The Finance Gap for Women Entrepreneurs Is $1.7 Trillion. Here’s How To Close It
CARE develops long-term plans for communities
By Mark Muckerheide
Originally published on World Economic Forum.
Violeta Pacheco Mejía is an entrepreneur who owns Tejidos Peruanos, a designer, eco-friendly alpaca and cotton clothing company based in Lima, Peru. Over the past 18 years, she has expanded her business, opening a thriving factory that employs 14 women, and exports products to more than six countries. Yet each of the investments for her growing business, including purchasing a building, hiring employees, and acquiring more raw materials and equipment, were financed through a loan her husband received from the bank. As a woman, Violeta couldn’t access a loan on her own.
Like her, many women around the world don’t have the same opportunities as men; the total micro, small, or medium enterprise (MSME) finance gap for women is estimated to be valued at $1.7 trillion. Yet women entrepreneurs own 22% of micro-enterprises and 32% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). More broadly, 740 million women globally are unbanked, according to the World Bank’s 2021 database, and 2.4 billion women worldwide lack the same economic rights as men. Unless we make conscious efforts to include women, financial interventions miss the mark.
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