How Eswatini’s Gender Inclusive Finance Roadmap is driving cross-sectoral change

Eswatini launched its first Gender Inclusive Finance Roadmap in August 2022. Two years on, Central Bank Deputy Governor, Felicia Dlamini-Kunene, explains how the Roadmap is paving the way for more women-centric policies.

What are the main challenges to women’s financial inclusion in Eswatini?

Women make up 49.5 percent of the country’s working population,  with 48 percent of women are banked. Women continue to face unique challenges rooted in socio-cultural norms and perceptions. For instance, marriage contracts in Eswatini are easily misinterpreted, leading to more financial barriers for women. In most instances, women are considered minors and economically dependent on their husbands. Another major factor is financial literacy among women. A 2018 Financial Capability Survey found that overall knowledge of financial products and services stands at roughly 25 percent. Financial literacy is also much lower among women, compared to the national average.

Until the recent launch of our Gender Inclusive Finance Roadmap, there’s been a major lack of data and alignment among stakeholders on what’s required to serve women’s banking needs.

As women, we also tend to be perfectionists, and that sometimes works against us. We want to check all the boxes. For instance, if the bank requires ten things to qualify for a loan, and we are missing two, we won’t submit our loan application. Men, on the other hand, will submit their applications even if they check only three out of the ten requirements and will likely end up qualifying for the loan. Risk-taking is different for women and men, and we need to ensure that women feel confident enough with the system to take risks.

How has the Gender Inclusive Finance Roadmap helped?

The AFI-supported Roadmap was jointly formulated by the Central Bank of Eswatini, the Ministry of Finance, the Center for Financial Inclusion, and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. It’s a living document that guides all national stakeholders in boosting women’s financial inclusion and economic participation.

The Roadmap’s first and most important goal is to collect sufficient data to understand women’s financial services and banking needs. The Central Bank has developed sex-disaggregated data reporting templates that were peer reviewed by AFI member before being adopted by local banks. Since December 2023 the templates have been delivering fascinating information on women’s financial needs. The next step is to use this data to inform the design of financial products and services tailored for women from different backgrounds.

The Roadmap also serves to implement the country’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2017-2022) through initiatives like FINCLUDE – a pilot initiative launched by the Center for Financial Inclusion in 2018. Many women in Eswatini still can’t qualify for loans because they don’t own property or land to provide as collateral – despite the Constitution supporting women’s land ownership.

FINCLUDE helps women farmers get easier access to finance by sidestepping collateral. Working with local banks and microfinance institutions, it facilitates loans for women with only proof of a regular income, savings or a farmers market contract. The FINCLUDE project reflects the Roadmap future ambitions for women’s financial inclusion. There is also the Small Scale Guarantee Scheme which is managed by the Central Bank that attempts to address the issue of collateral though not specifically geared for women only.

Income distribution in Eswatini is still very unequal, with over 59% of the population struggling to make ends meet. Women form a major part of this lower income bracket. As part of the Roadmap, the Central Bank has issued a guideline note for banks to design fairer fee structures. It promotes access to no-frills accounts for low-income customers with free withdrawals and little to no administration, maintenance, or debit fees. This will especially benefit women with lower incomes.

The Roadmap also informed our newly launched National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2023-2028).

What advice would you give to other AFI members who’d like to advance Gender Inclusive Finance?

Gender Inclusive Finance is critical to the well-being of our people. We need everyone’s involvement to foster real change. There should be a concerted effort to understand the needs of the targeted population when designing financial products. We cannot afford to just focus on the supply side. We must also take time to understand the demand side. Banks and other financial institutions need to offer services that support women’s financial needs and are supported by their direct environments.

Finally, collaboration is key. The development of our Roadmap included an in-depth consultative process with women groups, traditional leadership, local financial service providers, FinTechs, financial institutions, the private sector, and government ministries. This was critical to understanding the distinct interests and behaviors across the women’s market and to establishing the business case for serving these groups effectively.

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