Making up for lost time: How The Gambia is helping women get ahead through financial inclusion

By Mariama Sillah, Gender and Youth Focal Person at the Central Bank of The Gambia

I was the first girl in my family to finish school and go to university. Until 20 years ago the male child in The Gambia was sent to school, while the girls stayed home to help with house chores. Cultural, religious and social norms have all had a detrimental impact on women’s economic participation, particularly in rural parts of the country where women are often financially illiterate, confined to the home, and entirely dependent on their husbands for income. But this is changing…

Making up around 60 percent of the country’s population, women play a critical role in reducing poverty and fostering economic growth in The Gambia. The Central Bank of the Gambia (CBG) – in collaboration with the government, local stakeholders, financial institutions and development agencies – is increasingly determined to boost women’s economic empowerment. A gender-sensitive framework, supported by AFI, has helped guide the implementation of the country’s first National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) (2022). The results? Today we have:

Tiered Know Your Customer protocols that allow them to open transactional accounts with mobile money providers, microfinance institutions, commercial banks.
TV programs and targeted training session in the local languages that enhance their financial literacy, awareness and business skills, especially in rural areas
New financial products tailored to women-owned SMEs’ financing needs
Gender-sensitive policy interventions guided by ex-disaggregated data

Many of the country’s new gender-sensitive finance initiatives are directed at kafoos – small groups of women in mostly rural areas that band together to make a living. These women can now open bank accounts, save money, access affordable finance for their small businesses and make informed financial and business decisions.

It’s too early to measure the impact of the country’s NFIS on women, but onsite examination suggests that there’s already an increase in women’s financial awareness, women-owned SME’s and bank accounts.

Many of my cousins and girlfriends never had the opportunities I had. The CBG and its partners hope that the country’s gender-sensitive NFIS will empower Gambian women to embrace opportunities at home and pave the way for the financial inclusion of the next generation of girls.

AFI’s global Gender Inclusive Finance workstream is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and other funding partners.