This gender inclusive access to finance checklist 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.
Female entrepreneurs in the MSME sector generally lag behind their male counterparts due to societal and cultural norms, poor capacity development, lack of workplace support structures and unsupportive government policies. These factors hinder their access to essential resources, including finance, leading to men-owned enterprises consistently outperforming those owned by women. 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.