FINANCIAL INCLUSION AMONG RURAL WOMEN COULD SAVE THE INFORMAL SECTOR
CCPC boss has urged financial institutions to onboard more rural women to improve their chances of accessing COVID-19 relief support for their businesses.
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Competition and consumer protection commission (CCPC) Executive Director Chilufya Sampa says there is urgent need for financial sector organisations to increase the rate at which they onboard women in rural areas to promote maximum inclusivity in the distribution of COVID-19 relief packages.
Mr Sampa who was speaking during an episode of the Stanbic Anakazi Banking online conversations noted that women in rural areas faced serious hurdles in accessing COVID-19 relief support for their businesses because they lacked access to formal financial services.
Earlier this year, the central bank announced it would avail K10 billion to help businesses affected by the pandemic. The relief package has since been supplemented by various inhouse interventions from financial institutions including loan repayment breaks for affected enterprises as stakeholders scramble to keep the strained economy afloat.
Access to these services remains restricted to women as FinScope data shows that nearly half of all women in Zambia are financially excluded.
“What has come through from the women market is that in rural Zambia, women typically run microbusinesses that help support their families. However, most of these women remain financially excluded,” explained Mr Sampa.
“As a result, it becomes nearly impossible for them to access relief packages that are available to other entrepreneurs in urban areas.
This is of great concern to us at the CCPC because it means that the playing field is not level in certain segments. If left unchecked in these difficult times, it can greatly distort the market and cripple an important part of the economy – the informal sector.
We have been working with the Rural Financial Extension Programme (RUFEP) in trying to raise awareness of the importance of financial inclusion among women in rural areas to help change the narrative. We are engaging banks and mobile money providers in this quest.”
Mr Sampa noted that the commission would work with various stakeholders to ensure that as many women as possible had access to financial services so that they would not get bypassed by the various interventions being put in place to help businesses navigate through the outbreak.
The full discussion as at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=306468443816081
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Stanbic Bank Zambia is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets.
Standard Bank Group reported total assets R2.3 trillion (about USD163 billion) at 31 December 2019, while its market capitalisation was R277 billion (USD20 billion).
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Stanbic Bank Zambia’s Personal and Business Banking unit (PBB) offers banking and other financial services to individuals and small-to-medium enterprises. PBB serves the increasing need among Africa’s small business and individual customers for banking products that can meet their shifting expectations and growing wealth.
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