Country
Rwanda

Local Project Partner
--

German Project Partner
--

Donor
GIZ

Duration
15.03.2025 - 15.08.2026

By bringing financial service providers (FSPs) and women entrepreneurs together, the project will create a mutually beneficial ecosystem. FSPs will gain deeper insights into the needs of women customers, allowing them to tailor their products, which will increase the likelihood of loan repayment and enhance credit security. Moreover, FSPs will understand the benefits of genderbalanced policies, and will improve the working conditions and economic participation for women in the financial sector. Women entrepreneurs will gain the skills necessary to apply for loans to scale their businesses. With close business development support, women can benefit from better working conditions and increased investment in their businesses. Additionally, the visibility of successful women entrepreneurs will help shift social perceptions and challenge entrenched norms about women’s roles in the economy (AFR, 2022). Long-term partnerships with FSPs will ensure the scaling of this initiative, with women serving as role models, multiplicators, and economic providers within their communities

Although Rwanda has made strides in advancing gender equality, persistent social expectations and structural inequalities continue to hinder women from accessing finance. For instance, social norms position men as the primary financial providers within households, limiting women’s economic mobility and decision-making power. This dynamic is reflected in the persistent gender gaps in accessing formal financial services, where 27% of men utilize banking services compared to only 17% of women. Similarly, 60% of men engage with microfinance institutions (MFIs), while only 40% of women do so. Access to technology is another crucial factor in advancing financial inclusion. While 82% of men in Rwanda have mobile money accounts, only 72% of women do, limiting women in effective financial management and business growth (Finscope, 2024). The lack of financial literacy and awareness among women entrepreneurs further compounds the problem. Many women struggle to navigate complex financial systems or remain unaware of available financial products tailored to their needs. Moreover, high costs of financing, such as prohibitive interest rates and bureaucratic hurdles, disproportionately affect women in areas, where the financial infrastructure is less accessible.

Project Tasks
GIZ's Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) project aims to tackle these challenges by empowering women to engage with the formal economy and influencing the societal landscape. Its dual focus lies in

(1) enhancing workplace conditions for women and
(2) fostering an economic and social landscape that supports the growth and success of women-led businesses.

German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (DSIK)’s contributions will focus on the second aspect, which includes the development of financial products and the provision of targeted business development support for women entrepreneurs. As currently many women rely on informal credit, the project aims to link them to formal financial solutions that will enable them to scale their businesses effectively