Women's World Banking Unlocking Potential for Women and Communities

Women's World Banking has been a game-changer for women and communities worldwide, unlocking their potential and creating a more inclusive financial system.

By providing financial services and support to low-income women, Women's World Banking has helped millions of women gain control over their finances and make informed decisions about their lives.

Since its founding in 1979, Women's World Banking has grown into a global network of 32 banks in 29 countries, serving over 33 million clients.

With a focus on financial inclusion and women's economic empowerment, Women's World Banking has made significant strides in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development.

Women's World Banking is the global leader in women's financial inclusion, tackling the issue in three interconnected ways: developing scalable market-driven solutions, through a gender-lens private equity fund, and by building institutional capacity through leadership and diversity programs.

The organization aims to create growth for financial service providers and economic opportunity for low-income women in emerging markets. This unique approach has the potential to create a significant impact, as evidenced by their goal to reach 100 million women by 2027.

Women's World Banking works with regulators in developing countries to create policies that support women's financial inclusion, increase gender diversity, and build women's leadership. This is part of their inclusive policy lever, which is crucial for driving greater financial inclusion for women.

Their global network of 62 members, in 35 countries, collectively serves more than 138 million women. This network is a key part of their women-centered financial services lever, which demonstrates the benefit of investing in women as customers and as leaders.

Women's World Banking also makes investments in institutions with an explicit focus on women through their Women's World Banking Capital Partners Fund. As a shareholder, they can influence the institution's focus on female clients and leaders, leading to remarkable results.

Organization is key to Women's World Banking's success. The organization has a presence in over 30 countries, with a network of local partners and financial institutions.

Women's World Banking has a unique approach to microfinance, focusing on financial inclusion for low-income women. This approach is guided by a strong organizational structure, with a clear mission and vision.

The organization's headquarters is located in New York City, with regional offices in key locations around the world. This global presence allows Women's World Banking to effectively reach and support its network of partners.

Women's World Banking has a strong track record of innovation, introducing new financial products and services that meet the needs of low-income women.

Women's World Banking has a clear vision for making financial inclusion a reality for 100 million women. They're working towards this goal by driving action and investments in financial inclusion.

The organization's key strategies include developing scalable and sustainable solutions that meet women's needs, advocating and influencing for action, investing in women-focused institutions, and driving organizational performance. They're using a women-centered design approach to develop solutions that meet both the needs of women and the business objectives of financial service providers.

With a global presence and a team of over 70 staff, Women's World Banking has the capabilities to make a significant impact. They have established legal entities and/or regional staff in multiple countries, and operate in partnership with a Global Network of 62 partners in 35 countries, serving over 138 million women.

We advocate for the financial security, prosperity and economic empowerment of 100 million women by driving action and investments in financial inclusion. This is achieved through various key strategies.

Developing scalable and sustainable solutions that meet women's needs is a critical aspect of our approach. We provide advisory services to both financial service providers and policymakers in developing countries.

Our women-centered design approach is used to develop proof-of-concept solutions that meet both the needs of women and the business objectives of financial service providers. This helps to influence other financial service providers to replicate these proven solutions.

We also advocate and influence for action by building the evidence base for women's economic empowerment. This involves strengthening our advocacy efforts with both financial service providers and policymakers.

In addition, we invest in women-focused institutions through Women's World Banking Asset Management (WAM Global). This involves investing in financial institutions and supporting portfolio companies to improve gender inclusivity within their institutions.

Our Global Shared Services vertical centralizes teams, resources, and systems designed to drive performance and support global and regional operations. This helps to deliver impact and drive organizational performance.

Women's World Banking has a significant presence globally with over 70 staff members across the globe led by President & CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian.

The organization has established a strong foundation with a headquarters in New York and regional staff in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

With an annual operating budget of over $16 million, Women's World Banking has the financial resources to support its mission.

The organization operates in partnership with a Global Network of 62 partners in 35 countries, serving over 138 million women.

Women's World Banking's global reach and partnerships enable it to have a substantial impact on women's economic empowerment.

Women's World Banking has made significant strides in recent years, with 68 research engagements conducted on topics relevant to women's financial inclusion, economic empowerment, and leadership.

In the 2018-2019 strategy period, the organization expanded its global Network of partners to include 62 institutions from 35 countries, serving 138 million women.

They also reached over 3.4 million women directly with access to women-centered financial services such as savings, digital payments, credit, and insurance.

Here are some of the key partners that Women's World Banking has collaborated with:

Despite these achievements, 742 million women still remain excluded from the formal financial system, hindering their economic potential.

Women's World Banking has made significant strides in their current strategy period, achieving numerous milestones that have positively impacted women's financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

They conducted 68 research engagements on topics relevant to women's financial inclusion, economic empowerment, and leadership.

Their global Network of partners has expanded and diversified, now including 62 institutions from 35 countries that collectively serve 138 million women.

This expansion has enabled them to reach over 3.4 million women directly with access to women-centered financial services such as savings, digital payments, credit, and insurance.

Women's World Banking has also engaged with 56 regulatory agencies in 39 countries to advocate for inclusive financial policy.

In addition to their advocacy efforts, they have published 25 publications and convened nearly 4,000 participants at 56 events to share learnings from their work and influence stakeholders to take action.

Their fundraising efforts have been successful, with $102.8 million raised for their second gender lens investment fund, Fund II, and $89.9 million closed.

This investment fund has enabled them to invest in 5 companies, cumulatively reaching 6.3 million women through Fund I and Fund II portfolio companies.

As we look to the future, it's clear that there's still a lot of work to be done to reach our goals. 742 million women remain excluded from the formal financial system, hindering their economic potential.

Women's World Banking is dedicated to changing this by reaching 100 million women between 2017-2027 to transform their lives and uplift entire communities.

To achieve this, we'll be working with a variety of organizations, including banking institutes, international charities, and 501(c)(3) organizations based in New York City.

These partnerships will help us provide access to financial services and support for women in need.

At Women's World Banking, they've been working tirelessly to create a more inclusive financial system. They've developed a range of products to help women access financial services, including savings and remittances.

One of the key areas of focus has been advocating for a gender lens in national frameworks and public infrastructure systems. This involves working with central banks and regulatory bodies to ensure that their policies and systems are inclusive of women's needs.

Women's World Banking also offers its network members advisory and technical assistance, including research and branding. This helps them to better understand their target market and develop effective strategies for reaching women.

By providing access to housing and home improvement loans, Women's World Banking is helping women to build assets and improve their economic stability.

Women's empowerment is a fundamental principle behind the microfinance business model, and it's amazing to see the impact it has on communities. Research has shown that granting women microloans has a profound impact on their well-being and the broader population.

Women are more likely to reinvest their income in their families and communities, financing essential items like healthcare, education, and home improvement. This is a crucial aspect of household and community stability.

Studies have demonstrated that poor women are more likely to use their income to benefit their families, whereas men tend to use their income for other purposes. This highlights the importance of empowering women economically.

Women's World Banking (WWB) has concentrated specifically on enhancing the opportunities and well-being of women through economic independence since its inception. This focus has led to significant changes in their approach to microfinance.

WWB's research on household dynamics and women's roles in financial decisions has led to simplified loan paperwork and borrowing requirements that take into account women's lower literacy rates in many countries. This is a vital step in making microfinance more accessible to women.

The business case for gender diversity in microfinance is clear: organizations that successfully hire, retain, and promote women achieve both social and financial benefits. Research has shown that companies with higher representation of women on their boards tend to perform better financially.

Women's leadership has been a driving force in the microfinance industry's progress. Many pioneers in the field were women, and a strong female contingent has remained a key part of the industry's growth.

A 2007 study of 226 MFIs in 57 countries found that when the CEO of an MFI was a woman, the MFI showed a higher return on assets and lower operational costs. This is a compelling argument for promoting women to leadership positions within the industry.

The Challenge lies in balancing a social mission with the need to grow a sustainable business. Many microfinance institution decision makers face this challenge as their industry commercializes, requiring them to generate a profit while doing good.

Women's World Banking tackles this challenge through a unique Advanced Leadership Program co-designed with the Wharton School. This program helps participants effectively balance their social mission with business growth.

Microfinance institutions must satisfy two goals: generate a profit and improve the lives of women entrepreneurs worldwide.

Women hold incredible potential to drive economic growth, accounting for half the world's population.

The full potential of women's economic contributions is far from being realized, with nearly 1 billion women lacking access to financial services.

Women account for a third of the world's 40 million formal small business owners, and an estimated 80% of its 240 million informal small business owners.

This gap in access to financial services increases women's risk of falling into poverty and reduces their ability to climb out of poverty.

Giving low-income women access to financial tools and resources can have a powerful effect on their lives and on national economies.

Balancing social mission with business growth is a challenge many microfinance institutions face. They must generate a profit while doing good by improving the lives of women entrepreneurs worldwide.

The Wharton School, a founding member of Women’s World Banking’s Center for Microfinance Leadership, is tackling this challenge through a unique Advanced Leadership Program. This program is co-designed with WWB to help microfinance decision makers effectively balance their social mission with business needs.

Women’s World Banking brings its expertise to the table, sharing customer research-based approaches to product design. This approach is tailored to the needs of low-income women and men, and the gender dynamics in households that influence financial decision making.

Innovative financial products are designed and delivered as a result of this research, giving microentrepreneurs access to financial tools and resources. These tools can have a powerful effect on their lives, on their families, and on national economies.