots and develop womenfocused product or distribution ideas, turning them into
commercial products.
"Taking a [women-focused credit] pilot into a commercial
product requires a certain amount of funding. It requires akind of accelerator programme with a non-equity assistancegrant to kickstart. It’s going to be a very small amount tobegin with to just to test the product right before; then we
can start talking about what’s going to be the traction."– Indonesian digital lender•

Concessional debt. Fintech firms seek competitive debt
to reduce their internal cost of capital and to offer womencustomers more attractive products. For example, firms
seek local currency loans at the same rate of interest as US
dollar loans, with an external funder taking on the foreignexchange risk.

•

Patient equity capital. Fintech firms express interest
in equity investments but aim to ensure strong missionalignment before bringing on new investors to theircapitalization table. In interviews, firms note that recently
raised funding from gender-focused investors demonstrated
how such investors are critical for kickstarting their initialefforts in designing differentiated value offerings for women.

40– Colombian digital lender•

De-risking instruments. Fintech firms note that risksharing instruments, such as credit guarantees and first-loss
pools, can enable them to iterate rapidly on product design
for women. Firms highlight the role that credit guarantee
facilities play in facilitating the supply of digital credit tocredible women customers who would otherwise not qualify
for traditional credit (e.g., sound women-led businesses
that may have recently defaulted on one or two loans due topandemic-induced shocks).
"If there are any kinds of directional goals from investors,
that has to come with an equal commitment on either
risk-sharing or on some kind of grant support coupled withtechnical support to help us de-risk this experiment, not justfor [the firm] but also for its customers. The one thing thatcan drive most momentum is, for instance, is a risk-sharing
pool or a first-loss pool available for women customers
to test a certain minimum number of customers. That
immediately enables us to take risks quicker and scale up
those experiments much faster. "– Kenyan digital lender

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

5.2.3 BUSINESS MODEL CUSTOMIZATION
Fintech firms overwhelmingly report needing support inbuilding partnerships with both financial and nonfinancial
fintech firms to reach women. 62% (N=114) of fintech firms seek
support in building partnerships that would assist them in targetingand serving women customers more intentionally. These include
partnerships to facilitate the onboarding of women customers(e.g., with microfinance organizations), establish new distribution
channels with a higher likelihood of reaching women customers(e.g., with e-commerce platforms), and co-develop products withfinancial partners (e.g., with traditional financial institutions likecommercial banks).

Fintech firms point to advisory support as critical for successfully
going to market and operationalizing research-driven insights.
From in-depth interviews with fintech firms, executives highlightseveral advisory needs, including understanding scalable businessmodels adaptable to their business context, tools to measure theimpact of DFS on women’s lives and communities, and building
the financial capabilities of individual women customers andentrepreneurs with varying levels of financial literacy.
"We can use help in understanding how to use technology
well, where in-person touch needs to be implemented, andthe impact of these choices on the unit economics withfinancial modelling."– Mexican lending provider

5.2.4 INTERNAL CAPABILITY
Fintech firms do not widely emphasize the need for internal
expertise to serve women strategically. Less than a third of
fintech firms cite this as a top internal change needed. However,various advisory support providers working with FSPs, including
IFC, have found that long-term success requires efforts within thefirm to build lasting awareness of gender differences and knowledge
around the women’s market opportunity51 The importance ofinternal expertise cannot be discounted, even though firms areunlikely to report these barriers as significant.52 Some firm leaders
underscore the need for gender specialists to conduct dedicatedcapacity-building programs for women customers.

"You need a gender specialist who can actually engage andconnect with [women customers] properly. I myself have seenthat there’s a huge impact when you have a gender specialist
because their way of communication and engagement is
totally different from a normal trainer. The delivery has to bedifferent because you need to understand how women take in
information and how they provide feedback."– Indian digital lender

51

IFC, Learning Study on Impact Of Banking On Women Programs In Europe, Central Asia, Middle East And North Africa, 2016

52

IFC, Gender Intelligence for Banks—Moving the Needle on Gender Equality, 2017

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

41

6.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ECOSYSTEM

What are the opportunities for the
ecosystem going forward?
Key Insight 6: The ecosystem canaccelerate fintech firms’ journey
toward serving women strategicallyby providing support tailored tomarket conditions and the firms’
stage.

42

As discussed previously, representation of women in the customer
base, and fintech firms’ approach to serving women, is influenced
by the firms’ maturity and underlying gender gaps in the market.
This study recommends market-/firm-specific opportunities forthe ecosystem—commercial investors, impact-focused investors,
multilateral institutions, and incubators—to support fintech firms
in serving women and ultimately in contributing to the financial
inclusion of women.
In markets with small economic gender gaps, the ecosystem could
mobilize gender-lens investing to encourage firms to monitor
gender balance in their portfolios. Technical support could be
provided to firms lagging or looking to focus on specific underserved
sub-segments of women (e.g., home-based entrepreneurs).
In markets with large/moderate economic gender gaps•
ecosystem actors could identify early-stage firms that areserving women strategically and disproportionately and help
them scale with targeted financial and technical support.
•
ecosystem actors could drive experimentation among
growth-/late-stage firms by providing de-risking instruments
and facilitating partnerships to support them in innovating
models that serve women strategically and increase therepresentation of women in their portfolios.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

6.1 Building an Enabling Ecosystem for Fintech Firms
Ecosystem actors, including investors, multilateral institutions, and incubators, can accelerate fintech firms’ progress toward serving womenstrategically. The study proposes these opportunities for the ecosystem to support fintech firms across markets and stages:

Low Economic Gender Gap Markets
Firms in markets with small economic gender gaps naturally
observe better representation of women in their portfolios
compared to firms in markets with large economic gender gaps.
Consequently, they less frequently differentiate their value
proposition for women. However, the majority of fintech firms inthese markets still report that women constitute a minority of theirportfolios, with some indicating that women make up less than aquarter of their customer base. Thus, it is crucial for firms to assess
the sex-disaggregated performance of their portfolio to identify
opportunities for further inclusion of women.

Financial Support•

Incentivizing or encouraging
the collection and reportingof SDD and making suchinformation standard during due
diligence.

•

Patient capital or concessional
debt for fintech firms focusing
on traditionally underserved
segments of the women’smarket.

In discussions, firms reveal opportunities to target specificsub-segments of customers that disproportionately comprise
women, such as migrant workers or informal sector workers.
There are opportunities to support fintech firms in reaching these
traditionally underserved segments.

Nonfinancial Support•

Technical assistance for
fintech firms that see low
representation of women in
their portfolios to collect andanalyze SDD, identify leakage
points in the user journey, andshare best practices from peers
within their market or fromother similar markets.

Ecosystem Building•

Market-wide business casedevelopment, sizing specificsub-segments of underserved
women.

•

Convening efforts among firm
leaders to enable peer learningand investors to drive genderlens investing.

••

Advisory support or market
research for fintech firms
looking to establish a rigorous
business case based on thelong-term customer growthand quality of specific women
sub- segments.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

43

Moderate to High Economic Gender Gap Markets
Several promising early-stage firms that intentionally focus on
women and have successfully built a large representation of womenin their portfolio are identified in the study. However, despite
having small user bases, these firms need support to scale up.
On the other hand, late-stage firms still encounter challenges inmaintaining a substantial share of women in their portfolios, often
despite tailoring their products and services. This is attributed tosocial, cultural, and economic barriers faced by women. These latestage firms require additional knowledge and evidence regarding
the women’s market, along with financial support, to conduct
experiments and identify effective models that will enhance
women’s inclusion in their portfolios.

Financial Support••

For early-stage fintech firms:
competitive grants to recognize
and support intentional firms;
risk-sharing facilities thatoffer partial guarantees acrossmultiple early-stage firms tobolster firms seeking to serve
women customers through newor pilot products.
For growth-/late-stage fintech
firms: de-risking instruments
such as market or region-wide
first-loss guarantee facilities
that can help firms experimentand develop a rigorous businesscase for scalable models;concessional debt that canlower the cost of capital forfirms and offset upfront costs ofacquisition and servicing new
women customers.

The study underscores that intentional practices of serving women
may result in a higher CAC for fintech firms. Consequently, firms
can benefit from financial support to cover the upfront investment
required for setting up such models.

Nonfinancial Support

Ecosystem Building•

Tailored assistance, evidence, or
grant support for foundational
demand-side customer research
to understand women’s barriers
and needs and determine thecommercial viability of specificwomen sub-segments.

•

Market-specific research—for
example, research targeting theaddressable market or uniquepreferences of sub-segments,case studies on scalable andsustainable business models,
and business cases.

•

Brokering partnerships withother financial and nonfinancial
platforms that can serve as
acquisition channels to capture
women customers morecost-effectively.

•

Convening of fintech leaders todrive cross-pollination.

•

Policy changes in nascentfintech markets (e.g., Senegal,
Côte d'Ivoire) to foster a
responsible and genderinclusive digital financeecosystem—for example,
regulations enabling reportingof SDD, establishing financial
infrastructure such as retailpayments, and limiting
consumer protection risks thatwomen may face.

•

Technical assistance to improvedata collection and commercial/social impact measurement
capabilities.

Across markets and firms, there is a need to create joint learning
opportunities for investors, policymakers, and technicalexperts to expedite the diffusion of best practices and enhanceawareness of shared barriers faced by fintech firms that require

deeper focus. This could be achieved through high-level conferences
and learning series, consortiums of practitioners, and communities
of practice involving both experts and market actors to build thecapacity of industry actors.

44

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

7.
CLOSING REMARKSThis study illuminates the significant potential of fintech firms tocontribute to women's financial inclusion and capture a vast, as yet
under-tapped, women’s market. The distinct gendered behavioral
differences of women, along with their unique needs and barriers,
underscore the necessity for fintech firms to offer differentiatedsolutions tailored to women. By doing so, fintech firms standto unlock the full potential of the women’s market—a valuable
customer segment characterized by greater loyalty, lower default
rates, and higher lifetime value.
The study underscores the pivotal role of ecosystem actors,
including investors, multilateral institutions, and incubators, inhastening the progress of fintech firms in strategically catering to
women. The opportunities identified by respondents encompass

a spectrum of strategies, including providing financial support,
offering non-financial support services, and actively participating inecosystem building initiatives.
While noteworthy progress has been made, substantial gaps
persist in effectively serving women customers. Fintech firms must
deepen their understanding of women's needs, cultivate marketspecific knowledge and leverage best practices to create value
propositions that resonate with women. Financial support and a
conducive environment are essential to encourage and facilitate
the development of such strategies and solutions by fintech
firms, and to advance women’s financial inclusion and economic
empowerment agendas.

﻿HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

45

ANNEX I:STUDY METHODOLOGYAND LIMITATIONS
Study Methodology
This study is based on findings from a survey of 114 fintech firms, complemented by in-depth discussions with 25 firms and supported
by secondary research on intentional practices in serving women, adopted by both traditional and digital FSPs.

SURVEY
Data were collected through a survey of senior staff andmanagement from 114 fintech firms in 17 in-scope countries. The
survey was conducted both online (web survey) and offline (in-person and telephone interviews) between November 2022 andFebruary 2023. Figure 10 shows the sample distribution by region,
maturity, and business model.

Figure 18. Distribution of survey sample across region, maturity, and business model

The study included a survey of 114 fintech firms across 17
countries and interviews with 25 of these firms
Survey sample
by region

Survey sample
by maturity*

Survey sample
by primary business model**Number (%) of respondents, n=114

Number (%) of respondents, n=114

Number (%) of respondents, n=114

europe and central asia
mena
east asia and pacific

5 (4%)
5 (4%)
11 (10%)south asia

19 (17%)

latin america
and carribean

20 (18%)sub-saharan africa

54 (47%)late-stage

26 (23%)

embedded financeotherdigital insurance
digital savings

3 (3%)
6 (5%)
7 (6%)
13 (11%)

growth-stage

44 (39%)digital payments

36 (32%)early-stage

44 (39%)digital lending

49 (43%)We alsoconducted
interviews
with 25ﬁntech ﬁrms
for further
deep divesNote: (*) Early-stage ﬁrms are those at the unfunded seed funding stage; growth-stage startups are those at the Series A–C funding stage; late-stage
startups are those at the Series D (and beyond) stage of funding. (**) Thirty-two of the responding ﬁrms identiﬁed lending as a secondary model. “Other”
business models refers to those used by nonﬁnancial ﬁrms (e.g., invoice management and accounting platforms) to oﬀer ﬁnancial services.

46

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONSThe study draws from 25 follow-up interviews with firms that
responded to the survey and demonstrated interest in additional
conversations. One-on-one conversations were conducted withthe leadership and management teams of firms implementing
varying degrees of intentional practices to serve women, to learn
from both leading and lagging examples. The study prioritized
maintaining a diversity of business models and geographic regions

for such discussions. The discussions focused on gaining a deep
understanding of the extent and variety of intentional practices
being adopted for serving women, key drivers, and barriers tothese practices, as well as the performance of women customers
reported in the survey. The discussions were also used to validate
the assumptions in the quantified business case in this study.

SECONDARY RESEARCH
A research framework was developed to delineate each study
objective and formulate granular research questions, facilitating
the evidence mapping. More than 50 secondary resources werereviewed, including academic and industry sources, research
papers, and systematic reviews on intentionality among both
digital and traditional FSPs in serving women. This was undertakenwith the aim of identifying existing evidence on the researchquestions and determining evidence gaps where this study could

provide most value. The research revealed numerous relevant
studies, but many research questions were addressed only throughqualitative evidence or case studies across various geographies,
highlighting the need for further, more quantitative exploration.
Annex I includes the research framework, evidence map, and key
highlights from the research.

Study Limitations
While the study draws on a sample larger than commonly seen
in other studies, the limitations of the sample nonetheless meanthat it cannot be assumed to be representative of the entire fintech
sector in the focus countries.
It is worth recognizing that the sample,•
forms only a small subset of fintech firms in the in-scopemarkets. The sample size of 114 represents less than 5%of total fintech firms estimated to be operating in focus
geographics.
•
is likely skewed toward firms intentional in serving women.
Given the nature of the study, framing of the survey, andthe types of questions asked, it is likely that fintech firms
undertaking more extensive practices for serving women
responded at higher rates. For instance, women compriseover 50% of senior management in 17% of fintech firms inthis sample (N=114), while in other global studies, women
typically make up 7–10% of fintech firm leadership, as
founders and board members.53

•

•

53

Khera et al., International Monetary Fund, Women in Fintech: As Leaders and Users, 2022

54

McKinsey, Fintech in Africa: The End of the Beginning, 2022

over-indexes on digital lenders. The study sought to focus
extensively on understanding the practices and performanceof digital credit providers. Therefore, the sample is not evenly
balanced across business models, with lenders representing
almost half of the study sample. In contrast, digital payment
providers are typically the dominant majority of fintech
firms, especially in some markets in Africa.54
is small and not uniformly distributed across markets. Given
the scope of 17 countries, each country does not have astatistically significant sample size to support country-levelinsights. Thus, the study clustered similar markets together
to create a meaningful sample size (>15 firms) and derivecontextual insights. The study still sought to include at least
five firms across most markets. Therefore, the sample size
from smaller fintech markets relative to the sample size frommature fintech markets in the study might not be reflectiveof the relative size of the fintech sector in these markets.

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH		

47

ANNEX II:RESEARCH FRAMEWORKAND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Research Framework and Evidence Gaps
This study was guided by the analytical framework presented below. A limited set of market surveys, as well as multiple case studies
across different geographies, provide early findings that are suitable for further investigation.

ARE DFS PROVIDERSGENDER INTENTIONALIN THEIR BUSINESS MODELS?
transformative
intentional
In what ways
are they genderintentional?

neutralaware

What are thedrivers of being
gender intentional?

Why are they notgender intentional?

aware
What sexdisaggregateddata iscollected?
How? How is
it used?

How do theytarget or
tailor products
and services,marketing,
distribution,deliveryfor women?

What additional
servicesdo they oﬀer
to address
genderedbarriers?

How dothey apply
gender lensinternallyin theorganization?

What business outcomes do gender intentional
DFS providers achieve from women customers
relative to their overall customer portfolio?

Do they lackability orcapacity to
be gender
intentional?
Why?

aware

neutralDo they lackmotivation
or incentive
to be genderintentional?
Why?

Do they lackthe awarenessto be genderintentional?
Why?

What business outcomes
do non-intentional DFS providers
achieve from women customers?

compareintentional &non-intentional
fintechs

What are the drivers
or best practices ofgender intentional providers?

How can the IFC
use this to inform
investment oradvisory support?

What arethe learnings forthe ecosystem?

What is the business casefor serving women
intentionally?

What are the areasof support needed?

How can the IFC
provide support?

What support
is neededfrom theecosystem?

HIGH EVIDENCE: Quantitative estimates from multi-country surveys
MEDIUM EVIDENCE: Quantitative or qualitative eidence from case studies
LOW EVIDENCE: Weak or no evidence48

HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

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Photo Credits
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CoverAlex Starnes / Unsplash, 2021		

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31

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Rodion Kutsaiev / Unsplash, 2021		

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Ryoji Iwata / Unsplash, 2017			

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Blake Wisz / Unsplash, 2019			

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