Rural women, perhaps more so than their urban counterparts, fulfill a wide range of roles in a household. They serve as the primary caregiver, both to children and the elderly and take responsibility for the family’s housing, healthcare and education as well. They play the role of farm hand for large crops while also tending their own small livestock (chickens for eggs, goats for milk and cheese).

These women may also have other income-generating activities such as running a small shop or making and selling food. Although their financial contributions to the household are important, women rarely perceive them as such; they describe their activities as simply part of being a housewife. However, these women are valuable, unserved potential clients for a bank.

Women’s World Banking concluded a three-year project in 2014 to develop financial products for rural women in Latin America. We partnered with three network members: Interfisa Banco (Paraguay), Fundación delamujer (Colombia), and Caja Arequipa (Peru), each of which saw a growth opportunity in serving this untapped market segment. While all of these institutions had experience offering loans to entrepreneurs, most had developed that expertise among an urban clientele and employed the same lending methodology to their rural clients. They found that rural repayment rates were poor, clients were leaving after their first loans and women made up a much smaller part of the portfolio than in urban markets. Based on our customer research we were able to modify loans to ensure that they were appropriate for financing women’s rural businesses—the right amount, with repayment dates that match income and without onerous collateral or co-signatory requirements. As a result, more than 43,000 new loans have been issued to women—half of whom were new clients for the banks. Together these women are using this $45 million of new capital to grow their businesses and contribute to the well-being of their families.

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Many of the barriers that unbanked women face will sound familiar—lack of decision-making power within their families, lack of education, lack of formal employment. We see these barriers to women's equality all around the world. However, two barriers to financial inclusion may be less obvious: time and distance. Take two examples:

1. A rural woman in Malawi needs to travel long distances to reach the nearest bank. The amount spent on bus fare as well as the time spent away from her work or family make it impractical to open a bank account and establish a safe place to save her money.

2. An urban woman in Nigeria can’t afford to take the time away from her busy market stall to visit a nearby bank branch. She doesn’t see the bank as being “for her” and faces great risk carrying her earnings home each night.

Women’s World Banking is working with two commercial banks to break down these barriers by delivering products through a new channel: digital technology. We worked with Diamond Bank in Nigeria to create BETA Savings, a savings account designed for women and men who run stalls in the open-air markets. Agents, knowns as BETA Friends, visit a client’s business to open accounts digitally and handle deposits and withdrawals using mobile technology. By the end of 2014, more than 154,000 accounts were opened, primarily from clients with no prior relationship with a formal financial institution.

In Malawi, NBS Bank worked with Women's World Banking to develop the Pafupi (meaning “close” in the local language of Chichewa) savings account, a digital account designed for low-income rural women with no previous access to a bank. Women can open accounts and make small deposits and withdrawals whenever they want at local shops with NBS Bank agents using mobile technology.

These digital savings products not only help women overcome time and distance barriers, they also offer a step toward economic empowerment. For many women, having a savings account is the first point of access to the formal economy. With digital technology, a woman, who may not have otherwise had access, can open a savings account in her own name. She can plan for her future and the future of her family, build a safety net for times of crisis, and even grow her business with access to loans and other offerings from the bank.

Monitoring and evaluating our work is fundamental to delivering on our mission. We are constantly studying the impact of our work on women’s financial inclusion at three levels:

The client. Are clients accessing financial products and services that meet their needs and improve their lives?

The financial institution. Are we developing commercially viable products that contribute to an institution’s financial sustainability and increasing its capacity to serve low-income women?

The industry. Are we fostering a greater understanding of the financial needs of low-income women, knowledge about how to serve this market well, and an evidence base demonstrating both the financial and social impact of serving low-income women?

Women’s World Banking’s Gender Performance Indicators are the first metrics to help financial institutions measure how well they are serving women. A select group of five indicators are used by our network institutions to measure their success in serving women clients, as well as promoting women leaders within their institutions.

We are also returning to institutions where we introduced products to assess the impact of those products. Four years after collaborating with Banco ADOPEM in the Dominican Republic to develop a youth savings program called the Mía account, Women’s World Banking returned to the bank to evaluate the impact of the program and assess lessons learned. Data gathered through this exercise informed our understanding of the keys to ensuring sustainability for a financial institution’s youth savings program, particularly those serving the low-income market:

1. Offer products for both youth and parents
2. Design products without dormancy fees so small balances can grow
3. Establish a retention plan to ensure youth stay with the bank
4. Invest in marketing and financial education
5. Ensure products are financially sustainable

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Beyond working with financial institutions to develop products for women, Women’s World Banking has a role to play in influencing others to advocate for the financial inclusion of women. We share our knowledge with our network, funders, partners and policymakers to effect change globally. We also look for ways to engage other partners in making progress toward banking more low-income women in four ways:

As conveners. Only 30 percent of women in sub-Saharan Africa have a bank account. The reasons are many and potential solutions abound. Women’s World Banking has convened 12 high-profile African leaders committed to increasing women’s participation in the formal financial sector to form the Africa Advisory Council. Council members are from diverse backgrounds, geographies and industries, highlighting the wide range of people and organizations it takes to work together to close the financial inclusion gap. Members serve as ambassadors for women’s financial inclusion issues within their personal and professional circles.

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By training mission-focused leaders. Serving low-income clients sustainably takes dedication and focus. Women’s World Banking has been training leaders of financial institutions to better serve women for more than a decade. Our current Leadership and Diversity for Innovation program helps financial institutions achieve their social and financial goals as they navigate ever-changing and competitive environments. In 2014 we trained senior managers in Nigeria, Bolivia and Colombia and held our signature Women in Leadership Program for high-potential women in Latin America.

As active shareholders. Financial institutions need capital from investors who understand that investing in “unbanked” women can provide both social and financial returns. Women’s World Banking Capital Partners, launched in 2012, is a $50 million private equity limited partnership that invests directly in women-focused financial institutions, providing much-needed capital for growth and product expansion, as well as strategic guidance on serving the women’s market.

As thought leaders. Women’s World Banking was recognized by The Guardian as one of the top 10 Twitter accounts to follow for financial inclusion. In 2014, Women's World Banking participated in women-focused initiatives of the World Economic Forum, the G20, the Better Than Cash Alliance and many other collaborations. Our staff members were featured speakers at high-profile events and organizations around the world, including the UN Women’s EmpowerWomen.org, Trust Women Conference, the Council on Foreign Relations, Mobile Money Americas, the Institute of International Finance, and the Clinton Global Initiative. In November 2015, we will convene our network members, industry leaders and allies from around the world—join us in Berlin for our Making Finance Work for Women Summit!