#AFIStories: Diamond Bank & LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited expands women’s financial inclusion

Leading microfinance bank in West Africa and Nigeria’s fastest growing retail bank are both working towards closing the gender gap in financial inclusion with tailored products and services.

Challenges, opportunities and lessons learned in expanding women’s financial inclusion are highlighted in the two case studies below.

Diamond Bank empowers Nigeria’s low-income women to save

Did you know that only 30% of women in Nigeria have an account with a formal financial institution, compared to 46.3% of men?

Leaving low-income women’s financial needs unfulfilled not only limits economic growth, but represents a missed business opportunity for financial services providers. As technology has driven down costs, Diamond Bank recognized a tremendous opportunity to use digital tools to reach the financially excluded.

Digital financial services can be especially effective in reaching low-income women by offering accessibility, convenience, privacy and security through new channels such as mobile phones and retail agents. These tools represent a huge opportunity to close the gender gap in financial inclusion and provide a solution for women that addresses their needs. Turning this potential into reality, however, is not as easy as flipping a switch. Find out more in this case study.

LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited (MfB) prioritizes finance for female-led enterprises

Women face huge social and economic burdens while very few societies across developing countries accord equal treatment between men and women.

Access to finance is critical to the economic and social empowerment of women. When a woman’s income earning capacity increases, the entire household especially children, benefit more than when a man’s income increases. In seeking to improve the standard of living of poor households, LAPO prioritizes women’s access to finance as an important agenda. Learn more about LAPO’s impact on women empowerment in their case study.