Atto’s Post

On International Women's Day, it's vital to dive into the real-world challenges women encounter. Let's have genuine conversations and arm ourselves with toolkits to understand and tackle these issues head-on. Together, we can pave the way for a more equitable future. #InternationalWomensDay #EmpowerWomen

@the African Union Women and Youth Financial & Economic Inclusion initiative WYFEI 2030 I IDENTIFIED these Barriers to women inclusion during the panel discussion . To address the financial exclusion of women and youth, we must first diagnose where and how they are suffering. Identifying barriers allows us to tailor solutions that mitigate these challenges. One glaring issue is the lack of access to power and resources, which significantly hampers women's ability to participate in the economy. Prioritizing Financial Inclusion To effectively prioritize financial inclusion, governments must focus on the following key areas: 1. Financial Stability: Ensuring macroeconomic stability is at the heart of financial inclusion. Without a stable economy, efforts to include women and youth in the financial system will falter. 2. Quality Financial Systems: Developing policy regimes that support women is essential. This includes creating schemes that facilitate access to finance and ensure the quality of financial services provided to women and youth. 3. Technological Infrastructure: Embracing financial technology (FinTech) innovations is crucial. For many African women, a smartphone is an invaluable asset, providing access to mobile banking and financial services. Investing in the mobility of financial infrastructure through technology can significantly enhance financial inclusion. 4. Consumer Protection: Implementing robust financial consumer protection mechanisms to safeguard against fraud and scams is vital. Ensuring security in financial transactions builds trust and encourages more women and youth to engage with the financial system. 5. Financial Literacy: Investing in financial literacy is imperative. Women who are knowledgeable about financial matters can mentor and support those who are less informed. Establishing communities of practice where knowledge is shared and skills are developed can create a ripple effect of financial empowerment.

South African women are redefining what success means, and financial independence is at the forefront. However, challenges like the wage gap, caregiving duties, and systemic barriers persist. In our latest article, we discuss these issues and explore how tailored financial education, holistic financial planning, and support networks can help close the gap. Financial independence is not just about meeting immediate needs—it’s about building long-term wealth. Let’s ensure that women in South Africa have the tools and resources to achieve lasting financial security. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dfXddHNG #GenderEquality #FinancialIndependence #WomenEmpowerment #SouthAfrica #FinancialPlanning #WealthBuilding #FinancialFreedom

More than 700 million women in low- and middle-income countries remain without any access to financial services. This is about the size of Europe and is totally unacceptable! To close this large gender gap in financial services, we need a whole-of-market response involving both public and private sectors to drive change. We propose to create coalitions at country-level that implement intentional, gender-specific approaches focused on five areas: setting up shared public-private goals, leveraging robust gender-disaggregated data, putting in place enabling policies, fostering inclusive investments, and challenging gender norms. Bold, collaborative solutions tailored to women's realities are essential, combined with seamless feedback loops to share and scale successes. The time to act is now to unleash the power of women to contribute to our world’s incredible challenges! CGAP will be testing this new approach in some jurisdictions that are committed to closing their gender gap in financial services. We will share progress and lessons as we go along! Thank you Jescinta Izevbigie, Gayatri Murthy! https://lnkd.in/dwRqXPh7

Please read my latest report on Women, Remittances, and Financial Inclusion in Guatemala. Despite women's economic vulnerability, financial inclusion strategies on women remittance recipients improve their condition significantly, doubling their income and capacity to save. https://lnkd.in/ez96nyHn

Gender Lens Investing (GLI) prioritizes gender diversity in investments, promoting women's financial inclusion through tailored education and resource access. It challenges traditional investment norms, empowering women economically and driving social change towards a more inclusive financial landscape. ____________ GLI's success will require putting our money where our mouths are and recognising what the world loses when women are left out of the economy. https://lnkd.in/dpkfnXXv

As we end Debt Awareness Week (March 18 - 24) following 2024’s International Women’s Day's theme, ‘Invest In Her’, of which our CEO @Valentina Hynes has been a delegate for @UN Women UK, let’s spotlight the intersection of financial education, debt awareness, gender equality, mental health, happiness and wellbeing. One of the quotes that have stood out for Valentina from the #CSW68 sessions is by @Chetna Gala Singa 'One cannot underestimate how access to financial products and services are so critical to the empowerment of women' The consequences of poor financial education among women are profound and multifaceted. Women are more likely to experience poverty, accumulate less wealth over their lifetimes, and have limited access to financial products and investments; like lower pension contributions due to pay gaps, and structural bias in financial establishments. Debt Awareness Week serves as a catalyst for change by highlighting the importance of financial education for everyone, especially women. It's an opportunity to promote resources, workshops, and tools specifically designed to enhance women's financial literacy. By focusing on practical steps women can take to manage and understand debt, the campaign can contribute significantly to reducing the financial literacy gap. Workplace wellbeing should be holistic and all encompassing providing access to aspects like financial education. What measures do you have in place to provide financial education in your workplace? #StrongVibrantHappy #Wellbeing #DebtAwareness #FinancialLiteracy #GenderEquality #InvestInHer #WorkplaceWellbeing #EmpowerWomen #HR #PeopleManagement

According to the Global Findex, 423 million women opened their first account to receive money from the government. Yet, 45 million women receive cash payments while still remaining unbanked.   Providing emergency relief payments digitally can pave the way for long-term financial resilience and women's economic empowerment. In June 2023, the World Food Programme adopted a new cash policy, aiming to send more funds directly to women via mobile wallets or bank accounts to bolster resilience in the face of crises.   The 2023 version of the Reaching Financial Equality for Women by the Better Than Cash Alliance, Generation Equality Forum, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development,  UN Women, World Food Programme, Women's World Banking and The World Bank outlines #10Actions4Equality for governments and private sector to bridge the gender gap in finance and help end the continued economic exclusion of half of the world’s population.   Get the action plan here ⬇️

The report below contains ten action points that are clear and achievable, especially when we work together, across the regulatory, humanitarian, and private sector, to support an ecosystem of equality and access. From a personal perspective, it was seeing first hand the impact World Food Programme had for women and households in #SouthSudan that was an eye-opener for me in my role as CEO of a national bank in #Africa. Like many, I saw the clips on the news, of food being delivered, but it was working as a private-sector partner to WFP that I gained a deeper understanding for the #impact they have in their work and the innovation they bring to the table. In #SouthSudan WFP focused not only on food delivery, but also cash based transfers (CBT) to recipients. Study after study indicates that CBT helps not only the recipient, but strengthens the community. Delivering food is complex, so is deploying cash, especially in a part of the world with limited means for connectivity, less then 10% in the banking system, and a population moving due to the impacts of hunger and insecurity. That complexity drives up the cost of delivery, and slows the speed with which the ecosystem can respond. WFP was an example of innovation in action, and they demonstrated a clear commitment to deploying solutions with private-sector partners, such as banks and telcos, to bridge the final mile gap, to get money into the hands of those that needed it, quickly, more securely, and more cost effectively. Bridging this gap through digital and financial inclusion ensured women got access to the supports needed, and began their journey of inclusion. Seeing the efforts of WFP to tie digital and financial inclusion together caused me to look within our own institution at what we could do better. As a result: - our bank engaged our first female director on our board (after 12 years without such representation!), and focused board recruitment for future openings on more balance related to gender-inclusion; - we achieved a better balance on our executive team, reaching gender-parity, and bringing voices to product design and customer experience that were focused on inclusion, and based on experience; - our team ensured that our branches had a balance of women at all levels, from our first female branch manager, to front-line staff, ensuring the process of gender-inclusion started from at front door, all the way through the transaction process; - we engaged expertise to help us design solutions that were focused on the needs of women-led businesses, and we worked directly with women-focused organizations and women-led businesses to understand their needs and apply those learnings to how we worked. Leaders like Edith Heines, and her colleagues at WFP, are moving ahead in overcoming the barriers of financial equality for women, within circumstances that we cannot begin to imagine. They've opened my eyes to what is possible to achieve and I commend them for their work.

Gender Issues in Financial Inclusion Series 7: The “Three Legged Stool” –– ACCESS’s recommended policy approach for promoting women’s financial inclusion This blog series began its discussion of policy approaches by noting that one of the key challenges regulators face in promoting women's financial inclusion is a lack of buy-in from financial institutions. In the previous post, we noted three approaches for increasing FSP buy-in: financial support in Papua New Guinea, regulatory mandates in Pakistan, a combination of regulation, recognition, awards, and incentives in the Philippines. The approach taken by the State Bank of Pakistan may be the most comprehensive, but many regulators may find it too heavy-handed, especially when there is limited buy-in from the industry. Absent significant funding as was provided in Papua New Guinea, regulators may consider the lighter-touch approach used in the Philippines, combining carrots (incentives) and sticks (mandates) to reward and encourage financial institutions to invest in increasing outreach to women.   Specifically, this approach would have three components: 1) Find and promote a champion that already serves women well 2) Provide incentives for other financial institutions to improve their outreach and service quality to women 3) Require sex-disaggregated data reporting   Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gBEPezqq