Insights to innovations: Designing financial services for women entrepreneurs

• by Akhand Tiwari, Ayushi Misra, Mohak Srivastava, Kunal Sharma and Sadia Shahnaz
• Oct 22, 2024
• 1 min
Download resource

While the number of loans to women-owned MSMEs in Bangladesh has grown, credit access for women entrepreneurs still lags behind their economic contributions. As of Q4 2023, women hold 36.9% of bank accounts and 33.9% of total deposits, but only 17.9% of loan accounts, with just 6.5% of total asset value. Despite contributing 20% to Bangladesh’s GDP, women-owned enterprises received only 17.9% of total CSME loans in 2023

Though there has been growth in credit access for women-owned MSMEs in Bangladesh, it remains insufficient in meeting the increasing demand from women entrepreneurs. As of Q4 2023, women own 36.9% of bank accounts and contribute 33.9% of the total deposits in the banking sector. However, when it comes to credit, the disparity is clear. Women own only 17.9% of total loan accounts and hold just 6.5% of the total asset value in banks, despite contributing around 20% to Bangladesh’s GDP.

The number of loans issued to women-owned enterprises rose from 147,102 in 2022 (13% of total CSME loans) to 236,172 in 2023, accounting for 17.9% of the total loans to CSMEs. However, even with this increase in the number of loans, women-owned businesses only held 17.9% of the total loan accounts by number, and their share in the outstanding credit portfolio remains low at just 6.45% by value.

For a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in women’s financial inclusion in Bangladesh, please refer to the full report.