The UNCDF Policy Accelerator will work with governments in Africa to improve women’s economic empowerment (WEE) as part the of G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa.

Project background 

As an extension of its Africa Policy Accelerator project, the UNCDF Policy Accelerator will work with governments in Africa to accelerate the pace of regulatory and policy reforms that enable the meaningful use of digital financial services by women. We will: 

• Deliver technical assistance to promote women’s economic empowerment 

• Work with government partners to unlock digital financial policy reforms that directly impact women 

• Provide targeted advocacy focused on the basic regulatory enablers of digital financial services 

• Help keep the focus on the financial health of women and the specific economic barriers they face 

• Support governments in prioritizing the collecting sex-disaggregated data 

• Build capacity of francophone regulators to enable local and regional harmonization for women’s economic empowerment 

This project aligns with the regulatory pillar (Pillar #3) in the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa.

Project goals 

1. Gender is mainstreamed as a policy priority

For example:

• Gender equality in financial access and usage are priorities in financial inclusion strategies

• Gender is an area of consistent focus in public-private dialogue

• Measurable targets are defined for women’s financial health and inclusion

• Systems for sex-disaggregated data reporting and collection are under development

2. Specific policies address the gender gap

For example:

• Regulations and policies address specific constraints faced by women

• New regulations specify expected impact on women

• Compliance requirements mandate reporting of sex-disaggregated data

• Regulated financial institutions have systems to collect and report disaggregate data

3. Female regulators participate in capacity building activities

• More women are integrated into the regulation and policy making process

• More women attend capacity building activities

Project partners

UNCDF will coordinate closely with African governments, particularly those in Francophone West and Central Africa, to co-design a technical support approach and capacity needs. This will also include working with local representative of women’s groups who can participate in targeted research and consultation on policy design.

For more information, please contact:

• Ahmed Dermish: ahmed.dermish@uncdf.org

Authors

Ahmed Dermish

Alexis Ditkowsky