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Policy briefWomen’s financial inclusion: Alternative collateral approaches for closing the credit gap for women in agrifood systems 2024
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No results found.Men and women engaged in agrifood systems face greater challenges in accessing financial services and securing adequate finance. Ensuring financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is difficult in agriculture because of external risks, including climate change, price volatility, changes in market demand, government regulations, and business-related constraints. The latter include inadequate management capacity, incomplete financial records, lack of traditional types of collateral, and extra expenses for reaching rural clients.Women involved in rural agrifood systems face even greater challenges than men in accessing financial services, due to additional social, economic, and legal constraints related to their gender. A main underlying cause of gender inequalities is related to women’s lack of the traditional collateral required to access credit, particularly as they are less likely than men to own land. The absence of property titles makes women less attractive clients for formal financial institutions and often limits their access to financing.The policy note "Women’s financial inclusion: Alternative collateral approaches for closing the credit gap for women in agrifood systems" presents examples of promising solutions to overcome the lack of collateral and facilitate women’s access to financial resources for agriculture and food system transformation. It also provides policymakers with recommendations on how to increase women’s access to financial services for building inclusive, efficient, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems. -
Policy briefFacilitating 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
2024Also 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. -
Book (series)National gender profile of agriculture and rural livelihoods
Angola
2023Also available in:
No results found.In Angola around 80 percent of farmers are smallholders, so the agriculture sector still represents an important source of income, employment and food for a large part of the production. Women constitute the majority of the labour force in agriculture and are critical agents of change in the fight against rural poverty, hunger and malnutrition. In Angola, 4.8 million women live in rural areas and the 38.3 percent of the country’s women have agriculture as their main activity. However, inequalities in access to land, agricultural inputs, training and knowledge limit their contribution to agricultural productivity and economic development. At community level, women have low participation in decision-making. Angola has made consistent efforts to address existing gender inequalities in the agriculture and labour sectors, given the important role that women play in agriculture and the country’s food systems. Although gender mainstreaming in agriculture and rural development sectors is in its early stages, in recent years, progress has been made to benefit women more consistently. This assessment revealed that gender inequalities remain widespread and particularly evident in rural areas, despite the progress made in establishing a legal and policy framework for advancing women’s rights and gender equality.
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