We help design financial services specifically for women to advance women’s financial inclusion and support the growth of women-led businesses.
Around the world, women are more likely than men to be excluded from the formal financial system, according to the World Bank. This gender gap limits women’s ability to build assets and access opportunities. Women earn and own less than men, making it much more difficult to manage their finances, apply for a loan, open a business, or secure stable work. By working with partners to design financial services specifically for women and women-led businesses, we’re helping to advance women’s financial inclusion, close gaps in access and usage, and strengthen families, communities, and the economy.
How we work
We work to ensure women have access to responsible, affordable financial tools that support their businesses, households, and long-term resilience. By advancing women’s financial inclusion and centering women’s needs in financial innovation, we help expand opportunity and create more inclusive economies where women can thrive.
700 m+
Over 700 million women worldwide remain excluded from the formal financial system, highlighting the women’s financial inclusion gap
70%+
Women-owned MSMEs have little to no access to financial services, limiting financial inclusion for women-led businesses
60%
Women are employed in the informal sector with limited financial security, reinforcing the need for inclusive financial services for women
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Financial inclusion must be intentionally designed for women
Women face structural, social, and economic barriers that limit their access to and use of financial services. These challenges contribute to the persistent gender gap in financial inclusion. Closing these gaps requires more than access alone—it requires solutions designed around women’s needs, realities, and goals to advance women’s financial inclusion.
We practice gender lens investing and support partners in designing and delivering financial products that reflect how women earn, save, borrow, and manage risk. By aligning financial services with women’s realities, we help advance women’s financial inclusion at scale. Flexible credit and accessible digital tools play a critical role in strengthening digital financial inclusion and ensuring financial services work for women.
Sustainable impact requires strong financial institutions. We work with financial service providers to strengthen their capacity, governance, and customer understanding, helping them reach women more effectively and responsibly at scale and advance women’s financial inclusion.
Women’s economic empowerment depends on more inclusive financial systems. Through research, investment, and collaboration, we influence markets, policies, and practices to advance women’s financial inclusion and support more inclusive economic growth, so women can fully participate and thrive.
Video
Women entrepreneurs turn to tech to grow their businesses
Research
From the Center for Financial Inclusion
CFI uses research on women’s economic empowerment and advocacy to advance inclusive financial systems for low-income women globally.
