CHALLENGES: CONFRONTING THE ISSUES WOMEN FACE IN MICROFINANCE

Roshaneh Zafar, Founder & MD Kashf Foundation

Introducing Kashf Foundation 18 years as Change Agents in economic

empowerment arena Trendsetters in MF industry in Pakistan Built around the notion of solution building for

family and community security. Heavily focused on responsible finance through

an evolving business development & women’s entrepreneurship

Principles of accountability include shared values reciprocity, respect, transparency, trust & reliability.

Barriers to Women’s economic participation

• Women are not literate. Women’s mobility is constrained

• Women do not own land and other assets

• Women focus on low return based activities

• Women lack access to banks/ financial services

Financial

Economic

Social Cultur

al

Legal/ Politica

l

What does research show? 1/2

Components Hypothesis Results

1. Entrepreneurial Capacity

Business Management capacity Sufficient but limited

Financial Management capacity Absent

Vocational skills Obsolete

Product/service quality Absent

Labor costing/pricing Basic

Knowledge of product cycle development

Basic

Marketing Word-of-mouth

2. Access to Capital

Business assets (equipment, tools, etc.)

Sufficient for informal sector

Physical assets (land, rented space, etc.)

Home-based

Financial assets (credit, savings, etc.) Insufficient

Labor Family/ neighbors

Components Hypothesis Results

3. Access to markets

Business networks Localized to community

Competitors Highly saturated

Market outreach Fixed suppliers/ intermediaries

4. Social barriers Barriers within household ‘Triple burden’

Barriers within community Mobility restricted

Barriers within market Gender restrictions

What does research show? 2/2

The Role of Microfinance in Women’s Economic Participation (1/2)

Individual Household MF Strategies to address these constraints

Financial Barriers

Women lack access to banks/ financial services in own right

Men control cash income, men have specific expenditure patterns

• Designing pro women strategies that reflect the concept of agency and removes the need for physical collateral.

• Building affordable delivery mechanims that allow procuring loans in proximity to the community

• Promoting and providing affordable and accessible savings

Economic Barriers

Women undertake activities which produce low returns;Women have a heavy domestic workload

Gender division of labor, unequal access and control of land, labor and inputs unequal control of joint household produce and income stream (from the produce)

• Introducing cashflow backed loan products products that involve a feel-good approach and also cater to the financial needs of women led businesses

• Providing business development services

• Helping create value chains

Fin

an

cia

l E

du

cati

on

Basic Financial Literacy

Systemized Financial Education B

usin

ess D

evelo

pm

en

t S

erv

ices

Business Incubation Labs

G

en

der

Em

pow

erm

en

t

Social Theater

Gender Trainings

Women Entrepreneurs ‘ Council

Med

ia C

am

paig

n

Public Service Messages

TV Series on entrepreneurship

Microfinance Plus Activities

Key aspects of Responsible Finance

Productive Enterprise Lending

Financial Education

Business Incubation Support

Client Grievance System

Consumer Protection Code

Thank you!