Microfinancing is on a tear in Africa; or it was before COVID-19 hit. Writes McKinsey in a 2018 report: “Africa’s retail banking markets are ripe with potential & present huge opportunities for innovation & further growth. There’s also huge room for growth in meeting unmet needs for borrowing, saving, investing & protecting.”
Our team at Inveniam is blessed to work with the Impact Africa fund, a non-profit organization based in Kampala, Uganda, aimed at giving female entrepreneurs a fresh start to pursue ambitions outside the home. To make a charitable donation, please visit their site.
Women in developing countries are vulnerable to extreme poverty because they face greater burdens of unpaid work, have fewer assets & productive resources than men, are exposed to gender-based violence, & are more likely to be forced into early marriage. According to a UN report, nearly 75% of the world’s women cannot get formal bank loans because they lack permanent employment & title deeds to land or housing that they can offer as security, and/or because the laws of their countries classify them as minors & therefore not eligible to make legal transactions. In Uganda, women access only 9% of available credit. This figure declines to 1% in rural areas.
