Over the last decade, fintech has driven a significant increase in financial inclusion, including of women, in Africa. But if the industry is to continue to expand and strengthen access to financial services and credit, it needs not only to serve women, but also to be shaped by them.
KIGALI – The fintech revolution is sweeping across Africa, creating wealth and opportunity from Cairo to Cape Town. But, like the broader tech sector, the fintech industry suffers from a fundamental weakness: too few women.
Africa does have something to boast about on this front: the share of fintech companies founded by women is double the global average. Unfortunately, the figure is still just 3.2%. Moreover, while 30% of tech professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa are women, the share of women in fintech remains well below the industry average.
This does not mean that fintech has not had an impact on women. On the contrary, it has rapidly accelerated financial inclusion for African women, from private individuals seeking to formalize their household finances to small businesses whose owners want to expand. In Rwanda, for example, fintech platforms drove a 27% increase in women’s access to financial services from 2012 to 2016. In Kenya, mobile banking has increased overall financial inclusion from only 26% in 2006 to 84% in 2021.
KIGALI – The fintech revolution is sweeping across Africa, creating wealth and opportunity from Cairo to Cape Town. But, like the broader tech sector, the fintech industry suffers from a fundamental weakness: too few women.
Africa does have something to boast about on this front: the share of fintech companies founded by women is double the global average. Unfortunately, the figure is still just 3.2%. Moreover, while 30% of tech professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa are women, the share of women in fintech remains well below the industry average.
This does not mean that fintech has not had an impact on women. On the contrary, it has rapidly accelerated financial inclusion for African women, from private individuals seeking to formalize their household finances to small businesses whose owners want to expand. In Rwanda, for example, fintech platforms drove a 27% increase in women’s access to financial services from 2012 to 2016. In Kenya, mobile banking has increased overall financial inclusion from only 26% in 2006 to 84% in 2021.