Gender Inclusive Access to Finance Checklist

The Investment Climate Reform Facility (ICR) published a gender inclusive access to finance checklist that has been designed to guide the development and implementation of gender-sensitive access to finance programmes for Women-owned Enterprises. It is divided into the following key areas: Design, Promotion, Delivery, and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E). Each section contains specific questions that can be answered with “Yes” or “No,” allowing for a quick and efficient assessment of the programme’s gender inclusivity at each stage.

Women’s economic empowerment is key to ensuring that women not only enjoy equal rights and liberties but also, that they are able to contribute to a nation’s socio-economic progress. Beyond the subject of social justice, women’s economic empowerment is also recognised as a critical driver of sustainable economic growth. When women are economically empowered, they contribute to poverty reduction, improved family well-being, and the overall development of communities and nations (UN Women, 2023).

The Nigerian MSME sector plays a pivotal role, contributing 46.31% of the GDP, 96.7% of all businesses, 6.7% of exports, and 87.9% of employment. Notably, 32.9% of these businesses are female owned (NBS/SMEDAN, 2022). To fully unlock Nigeria’s economic potential, it is essential to address gender inequalities that hinder growth and inclusivity.

Despite financial institutions reporting better loan recovery with women, there are still several barriers limiting the supply of finance to the MSME sector and the effective demand for it, particularly among female-led MSMEs.