Her time is now - the urgent case for women’s economic empowerment

Her time is now - The urgent case for women’s economic empowerment

In our region, disadvantaged people, mostly women, face significant barriers to growing their businesses and livelihoods. Underserved by local financial institutions, they are excluded from the formal economy. They are unable to access ethical finance and do not have the training to build their business and take control of their livelihoods.

In fact, almost 1 billion women across the world have no access to formal financial services.

If we enable women to access finance, money skills and business opportunity, we know they are more likely to invest their takings into their family. We also know a more stable financial position for a woman means a more resilient family - better prepared for disaster and income loss and less likely to slip into poverty.

Economic empowerment for women and the marginalised is also about human rights - giving more people the same opportunity to participate in the economy, access decent work and be in control of their own financial decision making. United Nations Women highlight that promoting women’s economic justice and rights in the economy is key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Finally, breaking down barriers to financial inclusion leads to economic growth in developing countries. A stronger future for women and the disadvantaged builds a stronger future for everyone in our region - particularly important with the poverty level rise during Covid and the dramatic increases in the cost of living. The World Economic Forum has said if policy-makers prioritised investments in women’s economic power, the global economy could grow an additional $10 trillion by 2030.

These are the critical reasons why Good Return works with women entrepreneurs. Our powerful combination of access to responsible finance and financial skills training is how we support women to grow their businesses and their livelihoods. Our goal is an empowered generation of entrepreneurs - in control of their money, financially resilient and achieving their business and family goals.