A Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) initiative to make the licensing process for non-banking institutions involved in credit activities more flexible has significantly expanded access to microcredit for woman entrepreneurs.

“We have simplified licensing procedures for microcredit operators, as well as exempting compliance with prudential rules, such as the minimum capital requirement to carry out the activity,” says Analdete Garcia, BNA’s Director of Non-Bank Financial Sector Supervision. “The aim was to reduce the level of demand for financial services in the informal market, and to create a favorable environment for economic and social inclusion, with a view to sustainable economic development.”

“We already have 14,000 mutual funds that have benefited from microcredit by microcredit companies and cooperative, and since the publication of the microcredit regulation, the financial inclusion rate has increased from 47% to 51%.”

A new video, produced by AFI and BNA, reveals how access to microcredit is allowing women market traders and fish sellers to grow sustainable businesses.