On June 23, 2021, IPA hosted a virtual workshop with financial service providers and government officials in Indonesia on the challenges and opportunities in delivering financial services to women entrepreneurs. The event was hosted in partnership with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), and Bappenas.

The event began with a presentation of new IPA survey results of 500 women-owned Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in South Sumatra and North Sulawesi by Kate Glynn-Broderick (IPA, Financial Inclusion) and Willie Blackmon (IPA, Financial Inclusion). The survey found that the sample of entrepreneurs are financially sophisticated and growth-oriented, but do not use digital financial services to their full potential. The primary reason for not utilizing formal services like credit is that the process of applying is too cumbersome. Moreover, even when women do apply for formal services, they often face stringent collateral or spousal approvement requirements. These results all form the case for making credit products more accessible to women.

Russell Toth (University of Sydney) built off these survey findings and provided recommendations on how financial service providers can tailor their products to reach underserved entrepreneurs and expand their consumer base. He provided evidence on which types of interventions are most successful in providing financial products to women. Specifically, he described how women may benefit from different marketing and increased application assistance. He also detailed the benefits of accepting alternative forms of collateral and credit scoring. Workshop participants also offered reactions to both presentations and their own lessons learned as practitioners.

You can view the recording below and the presentations in English and Indonesian here and here.

Speakers

• Kate Glynn-Broderick, Associate Director, Financial Inclusion at IPA
• Willie Blackmon, Research Manager, Financial Inclusion at IPA
• Russell Toth, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney

Host

• Tanvi Jaluka, Program Manager, Financial Inclusion at IPA

Additional Remarks From

• Nilufar Ahmed, Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Widyo Gunadi, OJK
• Kurniawan Ariad, Bappenas
• Rebecca Rouse, Director, Financial Inclusion at IPA

This workshop was the first in a series of MCC-funded workshops to disseminate findings from IPA surveys of growth-oriented women entrepreneurs. The workshop series provides a platform for disseminating research and engaging with financial service providers and government officials on the creation of effective financial services and products for women entrepreneurs.

City

Webinar

Country

United States