The Graça Machel Trust (GMT), under the Expert Leaders Group (ELG) on women’s financial inclusion in the digital economy, recently launched national roundtable series which focused on tabling and sharing the agenda of the ELG and GMT Networks. This allowed key stakeholders to share strategies regarding the COVID-19 economic recovery response and progress implementation and gender inclusiveness of the plan.
The roundtable series kicked off with the Zimbabwean national roundtable hosted on Thursday, 07 October 2021, under the theme of Enhancing women’s financial inclusion through digital finance and literacy in the wake of COVID-19. The pool of delegates included experts from the Central Bank of Zimbabwe; Financial Institutions in Zimbabwe â Banks, Micro Finance Institutions & Insurance Institutions; relevant Ministries – Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in the Ministry of Industry; Development partners – World Bank, IMF, ADB to mention but a few. The event attracted representation from the Women Associations in the informal sectors’ low income to small-medium sized businesses mainly in the urban area. Other Women in Rural Centres associations also formed part of the convening to gain more significant insights on women’s perspectives on women’s financial inclusion, particularly in Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 economic recovery responses.
Zimbabwean National Roundtable
One of the critical issues raised in the presence of the Central Bank and the Ministries was linked to digital financial services in terms of adoption by women. The Central Bank has started liaising with NFNV Zimbabwe in response to the issue and has committed to designing a programme for digital financial literacy that will be included in the Central Banks’ National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
The next convening took place on 10 November 2021, by the Ugandan Country Chapter Networks under the theme Women’s Financial Inclusion in the digital economy: Bridging the gap through gender-sensitive financial services and saw the participation of the networks involved included the Women in Finance (New Faces New Voices- NFNV), The Network of African Business Women Uganda Chapter (NABW-U Ltd), Africa Women in Agribusiness Network (AWAN), Women in Media (WIM) and Women in Extractives (WIE), who all collectively work on women’s economic and social empowerment, governance and leadership programs.
The national roundtable was planned and implemented to build up to the Trust’s sponsored research on the social-economic effects of COVID-19 in seven (7) African countries, including Uganda. The Ugandan roundtable aimed at sharing the highlights from the study with key influential people, institutions and regulatory authorities who uphold women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion. These included government Ministries and agencies, parastatals, NGOs / CSOs, UN agencies, Financial Institutions, Fintechs, Insurance Regulatory Authorities; while also engaging for further insight on improving the business environment for women-led MSMEs and seeking commitment towards this. The roundtable dialogue involved a keynote address by the Ugandan Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) and the prime minister’s office. Â
Summary presentations on the Trust’s Financial Inclusion Research on the effects of COVID-19 on different sectors of Uganda’s economy and policy recommendations were made during the research and panel discussions to unveil how best financial bottlenecks that hinder the growth of women in business can be minimized. In addition, plenary meetings further inform policy recommendations towards improving the business work environment for women entrepreneurs in COVID-19 recovery responses and women’s financial inclusion.
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