Empowering Women through Financial Inclusion: Measuring Our Impact, 18th Microcredit Summit, Abu Dhabi UAE, March 14-17, 2016

1. 1
Workshop
18th Microcredit Summit
titled
“Frontier Innovations in Financial Inclusion”
Empowering Women through Financial Inclusion: Measuring our Impact
14-17 March, 2016
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Soha Soliman
SFD Managing Director
&
President of the Arab Union for Small Enterprises

2. According to the International Monetary Fund in 2013:
 The Arab region still has one of the lowest levels in the
world in terms of financial inclusion, as only 18% of the
population in the region have accounts with financial
institutions, this percentage drops to 13% in women.
 There is a marked increase in the total, in the accounts
ownership for both males and females between 2011
and 2014 in most Arab states except the states of
Jordan and Kuwait.
 On the opposite side, financial inclusion records low
proportions in Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt, at about 6%, 11%
and 14%, respectively.
2

3.  Financial inclusion is much needed for women as it helps in
increasing amount of regular savings along with enabling women to
pay for micro insurance and obtain credit. It also helps in increasing
income from employment and micro enterprise, usage of
mainstream banking services that offer appropriate designed
products and service.
 According to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in every region, more
women have an account now than before. Worldwide, account
penetration among women rose from 47 percent in 2011 to 58
percent in 2014.
 Women are making progress – but they are still under served and
the gap has not narrowed. Globally, 1.1 billion women have no
access to the financial system, and there is a persistent 7
percentage point gender gap in account ownership globally; it’s 9
percentage points in developing countries. Both figures are
unchanged from 2011. However, in Egypt, women are half as likely
as men to have an account.
3

4.  There are numerous causes for the exclusion, such as:
1. Behavior that makes potential customers averse to
financial products
2. Cultural Norms that prevent people from gaining
access to products;
3. Regulations that prohibit products, services and
practices that would enhance inclusion; and more.
4

5. Managing money is a key part of everyone’s lives. Poor people
everywhere are borrowing and saving in different ways for
different purposes, sending and receiving money and trying to
protect themselves against financial shocks. Financial
institutions can play a vital role in this. An inclusive financial
system is one in which rules and financial institutions are
responsive to the needs of the poor, helping them to use money
more productively and to develop financial security.
Access to responsibly delivered financial services means that
people can:
 save money safely, with less risk of loss through fire, theft,
fraud, etc.;
 send and receive money securely;
 borrow for consumption or investment purposes based on an
understanding of pricing, terms and conditions;
 insure against risk.
5

6. Egypt is ranked
136 from
145countries in
Global Gender Gap
Index 2015.
6
6

7. • Men : 76%
• Women : 27%
Participation in
Workforce
• Women 21.3%
(double the rate of men 2.3 times)Unemployment Rate
• Men 23.7%
• Women 33.2%Fragile Employment
• Women (less than men by 20-40%
Wage Gap
7

8. Creating jobs
and reducing
unemploymentMicro
Enterprise
Development
Enterprise
Development
Community &
Infrastructure
Development
8

9. Established by a Presidential Decree in
1991 as a social safety net mechanism to
mitigate the effects of the Economic
Reform and Structural Adjustment.
SFD is headed by the Prime Minister and
managed by a Technical Secretariat of
Developmental Expe.
The Fund seeks to work on job creation
through Micro, Small enterprise development,
Community development projects, and Labor-
intensive Public works.
Coordination with the concerned
authorities for small projects to develop
the necessary policies to develop them
according to the law of small enterprises
No. 141 for the year 2004.
SFD operates through a network of regional
offices scattered on the level of the
governorates with a total of 31 offices, in
addition to the unites of one-stop shop OSS
as well as NGOs with the number of 431 for
micro credit projects and number of 650
NGOs for Community Development and in
addition to the number of 13 banks with
about 2800 branch .
9

10. Grants to Governorates and
Ministries, to implement Labor
intensive public works and
community development projects
through NGOs, and small
contractors, aiming at providing
seasonal job opportunities
Financial
Delivery
Mechanisms
Grants Loans
Lending to MSEs through
Banks, NGOs , and
Companies (90% of
Portfolio)
Direct Lending to Small
Enterprises through SFD
ROs (10% of Portfolio)
1
2 3 4
5
Venture
Capital
El-Morabaha –
Islamic Product Overdraft
Machinery &
Equipment's Purchase
Working
Capital
Franchise
System
6
Financial
Leasing
7
10

11. Business
Development
• One Stop Shops
• Marketing and Exhibitions support
• Incubators
Product
Development
•Industrial and Technical support
•Services Enterprise Development
Entrepreneur
ship
• Partnership agreements
• Training
• Awareness
* For start-ups and existing micro and small enterprises’
11

12. Promotion of Gender Equality and challenging the roles and
stereotypes that lead to gender discrimination and unequal
relations between women and men. While emphasizing
women empowerment at all levels, and build their capacity
to take decisions and enhance their access to resources and
management of services and programs with the help of the
Social Fund for Development.
1. Integration of the principle of equality on the basis of gender
in all programs and activities.
2. Work against all norms that lead to gender discrimination.
3. Ensure the empowerment of women at all levels and build
their capacity in decision making process.
4. Enhance the awareness of women on the access and
management of resources.
5. Work with development partners in order to develop tailored
products targeted to women. 12

13. The total number of projects for women 4390 projects represent 23% of
the total number of beneficiaries during the period and the total funding
for women are about 504.2 million pounds.
Lower
Egypt
40
%
Urban
11%
Upper
Egypt
42%
Border
7%
Number of small enterprises
owned by women by geographic
distribution in 2015
Industrial
12%
Trade
69%
others
1%
Services
10%
Animal
8%
Amount disbursed to small enterprises
owned by women by type of activity
in 2015
13

14. Women portfolio in SFD
The number of projects that women had are 83,417 projects represent
44% of the total number of beneficiaries during the period and the total
funding for women are about 513.2 million pounds.
Industrial
3.2%
Trade
70.6 %
others
0.4 %
Service
7.5 %
Animal
18.3%
Amount disbursed to micro enterprises
owned by women by type of activity
In 2015
Lower
Egypt
40%
Urban
2%Upper Egypt
57%
Border
1%
Number of micro enterprises owned by
women by The outgoing Female for small
projects Geographically dispersed during the
period in 2015
14

15. Non-Financial Services: in 2015
• 90% in primary health
care.
• 60% to 70% in literacy
classes (education).
• 45% in training-for-
employment.
• 43% of the total participants in exhibitions.
• 33% of the total services provided through one-stop shop
units in the governorates.
• 38% marketing opportunity.
• 16% barcode service.
• 81% of women beneficiaries received Entrepreneurship
trainings which is equivalent to 4383 women.
Women in the Social Fund of Development
15

16.  Business women Support Program in
cooperation with the (EBRD) funded
from MENA transition fund (promotion
of women entrepreneurship).
 Project “Women Citizenship Initiative” in
cooperation with UNWOMEN, in remote
areas to enable them to exercise their
citizenship rights and responsibilities
including voting, cashing pensions,
obtaining health care and accessing
education services and SFD services.
 A Cooperation with the International
Labour Organization through the
adoption of certified trainers training
methodology (WEGROW) and
methodology (GETAHEAD).
Examples of other initiatives aimed at women empowerment
16

17.  (One Village, One Product) , a project
to improve the ways of life in
collaboration with UNWOMEN.
 Young women Employment Project
part of mother and child health care
initiatives in collaboration with the
World Bank and the EU.
 Young women Employment , a project
Literacy and adult education
campaigns in cooperation with the
World Bank and the EU.
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