Women and Digital Financial Services in Sub-Saharan Africa : Understanding the Challenges and Harnessing the Opportunities

Economies achieve their highest potential when all citizens can participate fully and without discrimination. Economic exclusion means lost opportunities, with significant negative consequences for individuals and families, as well as the broader economy. In Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the great efforts made to advance economic opportunity and equality for women, especially with the advent of digital financial services (DFS), gender differences in financial inclusion persist. This study shows that there are pronounced differences in the way men and women engage financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is reflected by the differences in the types of products men and women engage, with men more likely to use DFS than women. Women are more likely to use informal services, suggesting that informal services continue to provide value unavailable from other channels. Data shows that men use mobile money more frequently than women and send money as well as buy airtime more than women. On the other hand, women use mobile money more to receive money and store value than men. It is therefore recommended that financial service providers (FSPs) invest in gender-lensed data analytics (where gender data is available), as this is key to including women in the formal financial system.