A wide range of studies suggests that women in emerging and developing markets have less access to economic opportunities and finance than their male counterparts. This is especially true of women-led businesses, which – although typically smaller and less numerous than men-led businesses – represent the fastest-growing sector in emerging markets around the world.

Access to finance is a common factor identified by women entrepreneurs as an obstacle to growth – yet is related to broader societal, cultural and, occasionally, legal barriers to the economic empowerment of women.

MF Strategy’s gender finance offering revolves around customer-focused strategies, whereby market segmentation is utilised to design a global approach tailored to women entrepreneurs’ needs. A comprehensive understanding of the specific social and economic context of women and their needs is fundamental in this respect. MF Strategy ultimately supports financial institutions in leveraging their product offerings to ease access to finance for women through customised credit products, in addition to providing a range of non-financial services such as networking, mentoring and training.