Want economic prosperity? Help women become more financially capable

  • Date: 22-Jul-2021
  • Source: Wamda
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Jordan
  • Who else needs to know?

Want economic prosperity? Help women become more financially capable

Dina Alnabulsi is a business analyst at Globitel, a Jordan-based telecommunications company



Financial exclusion is a universal issue, one that is facing the majority of the global population. The latest figures from the World Bank's Findex report indicate that there are at least 1.7 billion adults"”one-third of the world's adult population"” remain unbanked and do not utilise any banking services. Women make up 56 per cent of the world's unbanked adult population.



The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) not only has the largest unbanked population in the world, it also has the largest global gender disparity in terms of financial inclusion. The World Bank report states that 52 per cent of men have access to a bank account as opposed to only 35 per cent of women in Mena; this disparity has a remarkable impact on women's employment and financial independence. 



By definition, unbanked individuals are the ones who do not have access to a bank account or financial services, such as saving accounts and credit cards, etc. While underbanked individuals have limited access to some financial services; however, they rely on cash and alternative financial systems to perform their financial transactions instead of an affordable banking setup.