Women Focused Financial Products
Our approach focuses on in-depth primary research with women to understand their current financial needs..
Meraki Africa has developed women targeted products including; Emergency Loan Products for women in MSMEs; EduFinance Savings Products for dependents’ education needs, and, revised Microfinance Loan Products addressing methodological pain points of traditional microfinance. Rollout of these products has led to an increasing access to finance, opening new opportunities to the implementing institutions.
Background
Women constitute 50% of the 1.3 billion Africa’s population and their role in improving family and community capacity is well articulated. Women’s social, political, and economic status are also fundamentally different from men. Traditions and culture further have a strong influence on women which makes them more susceptible to legal, economic and social constraints. Financial products have predominantly exhibited these tendencies and have in effect limited access to finance by women. Development of successful women focused financial products should therefore be informed by a community’s cultural dynamics and women’s financial needs.
Women-focused financial products open new opportunities for women contributing to their economic and social development. To financial institutions, a clear understanding of women needs, their resources and limitations in context of their social, political and economic status facilitates development of solutions that are attractive to women clientele.
Meraki Africa employs best practice approaches for product design that leverages our understanding of social and behavioural science research techniques. Our approach focuses on in-depth primary research with women to understand their current financial needs, their current coping mechanisms, pain points with their existing coping mechanisms and the cognitive, emotional and social factors on decision-making.
- Strategy
- Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR)
- 24/11/2017