Barriers
- Discriminatory laws and practices
- Lack of gender-sensitive legal frameworks/ labor regulations
- Barriers to obtaining official, state-issued documentation
- Uneven implementation of laws and practices
- Burdensome and costly regulations, policies, and procedures to start and operate business
- Poor government outreach and information dissemination
- Lack of information about legal and regulatory provisions
- Inadequate/biased workplace policies, con-ditions and practices
- Biased stereotypes of authority favoring men
- Low level of trust in public-facing bureaucrats
- Lack of inclusion, predictability, transparency, trust, and dialogue among stakeholders
- Low representation of women in formal institutions (e.g. government, support organizations, business organization, etc.)
- Low capacity of women ́s representative entities resulting in lack of participation and input into legal and regulatory decision-making
- Weak legal/regulatory protections for financial consumers
- Limited information and data on gender gaps in finance
- Women´s unequal ownership, access and administrative authority (e.g., property, inheritance, collateral)
- Gaps in the digital financial ecosystem including digital ID, digital signature, e-KYC, agent banking networks, etc.
- Lack of an enabling environment for technology, limiting women’s access to financial services and products
- High-risk perception of women borrowers(resulting in, e.g., higher interest rates, shorter repayment periods for women)
- Persistent focus on traditional collateral requirements (e.g., immovable property,credit history)
- Financial provider practices and products that do not meet women’s needs
- Permission of male family member required to conduct financial transactions
- Limited financial capability
- Fewer women who have bank accounts
- Women’s limited personal access to technology and related financial services
- Lack of women’s familiarity with technology used to access financial products and services
- Lack of gender-sensitive business-service ecosystem (e.g., biased trainers, mismatch between services offered and needs)
- Lack of incentives to acquire skills due to social norms and other restrictions
- Cost barriers to accessing training and technical assistance
- Inadequate skills and knowledge to start, run and expand a business - e.g., financial and technical literacy, business & soft skills, and sector information
- Lack of access to relevant business information due to restricted ability to participate in mentoring programs/networks
- Limited relevant education
- Limited knowledge of access to businessrelated technology tools and software
- Restricted mobility
- Business decisions constrained by male relatives
- Lagging legal and regulatory provisions (e.g.,digital payments, cross-border commerce, etc.)
- Inadequate input markets (land, labor, capital)
- Cost barriers (compliance, formalization, informal payments)
- Limited access to finance, inputs, tools, assets and collateral
- Inadequate access to and limited use of technology enablers
- Market-related information constraints (e.g.,re: input costs, prices, demand, etc.)
- Limited access to new customers
- Limited access to networks, (in-)formal information- sharing, and role models
- Concentration in less profitable, lower parts of the value chain
- Gender-based harassment in business transactions (e.g., buyers, sellers, suppliers, customs officials, etc.)
Selection | Potential Interventions | Technology Enabler applied in Intervention | ID/Link | Project Name & Summary | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Organize business plan competitions and entrepreneurship programs for WSMEs |
Awareness campaign on social media platforms, digital program application |
P151831 |
KENYA: Youth Employment and Opportunities project Component 1 includes technical skills training, business support services and Sub-component 2.1 includes business plan competition, and cash prizes. | ||||
Organize business plan competitions and entrepreneurship programs for WSMEs |
not applicable |
P167543 |
NIGER: Smart Villages for Rural Growth and Digital Inclusion project Sub-component 3.2.3. includes sub-grants of up to US$250,000 through a business competition plan for Fintech companies & startups. Sub-grants cover seed funding, operation costs, costs to pilot new digital financial & nonfinancial solutions for women and farmers. | ||||
Organize business plan competitions and entrepreneurship programs for WSMEs |
digital investment platform and marketing portal |
P146469 |
SENEGAL: Tourism and Enterprise Development project Component 2 includes trainings on business plan writing, multiple rounds of business plan competitions with cash prizes, and almost US$2m in grants for SMEs through the Senegal Market Access Facility. | ||||
Support the development of digital incubators, accelerators, and early- stage funding programs |
digital platforms |
P161317 |
KENYA: Industry and Entrepreneurship Project Component 1 includes online platform to connect business incubators, accelerators and technology boot camp providers with global expertise, international networks, and investors. | ||||
Support the development of digital incubators, accelerators, and early- stage funding programs |
technology innovation hubs, media outlets |
P170688 |
BANGLADESH: Private Investment & Digital Entrepreneurship Project Component 4 includes developing digital entrepreneurship & innovation hubs in technological universities to increase market entry and growth rates of digital startups and create a gender-inclusive culture for digital entrepreneurship. | ||||
Support the development of digital incubators, accelerators, and early- stage funding programs |
mobile applications |
P130891 |
MONGOLIA: Support for Accountable, Responsible, and Transparent Government project Subcomponent 2.3 includes an Apps competition to provide early-stage financing for development of innovative digital tools by WSMEs that increase the number of female-targeted solutions in government priority sectors. | ||||
Support the development of digital incubators, accelerators, and early- stage funding programs |
interactive program website, webinars, digital platform |
XL Africa |
AFRICA: XL Africa business accelerator for SMEs with digital products/services that offers webinars, global mentoring and angel investors platform. | ||||
Support the development of digital incubators, accelerators, and early- stage funding programs |
crowdfunding digital platform |
Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) |
KENYA: Climate Innovation Center project (KCIC -funded by WBG InfoDev) Crowdfund Investing Pilot to help entrepreneurs raise capital. | ||||
Leverage apprenticeships and on-the-job learning opportunities |
internet-based technical training |
P122764 |
ETHIOPIA: Women Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP) Component 2 includes technology training at technical, vocational colleges to enhance classroom learning, provide workshops, product development and on-the-job training. | ||||
Leverage apprenticeships and on-the-job learning opportunities |
digital and e-commerce platforms |
IFC Digital2Equal |
MULTI-REGION: IFC Digital2Equal matches women with participating private companies (AirBNB, Uber, Facebook) to learn how their online platforms function, as employee or provider of services or products. |