Access to Finance: Challenges Facing Rural Women in Sub-Saharan Africa

1. Access to Finance: Challenges Facing Rural Women in Sub-Saharan Africa European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) European Microfinance Week 2009 November 24th – November 27th Presenter: Elizabeth Eilor, Gender Consultant

2. Women’s World BankingMicrofinance and Gender in Sub-Saharan Africa The Gender Context • Persistent gender inequalities in the areas of: • Education – high literacy rates • Agriculture – proceeds from sale of outputs not benefitting women • Workload – juggling numerous responsibilities (in and out of home) • Resources – lack of access to productive resources, such as land, seeds, fertilizers, farm machinery 2

3. Distribution of the labor force by gender and occupational category Women’s World BankingMicrofinance and Gender in Sub-Saharan Africa The Gender Context (Example: Rwanda) 3

4. Workload Distribution - Heavy workload requires juggling business with family priorities, which is challenging Women’s World BankingMicrofinance and Gender in Sub-Saharan Africa The Gender Context (Example: Tanzania) 4

5. Role of Women in the Economic Arena Agriculture (Example: Tanzania) Un-paid Work Example: (Uganda) Women’s World BankingMicrofinance and Gender in Sub-Saharan Africa The Gender Context 5

6. Women’s World BankingMicrofinance and Gender in Sub-Saharan Africa The Gender Context Banking Profile of Women and Men (Example: Tanzania) This is a common situation in sub-Saharan communities.

7. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda The Research Objectives • Understand current usage and satisfaction with UFT’s existing rural loan product, including product and service delivery mechanisms. • Understand which attributes of a rural loan are most important to clients in order to refine the existing loan product. • Assess the broader competitive environment from the clients’ perspective—informal and formal finance mechanisms. • Understand the perception of UFT’s lending processes, staff interaction, and branch experience. GOAL= Identify approaches to ensure that low-income women in rural areas obtain access to and have increased control over the use of microcredit loans.

8. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda The Research Methodology • Integral analysis of all income-generating activities within the household unit—including immediate and extended family. • Evaluation of the intra-household dynamics, family composition and roles and responsibilities of men and women, to identify key drivers and/or barriers to household income growth (farm and non-farm). • Assessment of the unique needs and challenges faced by low-income women entrepreneurs in rural households. Deeper understanding of the market

9. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda Women Customers The likelihood that a woman living in a rural household in Western Uganda is involved in an independent income-generating activity depends in part on her marital status and the role she plays in the family’s business activity (namely, the family farm). Marital Status Married Unmarried – widow, separated Independent business, often forced out of economic necessity Contributor to family business, much less likely to have her own income-generating activity Farm as Percentage of Total Family Income Primary Supplemental If the husband has another business, the wife plays a more significant supervisory role on the farm, leaving her less free time to engage in other activities. If the husband runs the farm full-time, the wife plays the role of a worker, having less authority but she may have time to manage other activities. 9

10. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda Men Customers All of the men in our research population were married heads of households, and most of them had medium-sized farms, which for the purposes of the research was defined as having up to 50 hectares of cultivated matoke or 25 cattle for dairy. Many of the men interviewed had additional income-generating activities, both on and off the farm. Other Farming Activities (sample) • animals – pigs, goats, chickens, beef cattle • other crops – pineapples, cassava, beans, maize • nursery (trees) Non-Farming Activities (sample) • home production of goods (makes chairs) • retail shops (cellphones) • salaried worker (accountant, civil engineer) 10

11. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda Theme Findings Implications Traditional gender roles are prevalent, regardless of level of education and/or income man = head of household, financial provider, decision maker woman = homemaker, helper, increasingly expected to contribute financially. Many women will require credit products suitable for income-generating rather than growth-oriented businesses Roles and responsibilities of men and women in the household Access and control over financial resources In most households, men are the final decision-makers on financial and business matters. Women are usually able to control income (if available) from smaller businesses. Loan guarantees / collateral should be commensurate with the size of the loan (e.g., small loans should not require land title) Land ownership Land and land title are for the most part passed down to men from their fathers, and are the means by which a majority of men are able to start their own farms. Mobility and social networks Men take responsibility for activities that require mobility outside the home. Women are expected to work within the household, movement outside is limited (primarily for religious services). Marketing and outreach must reach both men AND women customers 11

12. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda The Way Forward—Changing Mindsets • Align the institution around the value and importance of targeting low-income women in rural areas as a unique customer segment • Build the internal capacity of the institution’s staff to effectively serve women • Develop gender-responsive products and services • Conduct gender-responsive training of staff, particularly those that have regular customer interactions (loan officers, tellers, etc.) on how to better serve women customers • Develop marketing, branding and customer care initiatives that are designed to empower and inspire women customers by building their knowledge and confidence levels 12

13. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda The Way Forward—Changing Mindsets • Complement loans with business and financial management training for women • Build the productive capacities of women in sub-Saharan Africa so as to enable them to build their capital base and profit • Increase policy advocacy for gender-related issues in microfinance • Develop a women’s banking option at the regional and/or country level 13

14. Women’s World BankingGender Research in Western Rural Uganda THANK YOU! 14