Gender-inclusive toolkit for financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa

FAO; ITC;

Gender-inclusive toolkit for financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa

Making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for women

Year of publication 2025

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 44 p.

Author FAO; ITC;

Publisher FAO ; International Trade Centre (ITC) ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-139482-3

Full item page

To cite or share https://doi.org/10.4060/cd3741en

Synopsis (short abstract) The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Trade Centre have collaborated to support women in overcoming gender-based obstacles in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. The "Empowering Women and Boosting Livelihoods through Agricultural Trade: Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area" programme, developed in 2021, aims to promote women’s participation in the agreement and increase their access to capacity-building and higher-productivity activities. This initiative capitalizes on the new opportunities in regional trade created by the agreement.One of the main challenges women face is access to finance. Agriculture is traditionally associated with lower returns and high-risk investments, and women are perceived to be a riskier segment due to discriminatory social and gender norms. These biases affect capital providers’ perceptions of women, as well as women’s financial literacy, bookkeeping skills, and investment readiness. Furthermore, the lack of collateral is a major constraint, largely due to women’s limited ownership and control over land in Africa.The objective of this toolkit is to raise awareness of the business case for financing women in agricultural value chains and to provide financial institutions with practical guidance for advancing gender-inclusive strategies across different parts of their organizations. This toolkit complements a policy brief developed under the same programme, which provides concrete recommendations for financiers and other relevant stakeholders to foster gender-responsive financing. Building on case studies from Ghana and Nigeria, the policy brief offers insights for promoting gender-inclusive financial practices in the agrifinancing ecosystem.

Cite this content as:

FAO & ITC. 2025. Gender-inclusive toolkit for financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa – Making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for women. Rome, FAO and Geneva, Switzerland.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cd3741en

Read on Google Books and buy online

Language English

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

Book (stand-alone)

Digital agriculture in FAO projects in sub-Saharan Africa 2024

Also available in:

No results found.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is spearheading efforts to leverage digitalization for sustainable agrifood systems. This publication provides a roadmap for accelerating the adoption of impactful digital solutions across the Africa region.With Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the publication offers an in-depth exploration of the current landscape of FAO’s digital agriculture interventions across sub-Saharan Africa, dissecting key projects and their impact on crop production, risk reduction, and value chain enhancement.Through an extensive survey and analysis of 72 projects spanning various agricultural subsectors, the publication sheds light on the prevalence of digital tools in enhancing crop production and livestock management, and on the disparities in digital adoption across different subregions.The publication underscores the critical role of digital literacy and infrastructure in driving the success of digital agriculture initiatives, emphasizing the imperative of inclusivity. It also highlights the need for fostering awareness, building capacity, and advocating for improved digital access and governance to unlock the full potential of digital solutions for Africa.Among the key findings are the predominant use of simpler digital technologies such as mobile applications and SMS services, signalling the importance of user-friendly solutions tailored to the needs of farmers. However, it also underscores the necessity of embracing more advanced technologies to address complex challenges such as climate resilience and supply chain management.
Policy brief

Facilitating gender responsive access to finance in the agrifood sector in sub-Saharan Africa
Making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for women: Policy brief
2024

Also available in:

No results found.

This policy brief focuses on promoting gender-responsive access to finance for women in the agrifood sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It highlights the critical contributions of women to agrifood systems, while also discussing the substantial challanges and barriers they face to accessing finance due to persistent gender-based constraints and structural inequalities. These include discriminatory social norms, limited opportunities for business development, and restricted ownership of property and assets. These obstacles are compounded by a lack of gender-responsive financial products and services. Formal banking institutions and products often de facto exclude women since they are unable to provide collateral, forcing many to rely on personal capital and informal savings schemes, which severely limits their business growth and potential.The brief proposes several solutions to address these barriers, emphasizing the importance of enhancing financial literacy among women and promoting formal microfinance and rural banking. It suggests implementing guarantee and insurance schemes tailored to the needs of women-led businesses and developing financial products and services that are responsive to gender-specific challenges. Additionally, the brief underscores the necessity of gender-responsive policy reforms and the engagement of multiple stakeholders to ensure inclusive financial inclusion.Furthermore, the policy brief advocates for increased representation of women in decision-making roles and the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws within the financial industry. It also calls for measures to ensure women's land and property ownership rights, recognizing that secure land tenure is crucial for their economic empowerment. By implementing these recommendations, the brief argues that bridging the financial gap for women in agribusiness can significantly enhance productivity, economic growth, and food security across Africa.
Booklet

Diagnostic of gender and age norms in financial inclusion
A pilot study in five districts of Malawi
2024

Also available in:

No results found.

This report presents an investigation into how social norms impact rural women’s and youth’s ability to access and use formal financial products and services in Malawi. It confirms the importance of considering social norms when designing interventions to improve women’s and youth’s economic empowerment. It also offers concrete recommendations for the development of such interventions and programming. The report is intended for development actors, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, including the Rome-based Agencies, as well as financial service providers and policy makers in Malawi.