• by Naini Dahra, Abhikalp Purohit and Anushka Tandon
• Oct 8, 2025
• 0 min

The report unpacks the concept of financial health in the context of women-owned microbusinesses across emerging markets. To this end, it examines the systemic and market-level drivers that shape the growth and resilience of these businesses and proposes a comprehensive framework to define what a financially healthy women-owned microbusiness looks like. The study is layered on MSC’s earlier work on financial health in India and South Africa. Secondary research across 17 emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America enriched the study. An expert committee’s regional insights and guidance ensured its contextual relevance.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. commissioned the initiative. The study applied a structured methodology of secondary analysis, expert consultations, and comparative learning across markets to develop SCALE, a first-of-its-kind framework customized to women-owned microbusinesses in emerging economies. The framework provides insights and pathways for ecosystem actors to design gender-responsive financial solutions, strengthen institutional and entrepreneurial capabilities, and improve long-term financial health outcomes for women-owned microbusinesses.

This report was developed in close consultation with our expert committee: Beatriz Marulanda, Mike McCaffrey, Rafael Mazer, and Sunitha Rangaswami and reviewed by Maansi Sharda and Sunil Bhat. We are grateful for their valuable insights and guidance.