Location
Ghana
Topic
Access to Finance, Investment Policy, Women's Economic Empowerment
Beneficiary
Development Bank of Ghana
Status
Completed
Year
2023-2024
In Ghana, the last decade has seen major improvements to increasing women’s financial inclusion. According to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, formal account ownership has more than doubled, of which women’s account ownership now stands at 63% (previously 27%). However, the gender gap has doubled – moving from 6% to 11%. Interested to use more digital financial services, women in Ghana still face barriers to the formal financial system, lacking targeted products suitable for their businesses.
Committed to improving access to finance for women in Ghana, the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has signed up to the UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles and has recently been accepted as the 100th member of 2X Global. As part of DBG’s gender mainstreaming strategy and roadmap, it intends to step up its effort to achieve SDG 5 – Gender Equality.
The Gender Mainstreaming Accelerator Program improved the business environment in Ghana by fostering inclusivity and equality within the finance sector. The program fostered a collaborative environment, enabling stakeholders, both women and men, to engage in a conversation about gender equality and women’s financial empowerment. This inclusive approach brought forth a variety of perspectives and solutions, making everyone feel a part of the change. Moreover, the program’s focus on gender training expanded the internal capacity to leverage a wider range of skills and expertise with PFIs in particular. In addition, stakeholder engagement resulted in the development of policy recommendations for women’s financial empowerment in Ghana.
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