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Contributions to Women’s Empowerment

This presentation discusses the strategies and challenges related to women's empowerment in the Pacific, with a specific focus on the informal economy, financial inclusion, entering the formal economy, and growing a business. It also highlights the role of development banks in creating pathways for women's empowerment.

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Contributions to Women’s Empowerment

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  1. Contributions to Women’s Empowerment Vijaya Nagarajan, ADB ADFIP 30th Annual Meeting Nadi, 21 November 2016 Vij.n@adbpsdi.org

  2. Women in the Pacific • Greater recognition of WEE • Bigger focus on business and MSMEs • Regional strategies are possible

  3. Different challenges need different solutions • Women in the informal economy • Women starting off business • Women expanding their businesses

  4. Informal economy • Involves over $16 million per year in Solomon Islands • Engages 75% of the population in Vanuatu • Often ignored

  5. Solution: mobile banking • Banking the unbanked • Reaching out to rural areas through technology • Assisting with depositing earnings at markets and avoiding harassment • Transfers, payment to utilities, cash, phone top ups

  6. Financial inclusion • Financial products and services • 12 products rolled out, and 9 products targeting Women • Financial education Training • Over 120,000 people trained covering all the regions of PNG (48% women) • Savings and Loans • 151,163 savings accounts (34%W) & 4214 loan accounts opened (39%)

  7. Some strategies for informal economy

  8. Going forward – wide open road • Protections from the unexpected - insurance • Credit histories • Networks

  9. Entering the Formal economy – challenges Challenges • Cultural norms • Discriminatory laws • Entrepreneurship • Markets • Credit • Institutional practice • Awareness of process

  10. Encourage women to set up formal businesses • Make it easy to start a business • Give something back for taxes and fees paid • Improve awareness of access to finance • Promote women friendly institutions

  11. Growing a business – different challenges

  12. Secured Transactions – use in global north Source : World Bank Enterprise Surveys

  13. Use of secured transactions in global south

  14. Creating supportive institutions Institutional response – mixed • Social norms - embedded in institutions • Smaller financial institutions - more innovative • Still - reluctance to lend to women/SMEs • Role for Development Institutions to take the lead in creating pathways for women’s empowerment

  15. Conclusions • Changing nature of economies • Pivotal role for Development Banks

  16. Email:Vij.n@adbpsdi.org PSDI website http://www.adbpsdi.org

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