Explore the latest global and regional insights from Women’s World Banking’s work in policy, leadership, women’s entrepreneurship, gender lens investing, and more.
A good leader is humble, human, honest, funny and a hard worker. An enthusiastic delegation from Women’s World Banking attended the 17th Annual Wharton Leadership Conference on June 19, entitled “Rising Up to Leadership”. As is always true of this incredible annual event, the conference speakers offered their reflections on
I’m so excited to introduce our new logo and website today! For more than 35 years, we have been the authoritative resource for the needs of low-income women. In the evolution of our work, we are serving more women than ever before with the essential tools and resources that allow
The gender performance indicators help financial institutions determine whether they are serving women well, and with what outcomes.
How can financial institutions encourage their clients to engage more fully with the formal financial system?
When a financial institution reaches out to us and tells us they are starting to see the value of serving low-income women but don’t know how to begin, we are of course pleased that institutions are starting to recognize what Women’s World Banking has known for more than 30 years.
Equity Bank was awarded “the Best Bank in East Africa” in 2013 and was a nominee for “African Bank of the Year” at the 7th African Banker Awards which took place during the Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank.
Sarah Buitoni, Senior Associate at Women’s World Banking’s Center for Microfinance Leadership will be speaking at the Microfinance Club of New York’s event “Client Centric Approaches to Microfinance Product Design.”
Event description:
Microfinance practitioners attend numerous training, workshops, exchanges, and conferences during the year. The skills and theories learned are invaluable for the participants of such events who normally leave these programs re-energized and full of ideas they want to implement in their organization and toward modifying their own management styles. However, at times it is difficult to get buy-in from others in the organization, and the concepts or organization development goals are often forgotten and never put into practice.
We are proud to announce that our founder Michaela Walsh is being honored by the Women’s Bond Club as the 2013 recipient of the distinguished Isabel Benham Award. Through its Isabel Benham Award, the Women’s Bond Club recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions in improving the lives of women.
Current President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was the recipient of the award in 2009.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian will be speaking at the Institute of International Education’s book launch event on Tuesday, May 7 at 5:30pm. The event will be held at the IIE’s offices at 809 United Nations Plaza. Mary Ellen contributed to the book, “Women in the Global Economy: Leading Social Change.” The book explores the landscape of women’s participation in the economy and the key role that women play in fueling economic growth by creating stable societies.
Think Business Banking Awards, Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT-DTM) also won a special award for “Deposit Taking Micro Finance Institutions in Kenya.”
Equity Bank (Kenya) won three awards in the 8th edition of Think Business Banking Awards 2013.
Our savings work with Banco ADOPEM, our network member in the Dominican Republica, was featured in a local media outlet, Informate Diario, for promoting a savings culture to low-income communities in outlying areas.
What empowerment means to a woman is complex. At Women’s World Banking, we focus on economic empowerment because we know that the ability to earn an income is linked to the ability to make decisions about how household money is allocated.
Ujjivan was invited for the Pacific Regional Forum held at Auckland, New Zealand from February 28 to March 1, 2013 to share best practices in building an organizational culture that values human capital and creative ways of building capacity in a resource-constrained environment.
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April 18, 2013 Program 2:00 – 4:30 PM Cocktails 4:30 – 6:00 PM Baker & McKenzie LLP |
Click here to register! |
For more information please contact Katherine Chapman at katherine.chapman@bakermckenzie.com or +1 212 626 4595.
Women’s World Banking is a network of 39 financial companies across 28 countries that focus solely on women. Recognising the poor access women have to credit and savings instruments, WWB works to level the playing field. Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of WWB, talks to TOI-CREST about why women need to treated
The Citi Foundation and Women’s World Banking team up to expand the Women in Leadership Program Women have played a critical role since the early days of microfinance, both in the founding of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and as a substantial portion of the client base. In recent years, as the
In 2012, Women’s World Banking turned to understanding women’s financial barriers and opportunities in the Pacific Islands for the first time with support from the New Zealand Aid Programme.
In a recent project we worked with our network member Microfund for Women (MFW, Jordan) to launch Ri’aya (The Caregiver Policy). Ri’aya is a unique micro‐health insurance product that provides a cash benefit after hospitalization to help with costs associated with loss of business, medical expenses, transportation and other household needs.
Research has shown that healthcare costs often exert the most financial pressure on poor families. Given the negative impact a health emergency can have, microinsurance has tremendous potential to provide security and stability to a poor household.
Project funder Credit Suisse featured Mucho Corazon, our social communications projects in Mexico in partnership with PCI Media Impact, on their corporate responsibility page.
Senior Associate at the Center for Microfinance Leadership Sarah Buitoni will be speaking on the Social Enterprise Panel together with Leslie Puth of ACCION and Marianna Tu of New York Needs You.
Women’s World Banking is proud to co-present GOING BEYOND BUSINESS Opportunities and challenges in microinsurance
In January, Women’s World Banking joined its partners in the Microfinance CEO Working Group to announce its support for the Smart Campaign Client Protection Certification Program – a groundbreaking new effort that seeks to ensure that microfinance institutions keep clients at the center of their work.
Many participants in our research in Cairo described Facebook as the real reason behind the Revolution. Facebook is well known by both Egyptian men and women, with many accessing the site through their mobile phones.
Microfinance has been operating in Egypt since the 90’s; however this has not created a market of savvy borrowers. Through our market research we found that the façade of interest-free Islamic loans has created a lack of clarity around interest rates and compounded the issue of low financial literacy among men
This toolkit will allow microfinance institutions to conduct a gender-focused self-assessment of their recruitment, retention and promotion of women staff.
Women’s World Banking wishes you and your loved ones a very happy New Year!
Women’s World Banking’s Leadership Program held in October 2012 was featured in the Dutch banking publication Bank | Wereld.
The total global population of girls ages 10 to 24 is expected to peak in the next decade. According to market research conducted by Women’s World Banking, girls as young as 10 years old regularly accumulate money, actively manage it and want a safe place to save it. Ana Laura lives in a low-income
Women’s World Banking contributed to case studies to this European Microfinance Platform publication on successful low-income youth financial services programs.
This Cash Management Toolkit is part of a suite of practitioner guides and tools developed by Women’s World Banking for use by microfinance institutions (MFIs). It integrates closely with the Tool for Developing a Financial Risk Management Policy (Women’s World Banking, 2005) and expands on the fundamental guidance regarding liquidity risk management provided there. Cash Management includes all activities related to the efficient planning, procurement, investment and control of cash in a financial institution.
Women’s World Banking’s Excellence in Leadership Award recognizes a financial institution within the Women’s World Banking’s network.
Women’s World Banking is thrilled to announce that Dr. Jennifer Riria, chair of Women’s World Banking, Group Chief Executive of Kenya Women Holding Company Ltd (KWH) and a board member of network member and KWH subsidiary Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) was awarded one of the ten Ford Foundation Champions of Democracy Award in Nairobi on November 13, 2012.
A summary of Microfinance Opportunities’ impact assessment study of our program, “Savings and Financial Education for Girls in Mongolia.”
Can you imagine if the only product that your bank offered you was a loan? Or trying to live without a bank account and having to conduct every payment with cash? Or seeing your entire business and all the assets you had painstakingly accumulated jeopardized by the costs of caring for a sick child?
More than 1.3 billion people globally live in poverty; the majority of them are women. The United Nations International Labour Office reports that women face substantially lower employment rates, have very little control over property and resources, are more prone to working in the informal sector with lower earnings.
This year, the first year of our current three-year strategic plan, was a year of innovation for WWB. Central to this strategy is a cycle of market research, piloting new products and then learning from the pilots to scale these products to new markets.Throughout this report, we will provide examples of work in each of these phases.
Women’s World Banking worked with Banco ADOPEM to create a soap opera to help teach women how to save. This guide takes trainers through a step-by-step process of the classroom education component.
If we add another solution to the mix, women have an even better chance to move from oppression to opportunity — economic empowerment. If women are to have a voice in the direction of their lives, they need basic financial services, including savings and insurance.
As the microfinance industry continues to shift its focus into understanding client’s needs and more effectively targeting specific segments, it is essential for management to understand an institution’s performance based on data.
On May 30, 2012, Women’s World Banking (WWB) and network member Interfisa Financiera celebrated the launch of NdeVale, a new loan product targeted at Paraguay’s rural women population. NdeVale was developed so that it can be issued to all clients who have a income-generating activity, with minimal documentation requirements and flexible collateral and duration. Through market research, we knew that collateral was a concern for women as assets, particularly property, are traditionally owned by men.
‘It all started at the world conference of the international women’s year in Mexico City in 1975. There I met with Esther Afua Ocloo from Ghana. She shared her stories about the position of market women in the capital city Accra and their need for economic empowerment.’
From April 16-20th, the WWB Center for Microfinance Leadership welcomed senior leaders in Philadelphia, USA for the 4th Annual Advanced Leadership Program. Participants hailed from 22 institutions in 19 different countries, representing all regions of the world.
A growing chorus of voices is calling for a shift away from cash-based economies in the developing world. For governments, non-governmental organizations and companies focused on expanding financial access to the underserved, it is fast becoming a top priority. Not only is it too costly and unsustainable to reach people
The World Jurist Association has the pleasure to invite you to join our members and other legal professionals from around the world at our DC 2012 conference! Law and Technology: Innovation in the Digital Age, to be held on April 22-24, 2012 in Washington, DC USA.
Microlumbia Fund is a 501(c)3 organization run by Columbia Business School (CBS) students that provides growing microfinance institutions with pro-bono consulting services and debt capital while stimulating interest in the field among a new generation of future business leaders. Our mission is to help alleviate global poverty by providing the CBS community the means and opportunities to become lifelong contributors to the field of microfinance. For CBS students, we offer education, investment management and consulting opportunities.
View more photos of the Center for Microfinance Leadership in Morocco :
“…I first heard Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking, in action while listening to NPR’s coverage of the recent controversy that has erupted over reports that the presence of women in senior roles was a contributing factor to the banking crash. Iskenderian was giving The Takeaway hosts Celeste Headlee and John Hockenberry an earful on what’s wrong with the media spin on new research by Germany’s central bank on the impact women directors are having on previously all-male boards of financial institutions…”
“Can you imagine if the only product that your bank offered you was a loan?
As part of the Milken Institute 2012 Global Conference, Mary Ellen Iskenderian will participate in a session called “Global Banking Regulation,” currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 1 from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m.
This year’s Milken Institute Global Conference will be held from April 29- May 2 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. A capacity crowd of 3,000 senior executives from more than 50 countries representing finance, business, government and the nonprofit world (including academia) is expected.
“…But the lesson that I’ve learned, and what I really, I sort of regret having missed so many years of my life not knowing this, was just how absolutely central the role of women is to financial stability, to household stability. If kids are going to get to school and stay in school and have food to eat while they’re there and remain healthy while they’re there, it’s because the women are going to make that happen. And I had not made that connection before coming to Women’s World Banking. Directed / Produced by Jonathan Fowler & Elizabeth Rodd”
WWB hosted its fourth Women in Leadership Exchange from February 20 to 23, 2012. Nine graduates of WWB’s Women in Leadership Program from seven institutions in seven countries participated in the four-day Exchange in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco. Al Amana microfinance, a leading Moroccan microfinance institution and member of the WWB network, acted as local co-host and was one of the sites visited during the Exchange.
” ICRW: How does Women’s World Banking approach microfinance and why focus on women?
Dear friends,
One of my favorite parts about being the CEO of a global microfinance network is the opportunity to travel the world, visiting WWB network members and observing, first-hand, the impact that access to financial services can have on the lives of women and girls. I recently had the pleasure of leading a field visit to Banco ADOPEM in the Dominican Republic with four members of the WWB Board.
On Friday, March 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the ARS has organized a high-level panel event with the Armenia’s Permanent Mission to the UN and Ambassador Garen Nazarian. Along with Mary Ellen Iskenderian, the CEO of Women’s World Banking, and Meryl Frank, president and CEO of Makeda Global, Nazarian will discuss “From Empowerment to Sustainability: Financing, Health, and Participation for Rural Women.” Killian will represent the ARS and present the organization’s decades-long efforts in advancing rural women in Armenia and the diaspora.
Join the 2012 inaugural event highlighting David Roodman and his new book Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance. This book has been described as “..the most complete investigation ever into the sources and consequences of microfinance.”
Join ICRW March 7 for Read More »
“The year 2012 is the UN year of cooperatives. After a roller-coaster year for microfinance—where markets were a solution, then markets created a problem, a state reigning in the markets while being a player—it is a good time to reflect on where it started and where it thrives. We have three examples and a few thoughts. These institutions did not exist for profits, not scale, just relevance to their customers.
By Ryan Newton February 1, 2012 Ana Laura opened her first savings account at Banco ADOPEM in the Dominican Republic in April 2011. She closely monitors the money she has in her account, keeping track of the number and size of deposits she makes. Ana Laura recognizes that the bank not only provides more
“Ana Laura opened her first savings account at Banco ADOPEM in the Dominican Republic in April 2011. She closely monitors the money she has in her account, keeping track of the number and size of deposits she makes. Ana Laura recognizes that the bank not only provides more security than keeping her money at home, but she is also less tempted to spend it.
By Mary Ellen Iskenderian
Read More »
“…Learn how microfinance creates miracles. “When women are economically empowered, they’re more likely than men to put money back into the family and spend on things like education for their kids, health care for the whole family, and improving their housing,” says Mary Ellen Iskenderian, the president of Women’s World Banking, an organization that helps low-income women entrepreneurs in 27 countries. Microfinance gives these women access to capital they’d never qualify for at traditional banks…”
In less than 40 years, microfinance has spread around the world, today providing access to credit and other financial services to more than 205 million poor clients,1 most of whom were previously ignored by mainstream financial institutions. From modest roots, microfinance has built a global network of institutions dedicated to serving low-income people. It has transformed our understanding about the power of opportunity.
“As CEO of a global microfinance network I spent much of 2010 answering questions about the crisis in India and advocating for the continued relevance of microfinance as a model. This year’s challenges, however, gave me an opportunity to talk about the essential role of transparency and good governance and the importance of building on a deep understanding of client needs to tailoring products to fit those needs.
“…A strong philanthropist leader in her own right, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking, said she believes that individual leaders can affect not only the lives of others, but also the world at large.
“In coming to Women’s World Banking, I’d say, the greatest privilege is that I meet — literally, daily — women who are clients, who are leaders of our institutions, founders of our organizations, whose lives, if left to their own devices, would have gone in a very, very different path,” Iskenderian said…”
WWB has a vision that one day all women will have access to a secure financial future for themselves and their families. We work with our 39 network member institutions, including CECM in Burundi, to help them create sustainable financial solutions for women and girls. Microfinance is about much more than credit, and has the capacity to help more than entrepreneurs. Our network reaches more than 26 million clients, 80 percent of whom are women. The key economic priorities for poor women continue to be health care, the education of their children, and housing.
Microfinance as an industry is still quite young, and when it comes to addressing institutional support for gender diversity, the efforts are nascent. Much has been learned—both about what has worked and what has failed—in the corporate world about engaging women professionals. The question to the microfinance industry is how well can we take advantage of these inroads, these tested efforts and do even better at building inclusive institutions?
Although 2010 was a year of unprecedented growth in microfinance, it was also a year of considerable introspection as the industry grappled with questions of profitability, transparency and impact. While some of these questions were overdue, they prompted many to re-examine their beliefs about how microfinance can and should adapt and reform. It also forced the realization that the close knowledge of our clients’ lives and financial needs—traditionally a hallmark of microfinance—may have become secondary
to the push for greater numbers of clients.
On April 7th and 8th, WWB hosted the 9th annual Women’s World Banking and the Capital Markets Conference. This conference is the leading industry event of its kind, bringing together expert practitioners from the mainstream financial sector and the microfinance industry, and providing a forum for knowledge exchange.
On March 21, 2011, Women’s World Banking held its annual Global Dinner Celebration at Capitale in New York City. We were delighted by the confluence of over 400 men and women from different corners of the world who came together to celebrate women entrepreneurs and to support financial inclusion for the poor.
WWB’s annual dinner honors women who have championed and advanced the cause of empowering women.
WWB’s commitment to supporting principled leaders at the helm of gender diverse microfinance providers dates to its establishment as a global network in 1979. Today the WWB network includes some of the most celebrated leaders in the industry, representing a global commitment to responsive, sustainable microfinance. As we work with institutions to create innovative products that meet the needs of women we are increasingly convinced that leadership commitment is crucial to the success of growing the institution
Using Uganda as a case study, Women’s World Banking set out to better understand the needs of rural women and to use the research and lessons learned there to make recommendations on the design and delivery of microfinance products within Uganda and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
While world poverty has decreased over recent years, we still live in a world where economic justice has not been achieved. Almost two thirds of the world’s people live without the security of knowing that they can earn enough to sustain themselves and their families.
This means they are unable to do the things we take for granted – like sending their kids to school, being able to go to a doctor, having a job, or even having access to land to grow food. The poorest of the poor (just under 1 billion) don’t even know where their next meal is coming from.
A topical discussion with leading experts on the development and impacts of microfinance around the world. Chaired by Lori Bittner, a director in Deloitte Consulting LLP focused on emerging markets, the event will feature a panel discussion among experts from both the commercial and non-profit sectors.
Microfinance is an area of considerable research and attention in the economic development community. The Deloitte Northeast International Business Resource Group (IBRG) hopes to deepen understanding of microfinance and engage Deloitte professionals and guests by offering:
WWB network member enda in Tunisia, which has 60 offices nationally, continues to operate amid a change in government that has left the country in an uneasy limbo. Michael Cracknell, co-director of enda, wrote “We are naturally concerned for our operations and our staff, and especially our clients. I learned yesterday that at least three have died. But we are trying to keep our operations working since the clients need us more now than before, especially some whose businesses have been damaged.
This paper is a case study of how one institution, ADOPEM (Dominican Republic), fared post-transformation, examining both the benefits and challenges of transforming.
The year 2009 began with intense speculation about how the microfinance industry would weather the financial crisis, with even seasoned industry leaders questioning microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) ability to cope with dramatic shifts in portfolio quality, growth rates and liquidity. Now, with the worst of the financial crisis behind us, we can clearly see that while the microfinance industry generally experienced lower profitability and portfolio quality, it also demonstrated remarkable resilience.
The year 2008 was one of historic change and dynamic accomplishment. Yet, when retrospectives of 2008 are written, they will undoubtedly center on the warning signs and fourth-quarter collapse of the global financial system. Similarly, the microfinance sector reflected this dual sense of opportunity and crisis in 2008. More than $11 billion of capital flowed into the sector, allowing providers to reach more than 155 million clients with a broader array of products and through a more diverse set of channels.
The report illustrates the accomplishments of WWB and our network members, united in our mission of improving the economic access and power of poor women microentrepreneurs, and thereby improving livelihoods and creating sustainable change.
2007 was an exciting and successful year for WWB. Some key accomplishments of our network members worth noting are:
The report illustrates the accomplishments of WWB and our network members for 2006, united in our mission of improving the economic access and power of poor women microentrepreneurs, and thereby improving livelihoods and creating sustainable change.
The results combined with the individual successes of our network members illustrate that together we are making a difference in the lives of millions of poor people worldwide.
This report shares several years of WWB’s hands-on experience and lessons learned in the use of competency-based human resource systems and creates awareness among microfinance institutions of the importance of building organizational capability.
Something decidedly new is on the horizon in Africa since the mid-1990s. Many African economies appear to have turned the corner and have moved towards a path of faster and steadier economic growth. Their performance between 1995 and 2005 has reversed the economic collapses that marked the period from 1975 to 1985, and the stagnation that was rife between 1985 and 1995. Moreover, per capita income is now also increasing in tandem with other developing countries.
Providing credit to poor women can encourage the financial stability and economic progress of low-income households. But in Morocco as in many countries, gender-based constraints, burdens and responsibilities mean that more than credit is necessary if women are to make progress women in lifting their families out of poverty.
The Toolkit for Developing a Financial Risk Management (FRM) Policy is the leading practical, step-by-step guide that assists MFIs in developing effective risk management strategies and policies.
“Transforming the Landscape of Leadership in Microfinance: Maintaining the Focus on Women” introduces Women’s World Banking’s new methodology for helping MFIs support gender diversity at all levels of their institution.
This toolkit gives MFI managers the theoretical understanding and practical examples to conduct an equity valuation of their institutions.
“Microinsurance that Works for Women: Making Microinsurance Programs Gender-Sensitive” introduces the ground-breaking work that Women’s World Banking has done on developing microinsurance programs tailored to the unique needs of women.
This paper provides an overview of the process by which microfinance institutions (MFIs) convert from NGOs into regulated financial institutions—known as transformation—and examines the impact of transformation on a control group of MFIs tracked by WWB over the past five years, giving particular attention to the effect of transformation on MFIs’ outreach to low-income women.
We present five key messages from the study here, giving both anecdotal and data-driven evidence of the power of microfinance, especially in the hands of women.
The book Saris on Scooters, which tells inspiring stories of women in India who have overcome many obstacles and successfully built businesses using small loans, features a foreword written by Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President of WWB.
This article highlights the launch of the savings and financial education product for girls in Mongolia by Women’s World Banking along with its network member XacBank.
This case study published by Making Cents International was featured as part of their Youth Inclusive Financial Service Case Study Series and details how Women’s World Banking has helped one of its network members, XacBank (Mongolia) design and roll-out savings products and financial education programs for girls ages 14 to 17.
This paper highlights recent advances in minimizing foreign exchange risk in microfinance, via both local currency lending by international investors, and risk hedging by microfinance institutions.
Marketing for Microfinance is designed as a reference guide for microfinance organizations seeking to develop their marketing capabilities.
This paper outlines the design and implementation of credit scoring policies based on Women’s World Banking’s experiences working with network members and presents factors to consider when introducing credit scoring including cost, staff training, scoring policies, data collection and reporting.
