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Women’s World Banking (WWB) is proud to announce that we’ve not only reached our goal of providing access to financial solutions for 100 million women around the world, we’ve surpassed it by reaching an additional 17 million women, plus 76 million men—and achieved this milestone two years ahead of schedule.
Over a span of eight years, 117 million women across 22 countries who were previously excluded from the formal financial system now have access to financial solutions like savings, loans, insurance and credit, enabling greater economic potential for individual women and entrepreneurs, as well as for generations of families, local communities and entire countries. This demonstrates that bringing the un- and underbanked into the formal financial system at scale is possible, and confirms that designing for—and with—women unlocks growth for all. In collaboration with financial institutions, policymakers and donors, WWB has worked as both NGO and investor to provide direct equity, advance women in the workplace and help facilitate the systemic changes necessary to design and implement more inclusive financial solutions.
Our policy and regulatory collaborations generated inclusive policy solutions that reached 5.8 million women through seven partnerships across five countries. We also worked with 66 financial institutions across 14 countries, reaching 102.2 million women with inclusive finance solutions, such as e-wallets that enable access to safer, more transparent remittances. Through our inclusive investments of US$116 million in 22 financial institutions, we helped reach 11.4 million women by establishing formal financial services at the local level, such as access to banking and credit for women entrepreneurs.
Though these partnerships, we’ve helped make decisions that ultimately provide greater financial security, prosperity and independence to women, while also benefitting financial institutions and overall economic growth. To inform these changes, pinpointing the specific needs of women customers—which vary across countries, regions, cultures and more—is crucial. To gather this data, we performed extensive research, interviewing nearly 30,000 women over the course of this initiative. A team of 14 board members and 86 WWB staff diligently drove the program forward, ensuring our goal of increasing financial inclusion for women remained at the forefront of all program delivery.
Additionally, 337 institutional donors, 1,280 individual donors and 42 investors powered our purpose to serve women excluded from the formal financial sector. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our core funders: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), and Visa Foundation. Their flexible, long-term support enables us to test, scale, and innovate solutions that reach the women most often left behind. We also thank all of our supporters and their mutual dedication to enabling greater economic participation by women. We have seen firsthand how their generous commitment has bolstered our programs, driven our research, and changed the lives of women. But just because we’ve surpassed our goal ahead of schedule doesn’t mean the work is done; there are more women to reach and many more lives to change. With this support, Women’s World Banking is able to continue delivering on our mission of forging financial policies and solutions that serve women, and therefore benefit everyone.
Thank you to our partners and supporters who made this achievement possible and inspire all that we aim to accomplish in the years ahead. Please consider joining our efforts to help bring a more equitable, prosperous, and inclusive financial system to 700 million women around the world still excluded by the formal financial system. Donate now.
