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0| innovate•nurture•excel
FINSCOPE GENDER
ANALYSIS
Report
2015
1 |innovate • nurture • excel
Table of Content
TABLE OF CONTENT .............................................................................................. 1
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 4
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 6
FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS ...................................................................................... 8
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDIVIDUAL ...................................................................... 10
DEMOGRAPHICS .............................................................................................. 11
FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING ............................................................................. 12
LEVELS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY ........................................................................... 14
ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS TOWARDS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND SERVICES ................... 15
ACCESS AND ELIGIBILITY BY GENDER ....................................................................... 18
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA ....................................................................................... 18
PHYSICAL ACCESS ........................................................................................... 19
LEVELS OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION 2009 – 2014 .......................................................... 21
DRIVERS OF INCREASED FORMAL INCLUSION: 2009 TO 2014 ....................................... 22
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF FORMAL AND INFORMALLY INCLUDED WOMEN .......................... 24
THE FINSCOPE ACCESS STRAND ............................................................................. 25
ACCESS STRAND TRENDS: 2009 - 2014 ............................................................... 25
ACCESS STRAND PER GEOGRAPHICAL AREA ............................................................. 25
LANDSCAPE OF ACCESS ........................................................................................ 28
MONEY MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................... 31
TRENDS IN SAVING, BORROWING AND MONEY TRANSFERS ........................................... 31
SAVINGS MECHANISMS ..................................................................................... 32
CREDIT PRODUCTS AND LENDERS ......................................................................... 36
REMITTANCE CHANNELS .................................................................................... 39
PERCEIVED FINANCIAL RISKS AND RISK MITIGATION .................................................... 40
DRIVERS AND BARRIERS OF UPTAKE OF FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .......................... 42
BANK PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ........................................................................... 42
SAVING ....................................................................................................... 43
BORROWING.................................................................................................. 44
INSURANCE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .................................................................... 45
CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 47
OPPORTUNITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOZAMBIQUE ... 48
OPPORTUNITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT ......................................... 48
OPPORTUNITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ........................... 48
OPPORTUNITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS ........................... 49
2 | List of Figures
List of Figures
Figure 1: Framework of Analysis .................................................................................. 9
Figure 2: Age Distribution by Gender .......................................................................... 11
Figure 3: Education distribution by gender .................................................................. 11
Figure 4: Main income generating activity distribution by gender ................................... 11
Figure 5: Main income generating activity of women – urban-rural distribution ................ 11
Figure 6: Involvement of adults in household decision making by gender ........................ 13
Figure 7: Involvement of women in household decision making by main income generating
activity ................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 8: Awareness and understanding of financial terminology by gender ..................... 15
Figure 9: Preferred sources of financial advice by gender .............................................. 15
Figure 10: Most important criteria for choosing savings mechanisms by gender ............... 16
Figure 11: Most important criteria for choosing lenders by gender .................................. 16
Figure 12: Perceptions about money transfer channels by gender .................................. 17
Figure 13: Perceptions about the benefits of using banks by gender ............................... 18
Figure 14: Perceptions about insurance companies by gender ........................................ 18
Figure 15: Compliance to KYC documentation requirements by gender ........................... 19
Figure 16: Compliance to KYC documentation requirements by gender – rural-urban
perspective.............................................................................................................. 19
Figure 17 Mode of transport used to access financial and other facilities by gender ........... 20
Figure 18: Trends in financial inclusion by gender: 2009 to 2014 ................................... 21
Figure 19: Trends in formal and informal financial inclusion by gender: 2009 to 2014 ....... 21
Figure 20: 2014 levels of financial inclusion by gender .................................................. 22
Figure 21: Trends in formal inclusion by gender: 2009 to 2014 ...................................... 23
Figure 22: Uptake of non-bank formal services ............................................................ 23
Figure 23: Demographic Profile of Formally and Informally included Women .................... 24
Figure 24: Access strand trends by gender .................................................................. 25
Figure 25: Access strand by gender – rural-urban perspective ....................................... 26
Figure 26: Access strand by gender and Bank and Microbank Distribution – provincial
perspective.............................................................................................................. 27
Figure 27: Landscape of access by gender ................................................................... 29
Figure 28: Landscape of informal access by gender ...................................................... 29
Figure 29: Landscape of formal access by gender ......................................................... 29
Figure 30: Landscape of access for women and men – Trends 2009 – 2014 ..................... 30
Figure 31: Landscape of access for women per main income generating activity .............. 31
Figure 32: Trends in Money Transfers, Saving and Borrowing - 2009 to 2014 ................. 31
Figure 33: Remittance, saving and borrowing behaviour by women – a rural-urban
perspective.............................................................................................................. 32
Figure 34: Remittance, saving and borrowing behaviour of women by main income
generating activity ................................................................................................... 32
Figure 35: Saving strand trends by gender – 2009 to 2014 ........................................... 33
Figure 36: Savings mechanisms used by adults who save – gender distribution ............... 34
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Figure 37: Saving strand by gender ............................................................................ 35
Figure 39: Women saving strand – rural-urban distribution ........................................... 35
Figure 40: Women saving strand by main income generating activity ............................. 36
Figure 41: Type of loans – gender distribution ............................................................. 36
Figure 42: Credit strand by gender ............................................................................. 37
Figure 43: Women credit strand – rural-urban distribution ............................................ 38
Figure 44: Women credit strand by main income generating activity ............................... 39
Figure 45: Credit strand trends by gender – 2009 to 2014 ............................................ 39
Figure 46: Remittance channels used – gender distribution ........................................... 40
Figure 47: Perceived household financial risks by gender .............................................. 41
Figure 48: Coping mechanisms of women – Main perceived risks ................................... 41
Figure 49: Drivers of uptake of bank products/services by gender .................................. 42
Figure 50: Barriers to uptake of bank products by gender (unbaked adults) .................... 43
Figure 51: Drivers of savings behavior by gender ......................................................... 44
Figure 52: Barriers to saving by gender ...................................................................... 44
Figure 53: Drivers of credit uptake by gender .............................................................. 45
Figure 54: Barriers to credit uptake by gender ............................................................. 45
Figure 55: Barriers to uptake of insurance products by gender ....................................... 46
4 | Executive Summary
Executive Summary
The FinScope Gender Analysis aims to describe the extent to which women have access to
financial services, how it differs from men and how has been changing in the past years.
The analysis involves the quantification of the uptake of financial services amongst women in relation
to men, describing the uptake and usage of financial services in terms of (i) the type of services
access and usage per gender and (ii) the drivers and barriers of uptake and usage of financial services
amongst women and men. This analysis was commissioned by FSD Moçambique, being the first
FinScope in-depth gender analysis among the countries where FinScope has been conducted. FSD
Moçambique intends to provide evidence-based insights to policymakers, service providers and the
general development partners in their efforts to advance financial inclusion in Mozambique, taking into
account gender idiosyncrasies identified in a gender qualitative research conducted in 2013.
The results from Mozambique FinScope Consumer 2014 show that although inclusion has
been increasing for both men and women since 2009, women's formal inclusion is
increasing at a lower rate. Women formal inclusion increased by 55% (mainly in urban areas)
compared to 74% increased by men (mainly in urban areas). Women non-bank inclusion increased by
200% compared to 108% by men. Women informal inclusion increased by 33% (mainly in urban
areas) compared to 9.5% increase by men (mainly in urban areas). These findings illustrate the
significant role of the informal sector in pushing out women's the boundaries of access. Additionally,
the findings highlights the bias against rural areas in relation to women's access to both formal and
informal financial services.
Looking into the uptake of financial products, findings show that women's uptake levels of
financial services is lower than men's, except for informal saving and remittance services.
Women are less likely to save (mainly by salaried, business and pension/government grant dependent
women). Women's usage of formal credit (mainly by salaried) is increasing at a lower rate than men's,
while informal uptake of credit is decreasing for both men and women. Women are significantly less
likely to have insurance products and to have/use mobile money services. Access to transactional,
credit and insurance products is primarily by men compared to women. Informal inclusion is
predominant for saving and remittance products, driven by women clients. These findings highlights
that the formal uptake is skewed towards males.
Women's profile present an increased challenge to deepen their levels of access to financial
services. Women are more dependent on others for an income and those relying mainly on money
from agriculture, livestock and own businesses. Their levels of education and product awareness are
lower than men (eg. low understanding of microcredit, mobile/electronic money, mkesh, mpesa, etc.)
and women are less likely to turn to banks for financial advice than men. Additionally, they are less
aware of the advantages of having a bank account, less likely to know or visit financial services access
points and less likely to have either identity documents or proof of residential address. Moreover,
women are less likely to make financial decisions, unless they are financially independent.
The analysis enabled the validation of most of the hypothesis formulated based on the 2013
qualitative research findings. The analysis confirmed that there is a correlation between the ability
to generate income and participation in the decision-making process at the level of the household as
more women on government pensions (43.8%), biscato (37,4%) and on wage (32,5%) make
decisions alone. Findings also show that women have greater concern than men for the family's
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welfare spending more on medical emergencies, house construction and education. More women use
unsecured loans than men (19,7% vs 18%), probably due to lower asset basis. In addition, although
MFIs are mostly used by men, it was confirmed that microfinance services providers widen women’s
financial inclusion as women formal inclusion is highest in provinces where microbank branch presence
is highest. However, contrary to the qualitative research hypothesis that women tend to use more
mobile money services than their male counterparts due to their lower mobility, the gender analysis
show that only 2.7% women (against 4.2% men) have/use mobile money services.
Finally, the FinScope 2014 gender analysis provide insights on opportunities that can be
leveraged by various stakeholders. The opportunities are combined with recommendations that
the government, financial institutions and development partners can take on to advance women
financial inclusion in Mozambique.
6 | Introduction
Introduction
Since the 2003 assessment of the financial sector by the World Bank, Mozambique has made
significant progress toward developing and strengthening the financial sector through the
implementation of comprehensive financial sector reform program. However, the majority of the
population and businesses still do not have access to financial services – especially in rural areas
where the majority of the population resides.
Ultimately, the goal of financial sector development and increased financial inclusion as defined by the
Mozambique Financial Sector Development Strategy 2013 - 2022 is to improve the lives of all
Mozambicans, and more especially to enable the poor to build financial security, manage financial
shocks and to invest in opportunities to generate income through access to secure savings facilities
and other financial services. In line with this goal, it would be the Government’s objective to channel
as much of the money in a country through the formal financial system in order to enhance the
liquidity of financial institutions and ultimately increase their ability to provide credit and better
interest on savings.
Broadly viewed, the overall objective of financial sector development is to decrease the proportion of
the population who are financially excluded and to specifically drive formal inclusion. In order to
develop and provide financial services that will result in increased uptake however, a clear demand-
side understanding is needed – i.e. a clear understanding of how individuals generate money, how
they manage their cash-flow, what their financial risks are, how they cope with such shocks as well as
how they make provision for future financial needs. In Mozambique, as in most developing countries,
financial services operate in an information-poor environment. In particular, there is very limited in-
depth understanding of the demand for, and the usage of financial services. Addressing this
fundamental information constraints is one of the objectives of FSD Moz.
The Mozambique Financial Sector Deepening (FSD Moz) programme facilitates financial inclusion for all
through a range of quality financial services to poor Mozambicans and businesses, particularly in rural
areas. The project also helps drive finance for stability by promoting the development and
implementation of strong financial sector regulation, supervision, and infrastructure to promote and
maintain Mozambique’s favourable economic and social conditions domestically and internationally.
FinScope is a research tool which was developed by FinMark Trust to address the need for credible
demand-side information. It provides insights to guide policy makers and regulators in terms of how
to address or respond to some of the challenges they face in order to meet financial inclusion targets.
It also provides financial service providers with crucial strategic information regarding their target
markets and the financial services these markets need – enabling them to extend their reach and
broaden the range of services they provide.
The FinScope survey provides a holistic understanding of how individuals generate an income and how
they manage their financial lives. It identifies the factors that drive financial behaviour and those that
prevent individuals from using financial products and services. Implementing the FinScope survey over
time further provides the opportunity to assess whether, and how, a country’s situation changes. The
first implementation of the FinScope survey in Mozambique was undertaken in 2009 and the second in
2014. In terms of the FinScope data that was generated by these two surveys, FSD Moz is specifically
interested in getting an understanding of the development of the financial sector by gender. The
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overall objective with this analysis is to guide the development of an action plan to deepen women’s
access to, and usage of financial services in Mozambique.
8 | Framework of Analysis
Framework of Analysis
Aimed at achieving the survey objectives, the analysis framework that was applied attempted to
provide insight and understanding regarding the following two main principles (Figure 1):
Financial inclusion is only effective or functional if consumers have physical access to financial
institutions; are eligible to open an account or use a product or service; and actually open an
account or take up a product or service and then use it.
Although physical access to a financial institution and eligibility to open an account or use a
product are prerequisites for the uptake of financial services, the actual uptake and usage of a
financial service or product depend on the individual. This would be influenced by:
o Characteristics of the individual such as demographics, attitudes and perceptions about
money and financial services and/or institutions, income generating activities, income levels,
and money management strategies
o Structure of the household, role of the individual in the household and the influence thereof
on the extent to which the individual make decisions about money
o The attributes of the community the individual lives in, such as the level of access to
infrastructure e.g. the differences between urban and rural communities
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Figure 1: Framework of Analysis
Do women/men have access?
Do they have physical access?
Do they meet product/service requirements?
Do women/men take up financial services?/have accounts?Payments/savings/borrowing/remittance/protection against shocks
If they did
Who doesn't?
Why not?
Did they have it before Why did they drop out?
Who does
If they don´t
If they doWhich products/ services?
If they doDirect/Indirect?
Chanel
Do they actually USE the products they take up?
It They do/don´t
Why does/ doesn´t?
How/ why not?Dimensions of Inclusion
Financial Inclusion
Do women/men have access?
Do they have physical access?
Specifically the purpose of this report is to:
Describe the extent to which both women and men have access to financial services
Quantify the extent of uptake of financial services by gender
o Describe uptake and usage of financial services amongst women and men in terms of (i) the
type of services they have or use, and (ii) the drivers of uptake and usage
Describe the barriers that prohibit the uptake and usage of financial services by gender
10 | Characteristics of the Individual
Characteristics of the Individual
FinScope surveys implemented across Africa have repeatedly illustrated the link between people’s
livelihoods and the extent to which they engage with a financial system. It follows, therefore, that any
intervention intended to increase financial inclusion could only be effective if it is based on a clear
understanding of these dynamics.
Findings from numerous FinScope surveys suggest that individuals with small inconsistent irregular
incomes are more likely to be financially excluded or they rely on informal financial mechanisms rather
than to engage with the formal financial sector. This is a result of their financial behaviour being
driven by their daily struggle to make ends meet. In order to mitigate the risk of running out of
money to meet their daily needs, these individuals survive by putting aside small amounts of money
when they can.
In a cash-based society however this needs to be done in a manner that would enable them to have
quick access to cash. Because of the nature of their income and the small amounts of money that
they are able to put aside, they are often still faced with the reality of running out of cash to meet
their daily needs or to deal with unexpected events or emergencies. They are therefore often forced to
borrow (usually small amounts), but their situation, more often than not demands quick access to
cash. The demand for quick access to small amounts of cash by consumers who are likely to have little
to offer in terms of collateral, cannot be met by formal financial institutions. It is against this
background that an informal system often develops – especially in communities with a strong sense of
community involvement and support. The reason why this informal system is sustained is two-fold:
Once the informal system is established, it evolves and starts to offer additional non-financial
benefits to its users.
A lack of interventions which are successful in terms of providing those who are informally served
with formal alternatives that meet their needs in an affordable manner.
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Women are younger than men population;
Women have lower levels of education;
Women are more likely to be dependent on
others for an income or to pay their expenses.
Demographics
Just over half, 52.0% (7.5 million), of Mozambican adults are women whilst 48.0% (6.9 million) are
men. Findings summarized in Figures 2 to 5 give an overview of the demographic profile of
Mozambican adults (i.e. individuals aged 16 years or older) by gender at the time of the 2014
FinScope survey.
Figure 2: Age Distribution by Gender Figure 3: Education distribution by gender
Figure 4: Main income generating activity distribution by gender
Figure 5: Main income generating activity of women – urban-rural distribution
12 | Characteristics of the Individual
It is also observed that women who generate an own income mostly rely on activities that bring in
inconsistent, irregular and small amounts of money – only 5.8% of women (vs. 11.0% of men) rely
on salaries/wages from employment as main source of income. Most women who generate an income
do so through agricultural activities (29.0% of women, and livestock (38.2% of rural women)) or own
businesses (14.5%, about 18.4% of urban women).
Financial Decision Making
The position and responsibilities of an individual in the household significantly impacts on his/her
capacity to engage with the financial sector. Understanding these household dynamics would be
important in gauging the true market potential for various financial service providers and policymakers
alike. According to the FinScope 2014 survey findings:
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Independent women (i.e. those who generate their
own money) have more financial decision making
power than those who depend on others for money
or to pay their expenses
Women are slightly less likely than men
to be involved in making household
financial decisions
Figure 6: Involvement of adults in household decision making by gender
Figure 7: Involvement of women in household decision making by main income generating activity
14 | Characteristics of the Individual
Levels of Financial Literacy
Finscope surveys implemented in various countries have illustrated that the awareness of and
knowledge about financial products and services as well as an understanding of how financial products
and services can help them improve their lives, are important drivers of uptake of financial services.
Findings summarized in Figure 8 revealed that women are less likely to know and understand financial
terminology than men. Of particular concern is the low levels of awareness and understanding
amongst women with regard to channels that could be used to reach adults with limited or restricted
mobility and those (especially in rural areas) for whom proximity to existing financial access points is
a barrier to inclusion.
In terms of seeking financial advice, although both men and women are most likely to turn to friends
and family for financial advice, women are less likely to know who to turn for advice than men.
Mechanisms with potential to be used to increase women’s financial literacy (e.g. banks, financial
advisors, community radio, etc.) are less likely to be used by them than by men. Additionally, banked
men are also more likely (69.3%) than banked women (61.9%) to turn to their banks for financial
advice.
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Figure 8: Awareness and understanding of financial terminology by gender
Figure 9: Preferred sources of financial advice by gender
Attitudes and Opinions towards Financial Institutions and Services
The attitudes and perceptions of individuals regarding money matters, financial institutions, and the
services they offer significantly influence the uptake and usage thereof. The FinScope Mozambique
2014 survey explored attitudes and perceptions about general money management matters revealing
that (Figures 10 to 12):
In terms of savings, the most important criteria for choosing a savings mechanism are access
(proximity) to money and safety of the money. There is no significant difference between men
and women in this regard although women are slightly more likely than men to emphasize
proximity/accessibility when choosing a savings mechanism;
16 | Characteristics of the Individual
In terms of borrowing, proximity and convenience of access to the lender most significantly
influence choice of a lender. Women borrowers are more likely than men to choose a lender based
on low interest rates, quick access to money (i.e. short approval process and quick
disbursement), suitability of repayment terms and collateral requirements, the reputation
of the lender as well as having dealt with the lender before (e.g. having savings with the lender).
Figure 10: Most important criteria for choosing savings mechanisms by gender
Figure 11: Most important criteria for choosing lenders by gender
In terms of their perceptions regarding money transfer channels, men and women largely agree
although women are less likely than men to regard using banks as a money transfer channel as
favorable as men.
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Women recognize that banks are
relatively:
Least risky
Fastest, and
Easy to use
Figure 12: Perceptions about money transfer channels by gender
Women are less likely than men to see the benefits of using banks and are less favorable than men
with regard to insurance companies (Figures 13 and 14). Both men and women perceive the safety of
money to be the most significant benefit of using banks but, women (9.8%) are more likely than men
(8.4%) not to see any advantage in using banks. About 7.9% of women as opposed to 11.1% of men
are of the perception that it makes financial sense to have insurance.
18 | Access and Eligibility by Gender
Figure 13: Perceptions about the benefits of using banks by gender
Figure 14: Perceptions about insurance companies by gender
Access and Eligibility by Gender
In order to assess the extent to which Mozambican adults have access or are able to access formal
financial institutions, the FinScope 2014 survey explored the awareness of adults regarding the
location of these institutions and their perceptions regarding physical accessibility as well as the extent
to which adults comply with Know your Customer (KYC) requirements in terms of the documentation
needed to access formal financial services.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to use formal financial services, KYC requirements stipulate that individuals need proof of
identity as well as proof of residential address. FinScope findings summarized in Figure 15 and 16
suggest that stringent enforcement of KYC requirements will significantly impact on uptake of these
services as almost 1 in 2 adults do not have proof of identity and less than 1 in 10 have
documentation that would serve as poof of residential address. FinScope 2014 did not explore how
many people have the Tax Identification Number (NUIT) as a proof of identity, although it is part of
the KYC requirements.
Women are less likely than men to have the documents needed to comply with KYC requirements –
stringent enforcement of KYC will therefore act as a more significant barrier to uptake of formal
financial services for women than for men – 51.9% of women have neither proof of identity or proof of
19 |innovate • nurture • excel
residence. This situation is even more pronounced in rural areas – in urban areas 28.8% of women
have neither proof of identity or proof of residence; in rural areas this proportion increases to 61.5%.
Figure 15: Compliance to KYC documentation requirements by gender
ID Card Electricity Bill Water Bill Payslip Collateral
Figure 16: Compliance to KYC documentation requirements by gender – rural-urban perspective
Physical Access
Findings suggest that awareness of the location of financial access points is a more likely to be a
barrier to financial inclusion for women than for men. Women in rural areas are significantly less likely
than women in urban areas to know where the location of financial institutions are or to visit financial
access points (more than 40% of women never travel or do not know where it is.
Requirements for opening a bank
Requirements for applying for a loan
20 | Access and Eligibility by Gender
Figure 17 Mode of transport used to access financial and other facilities by gender1
Graph 1 shows that public transport is the most significant mode of transport to access financial
institutions for both men and women, however, women are less likely than men to visit these points.
Most women walk to reach money lenders and markets.
Table 1 Mode of transport used by women to access financial and other facilities – rural-
urban distribution (%)
Mode of transport Bank
branch ATM
Other
financial
institution
Money
lender Market
U R U R U R U R U R
Walk 43,1 6,3 38,5 3,2 35,9 4,0 19,0 15,4 75,7 60,6
Own or household motor
vehicle or motorcycle 7,5 8,1 7,0 8,4 8,6 8,2 2,6 6,8 5,7 9,8
Other transport you or
household owns such as
bicycle, ox cart etc.
6,3 7,0 4,6 4,2 4,1 4,2 5,4 5,1 2,3 9,6
Public transport - bus,
bicycle, taxi etc. 18,9 25,5 20,3 25,9 22,4 27,0 2,1 8,8 9,0 11,7
Never travels there/ Does
not know where it is 23,3 52,9 28,7 58,0 28,1 56,4 70,5 63,2 7,3 8,3
1 See detailed table of mode of transport used in the annexes.
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Men (35.8%) are still more likely to be financially included than women (31.3%)
Men are still more likely to be formally included than women and also more likely to rely on formal
products rather than using informal financial services to manage their money
Women are more likely to be informally included than men and also more likely than men to rely only on
informal products rather than using formal financial services to manage their money
Levels of Financial Inclusion 2009 – 2014
The impact of increased uptake in products since 2009 on financial inclusion is clear as is observed in
Figure 18 which shows a significant drop in exclusion since 2009 - both amongst men and women
although the drop in exclusion was more significant for men than for women.
To get a better understanding of whether it was an increase in formal financial activities or an increase
in informal financial activities that resulted in the significant decrease in financial exclusion since 2009,
findings summarized in Figures 19 and 20 explore the changes in formal and informal inclusion since
2009. This analysis reveals that there was an overall increase in financial activity – both formal and
informal:
The has been a significant increase in formal inclusion amongst men and women although the
increase for men was more significant than the increase for women
There has been an increase in informal inclusion for both men and women – this increase was
more significant for women than for men
Figure 18: Trends in financial inclusion by gender: 2009 to 2014
Figure 19: Trends in formal and informal financial inclusion by gender: 2009 to 2014
22 | Levels of Financial Inclusion 2009 – 2014
Figure 20: 2014 levels of financial inclusion by gender
Drivers of Increased Formal Inclusion: 2009 to 2014
FinScope subdivides formal financial institutions into (i) commercial banks, and (ii) Non-bank
formal financial institutions such as microfinance institutions (MFIs), SACCOs, insurance companies,
mobile money service providers and money transfer service providers such as Western Union, etc.
Exploring trends in formal financial inclusion, findings summarized in Figures 20 indicated that the
increase in formal inclusion was driven by an increase in uptake of both bank and non-bank formal
products amongst both men and women.
The increased uptake of bank products and services was more significant for men than for women
whilst
The increase in uptake of non-bank formal products and services was more significant for women
than men
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Figure 21: Trends in formal inclusion by gender: 2009 to 2014
In terms of uptake of non-bank formal services, findings summarized in Figure 22 show that this
sector is still largely undeveloped. Uptake of non-bank formal services is skewed towards men.
Figure 22: Uptake of non-bank formal services
24 | Levels of Financial Inclusion 2009 – 2014
Women in urban areas are significantly more likely to have or use formal and informal
services than women in rural areas
While usage of formal, particularly banked services are skewed towards women in the 41-60
years, non-banked and informal services are more used by women between 30-40 years.
Employed women as well as those receiving pension or other government grants, and women
business owners are the ones that mostly access both formal and informal services.
Demographic Profile of Formal and Informally Included Women
The demographic profile of formally and informally included women, findings summarized in Figure 23
suggest that besides for the age group, access to formal (bank and non-banked) and informal services
is significant for the same segment of women (urban and salaried women). Rural area figures are in
brackets of Figure 23. In summary:
Figure 23: Demographic Profile of Formally and Informally included Women
In terms of informal services (i.e. financial services provided but organizations/individuals that are not
regulated or supervised), women are more likely than men to use these services for saving and money
transfer purposes (17,4% compared to 14,4% of men). Uptake of informal insurance and credit
remains insignificant (less than 1% correspondingly).
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The FinScope Access Strand
The FinScope Access Strand is constructed based on the premise that the ultimate goal of financial
inclusion initiatives is formal financial inclusion. It is therefore constructed to illustrate the:
% of adults that are financially excluded
% of adults who are financially served but not formally served – i.e. % of adults who are
informally served only
% of adults who are formally served but not banked – i.e. % of adults who are served by non-
bank formal financial institutions but not by banks
% of adults who are banked – i.e. % of adults who are served by banks
Access Strand Trends: 2009 - 2014
Looking at the changes in the access strand by gender since 2009, Figure 24 shows an increase in
inclusion for both men and women as a result of increased uptake of both formal and informal
services. It is also observed an increase in formal inclusion driven by the uptake of both banking and
non-bank formal services, the increase being more significant for men resulting from the more
significant increase in uptake of banking products amongst men. Moreover, the proportion of adults
relying on informal services for both men and women has increased, more significantly for women.
Figure 24: Access strand trends by gender
Access Strand per Geographical Area
Looking at the access strand per geographical area, findings summarized in Figures 25 clearly
illustrate the significance of the rural-urban divide as more than 75% of rural adults (77.8% of rural
women) still being financially excluded. It is also noted that while women are informally included in
urban areas, men are more informally included in rural areas.
26 | The FinScope Access Strand
Figure 25: Access strand by gender – rural-urban perspective
Looking at the TOP 4 Provinces with higher distribution of bank branches and microbank
branches (red boxes on the right hand side of Figure 25), it is observed that women have higher
access to financial services in the TOP 4 provinces where microbank branch distribution is
highest.
Figure 26 below illustrates
that:
Formal inclusion amongst women is highest in the provinces of Maputo Cidade, Maputo Provincia,
Inhambane and Cabo Delgado;
Formal inclusion is the most significantly skewed towards men rather than women in the provinces of
Inhambane, Maputo Província and Maputo Cidade;
The boundaries of inclusion for women are most significantly pushed out by informal inclusion in the
provinces of Inhambane, Maputo Provincia and Maputo Cidade;
Exclusion of women is the most significant in the provinces of Sofala, Niassa and Manica.
Women formal inclusion is highest in provinces where microbank branch presence is highest
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Figure 26: Access strand by gender and Bank and Microbank Distribution2 – provincial perspective
2 Banco de Moçambique, Quarterly Reports, July 2015
Proximity (71%, 44%) is women´s no.1 criteria for choosing a lender and
savings mechanism
28 | Landscape of Access
Landscape of Access
The FinScope Landscape of Access is used to provide insight into the types of financial products
used by different market segments – it depicts the percentages of adults in a specific market segment
that have or use:
Transactional products/services – current accounts, debit cards, credit cards or basic savings
accounts which could be used for transactional purposes, etc.
Savings products/services. Long- and short-term products are included – i.e. basic savings
accounts, fixed deposit accounts, shares, government and/or utility bonds, savings with savings
groups, etc.
Credit products/services. Loans from formal financial institutions and informal credit such as
shop credit and credit from money lenders, shops or savings groups, etc. are included.
Insurance products/services. Payment of a premium for risk of an event happening, where
payout is made if or when the event occurs.
Remittance services/mechanisms – remittance services provided by formal institutions such
as Western Union or informal mechanisms such as paying taxi or bus drivers a fee to transport
remittances, etc. are included.
The FinScope 2014 findings summarized in Figures 27 to 30 reveal that:
Men are significantly more likely than women to have or use transactional, credit and insurance
products than women.
Men and women are equally likely to have or use savings products (1 in 5 adults).
Men are significantly more likely than women to have or use formal products – i.e.
transactional, savings, credit and insurance products.
With the exception of credit products, women are more likely to use informal products than men
– i.e. informal money transfers, savings and insurance.
Comparing the landscapes of access for 2009 and 2014, findings summarized in Figures 38 and
39 indicate an increase in remittance, savings and borrowing activities since 2009:
o There has been a significant increase amongst women with regard to uptake of money
transfer (transactional) products as well as savings products.
o Although the increase in uptake amongst men in terms of money transfer and savings
products was also highly significant, it was not as significant as the increase amongst
women.
o In terms of increased uptake of credit products since 2009, the increase was more
significant amongst men than amongst women.
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Figure 27: Landscape of access by gender
Figure 28: Landscape of informal access by
gender
Figure 29: Landscape of formal access by gender
30 | Landscape of Access
Figure 30: Landscape of access for women and men – Trends 2009 – 2014
The landscape of access for women per main income generating activity summarized in Figure 31
show that:
Transactional (money transfer) products – women who are employed or rely on pension,
government grants or own business for money are most likely to have or use money transfer
products.
Savings products – women who are employed or rely on pension, government grants or own
business for money are most likely to have or use savings products.
Credit products – employed women are most likely to have or use credit products.
Insurance products – women who are employed or rely on pension or government grants for
money are most likely to have insurance.
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Figure 31: Landscape of access for women per main income generating activity
Money Management
Trends in Saving, Borrowing and Money Transfers
Trends in remittances, saving and borrowing behaviour since 2009 by gender illustrated in Figures 32
indicate that there has been a significant increase in terms of remittances, saving as well as borrowing
amongst men and women. The increase in terms of the proportion of adults remitting, saving and
borrowing was more significant amongst women than amongst men. Men are more likely than women
to remit, save and borrow.
Figure 32: Trends in Money Transfers, Saving and Borrowing - 2009 to 2014
Figure 33 explores remittance, saving and borrowing behavior amongst women within rural-urban
context which show that all products are significantly used by women in urban areas.
32 | Money Management
Figure 33: Remittance, saving and borrowing behaviour by women – a rural-urban perspective
Taking main income generating activities of women into account, findings summarized in Figure 34
reveal that:
Saving is skewed towards women who are employed and those who rely on pension, government
grants or own businesses for an income. This may be associated with the fact that these women
receive these payments through bank accounts.
Borrowing is skewed towards women who are employed and those who rely on piece work for
money.
Figure 34: Remittance, saving and borrowing behaviour of women by main income
generating activity
Savings mechanisms
Comparing the savings strand of 2009 with that of 2014 (Figure 35), the overall increase in uptake of
formal as well as informal products by both men and women savers is clearly illustrated. It does
however further illustrate that the increase in women uptake of formal savings products as not as
significant as that of men.
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Figure 35: Saving strand trends by gender – 2009 to 2014
In terms of savings behavior, Figures 36 indicates the following:
Both men and women who save are most likely to save at home
Women savers are more likely than men to save with a group or savings collector or to give their
savings to someone for safekeeping
Men savers are more likely than women to save in kind (e.g. buying livestock) or to investment in
business as a means of saving
34 | Money Management
Figure 36: Savings mechanisms used by adults who save – gender distribution
The FinScope Saving Strand is constructed based on the premise that the ultimate goal of savings
initiatives is to promote uptake and usage of formal savings products. It is therefore constructed to
illustrate the:
% of adults that are not saving
% of adults who are saving at home or in kind ONLY
% of adults who are using savings products/mechanisms, but informal mechanisms only – these
individuals might be saving at home or in kind too but their distinguishing characteristic is that
they are using informal mechanisms and NOT formal product
% of adults who are saving using formal savings products – these individuals might be saving at
home or in kind or informally too but their distinguishing characteristic is that they are using
formal savings products
The 2014 savings strand (Figure 37) illustrates that:
Access to formal savings products is skewed towards men
Reliance on informal savings mechanisms is skewed towards women
Reliance on savings at home/in kind is skewed towards men
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Figure 37: Saving strand by gender
Further analysis (findings summarized in Figures 38 and 39) revealed that regular income is a
determinant for financial inclusion. Access to savings products amongst women illustrate the following
trends:
Access to formal savings products – skewed towards women in urban areas and women who are
employed
Reliance on informal savings mechanisms – skewed towards women who are employed and those
who rely mostly on income from own businesses
Women in rural areas, women relying on the selling of agricultural crops or livestock for money as
well as those relying on other for money are most likely not to have access to savings products or
to save
Figure 8 also shows that as it is the case of other products, formal and informal savings usage is
significantly higher in urban areas
Figure 38: Women saving strand – rural-urban distribution
36 | Money Management
Figure 39: Women saving strand by main income generating activity
Credit products and lenders
In terms of borrowing, Figure 40 illustrates that most adults who borrowed money, borrowed from
family and friends. This behavior is significantly skewed towards women. Women who borrow are also
more likely than men to take out unsecured loans. Men on the other hand are more likely than women
to take out collateral-based loans. This tendency might be indicative of gender-based differences in
asset ownership.
Figure 40: Type of loans – gender distribution
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Similar to the Saving Strand, the FinScope Credit Strand is constructed based on the premise that the
ultimate goal is to promote uptake and usage of formal credit rather than informal credit. It is
therefore constructed to illustrate the:
% of adults who do not have credit products
% of adults who borrow from family and friends ONLY
% of adults who are using credit products/mechanisms, but informal mechanisms only – these
individuals might be borrowing from family and friends too but their distinguishing characteristic is
that they are using informal credit mechanisms and NOT formal loan products
% of adults who are using formal loan products – these individuals might be borrowing from
family and friends or using informal sources too but their distinguishing characteristic is that they
are using formal loan products
The FinScope 2014 credit strand (Figure 41) shows that:
The levels of credit usage still in general very low (around 90% of both men and women are not
using any credit product)
Access to formal credit products is skewed towards men
Having no access to credit/not borrowing is skewed towards women
Figure 41: Credit strand by gender
FinScope findings summarized in Figures 42 and 43 showed the following skews with regard to access
to credit products amongst women:
Access to formal credit products – skewed towards women in urban areas and women who are
employed
Reliance on family and friends for loans – skewed towards women relying on piece work (biscato)
for money
Women in rural areas, women relying on others for an income and those relying pension or
government grants are most likely not to have access to credit products or to borrow
38 | Money Management
Figure 42: Women credit strand – rural-urban distribution
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Figure 43: Women credit strand by main income generating activity
Comparing the credit strands for 2009 and 2014 (Figure 44), illustrates the insignificant growth in
uptake of credit products for women – the increase in uptake of formal products (as was the case with
regard to savings products) being more significant amongst men.
Figure 44: Credit strand trends by gender – 2009 to 2014
Remittance channels
In terms of the channels used for sending and/or receiving money, Figure 45 show that the difference
between men and women is not highly significant.
40 | Money Management
Bank transfers are the most likely channel used for sending and receiving money – using this
channel for sending money is slightly skewed towards men whilst women are slightly more likely
than men to receive money through bank transfers.
The potential of mobile money as an alternative means to send and receive money is not yet
realized either by men or women.
Figure 45: Remittance channels used – gender distribution
Perceived financial risks and risk mitigation
Examining the financial risks faced by Mozambican adults show that for women the most significant
perceived risk is the death of the main income earner of the household and poor harvest. This could
be expected as most women either rely on someone in the household or sales from agricultural
products for an income.
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Women risk mitigation strategies will
influence her driver for savings and credit
Figure 46: Perceived household financial risks by gender
In terms of coping with these risks (Figure 47), FinScope findings show that the most significant
coping mechanisms for women include selling an asset or borrowing. As most women rely on
others for an income, it could be expected that a
significant proportion of women would not know how to
cope if the income of a main income earner unexpectedly
falls away – findings summarized in Figure below show
that 1 in 4 women would not know how to cope should this happen.
Figure 47: Coping mechanisms of women – Main perceived risks
42 | Drivers and barriers of uptake of financial products and services
Drivers and barriers of uptake of financial products and services
Bank products and services
The most significant driver of uptake of bank products and services is keeping money safe. This is
true for all banked adults – men and women (Figure 48). Banked women are more likely to have
taken up bank services than men to save and to receive money.
Figure 48: Drivers of uptake of bank products/services by gender
Findings regarding barriers to uptake of bank products and services (Figure 49) indicate that these
barriers are:
More likely to be demand-side rather than supply-side barriers – this is true for both men and
women who are unbanked
o The most significant demand-side barrier is income-related – this barrier is even more
significant for women than for men
o In terms of supply-side barriers the most significant for both unbanked men and women is
proximity to access points
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Figure 49: Barriers to uptake of bank products by gender (unbaked adults)
Saving
In terms of the drivers of savings behavior amongst men and women savers it is clear from the
findings summarized in Figure 50 that:
Savings behaviour has a short-term orientation. Most savers save to have money to cover living
expenses (increased income and having money when running out of money)
Women are more likely than men to save for:
o Medical emergencies
o Buy a house
o Pay school/education fees
o Start or expand a business
o Buy appliances or goods for the house
44 | Drivers and barriers of uptake of financial products and services
Figure 50: Drivers of savings behavior by gender Figure 51: Barriers to saving by gender
Factors that prohibit saving are summarized in Figure 51 – the most significant of which is not having
enough money to cover expenses and still have some left to put aside as savings. Women who are not
saving are more likely than men not to save as a result of:
Having no income or having no spare cash after covering living expenses, showing once again that
income is one of the determinants for using financial services.
Putting most of their money into the household pot
Borrowing
Like with savings, drivers of borrowing behaviour has a short-term orientation. Most borrowers (Figure
60) borrow to deal with unexpected expenses or emergencies. Women borrowers are more likely than
men to borrow for:
Emergencies and living expenses
Farming inputs
Building or renovating their homes
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Figure 52: Drivers of credit uptake by gender
Figure 53: Barriers to credit uptake by gender
Most adults who are not borrowing are not doing so because of a fear of owing money. This barrier to
borrowing is significantly skewed towards women. Women are further more likely than men not to
borrow as a result of:
Being worried that they would not be able to repay the loan, showing their risk averseness
Not knowing where to borrow from
Insurance products and services
The FinScope 2014 did not explore the drivers of insurance product uptake. In terms of barriers to
uptake (findings summarized in Figure 54) it is clear that:
Barriers are demand-side based
The most significant barrier to uptake amongst uninsured men and women is not seeing the
value/benefit of having insurance
o Women without insurance are more likely than men not to see the need for insurance
46 | Drivers and barriers of uptake of financial products and services
Figure 54: Barriers to uptake of insurance products by gender
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Conclusions
Results from the gender analysis show that financial inclusion in Mozambique has increased from 2009
to 2014, for both men and women. The results encourage the sector´s stakeholders to keep
endeavoring to strengthen and deepen financial inclusion in Mozambique. These efforts have helped
increase access and usage between men and women, rural and urban areas as well as increase access
and usage among the various income generating activities. It is evident, however, that women formal
inclusion is increasing at a lower rate than men (55% vs 74% increase) from 2009 to 2014, increasing
the gender gap. Women is driving her inclusion through non-bank financial inclusion with women non-
bank inclusion having increased by 200% compared to 108% for men from 2009 to 2014 and informal
inclusion which has increased by 33% for women compared to the 9.5% increase for men during the
same period.
Notwithstanding the encouraging developments, it remains true that barriers to access and usage of
financial services are more concerning for the least advantaged segments – women, particularly
women in rural areas and women in rural areas involved in irregular income activities such as
agriculture, biscato (odd jobs) and women dependent on others. The segments whose needs are
hardly met by the formal sector take refuge in the informal sector despite their appreciation of the
security associated with the formal sector. The informal sector is currently providing a diversified
range of products mainly savings, credit and money transfer services combining these with product
attributes that facilitate women´s inclusion such as proximity, convenience (delivery channels and
opening hours) and quick access.
The gender analysis findings leave patent, however, that neither the formal nor the informal sector
are supporting Mozambicans, particularly women, in coping with their day to day risks (death of main
wage-earner) as well as the risks faced in their income generating activities (poor harvest). The
insignificant access and usage of insurance products and the almost non-existent social protection
system make adults, particularly women, resort to risk coping strategies (selling of assets or
borrowing) that may make their social and economic developments retrogress.
The patterns of access and usage of financial services, particularly the unequal increase of inclusion
registered between men and women call for more targeted actions. Inclusion is inevitable but the
pattern and pace of inclusion can be consciously planned and targeted. This analysis provides valuable
information for the various stakeholders to develop strategies to deepen financial inclusion in
Mozambique, balancing the unequal progress registered between men and women. The section below
describes opportunities identified throughout the analysis, making recommendations for the various
stakeholders that can significantly impact in these efforts.
48 | Opportunities and Recommendations to Improve Financial Inclusion in Mozambique
Opportunities and Recommendations to Improve Financial Inclusion in
Mozambique
Opportunities and Recommendations for Government
Despite government efforts to deepen financial inclusion in Mozambique through relaxed KYC
requirements, banks are still applying strict KYC requirements which in most cases correspond to compliance to their group policies. The government has the opportunity to further incentivize banks to align their KYC requirements to Mozambican context and risk profile, and in accordance to the Decree no.1/2006 of February that lowered the KYC requirements
There are still a highly significant amount of women who are dependent on others for income and some who depend on biscatos who have no or limited mechanisms to respond to unforeseen situation.
The government can work on policies to improve non-salaried women´s ability to prevent, manage and overcome risk. Policies for micro-insurance and micro-pension should facilitate service providers to be innovative and develop products for low-income households, particularly women that have specific barriers to access financial services. Mozambican financial institutions still face constraints to expand to rural areas, particularly on regulatory requirements to open bank branches, collateral requirements and others.
Policymakers should work closely with the financial institutions to find strategies to expand services to the underserved segments and areas that confers benefits for all parts involves, the regulators, service providers and end consumers. The recently approved agent banking regulation is an example of policies that can help financial institutions to increase their rural client base. Policymakers should also promote gender data disaggregation by financial institutions to help them
monitor their efforts to increase women´s financial inclusion. This data can also help financial institutions tailor their products to women specific needs.
Opportunities and Recommendations for Financial Institutions
Women´s profile and specific barriers to access and use financial services present opportunities for financial institutions, namely:
Majority of the population with formal access is young, skewed towards 21 to 40 years old.
Banks have an opportunity to build long lasting relationships with both men and women, starting from their needs to have higher education, moving on to their aspirations of opening their own businesses.
Banks are the second most used source of financial advice for women, yet women are highly
less aware of the delivery channels with greater potential to deepen their financial inclusion such as POS, mobile money operators (mKesh and Mpesa), internet banking and mobile bank.
Banks have the opportunity to increase women´s awareness in all their selling points, providing simple and clear information about the delivery channels that they have, emphasizing the attributes that women most value when choosing a service provider, i.e. proximity, safety, convenience in terms of access etc.
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Given women´s preference of banks in seeking financial advice, banks have an opportunity to provide general financial education to women in urban and rural areas. Doing so,
banks are not only improving women´s levels of financial literacy, but is also building customer loyalty and building responsible and informed clients. Particularly to rural areas, where the need for financial literacy and where banks have lesser outreach, banks can partner with local individuals or organizations to deliver financial education. These include community leaders, community radios and churches which are not widely used by women for financial advice but are closer to the community than the banks.
Findings also show that women who are more financially independent are mostly involved in agricultural activities, livestock and own businesses. Banks have the opportunity to:
Develop products specific to women needs, taking into account that as found in the survey, women who generate an own income mostly rely on activities that bring in inconsistent, irregular and small amounts of money. Women have identified factors that drive their choices of service providers as well as choice of specific products.
In addition, women´s financial risks (death of main income earner of the household and poor
harvest) and particularly their risk mitigation strategies (selling an asset or borrowing)
indicate that financial services are not yet providing them specific solutions to cope with emergency situations. The list of risks women face provide insights to financial service providers, including insurance, pension funds and others.
Women´s perceptions of money transfer channels and emphasis on these when describing the benefits of banks indicate that for this particular service women do not consider the informal providers
as competitive as the banks. There is an opportunity for banks to do massive publicity about their money transfer
services, using it as a “bait” to attract women clients. Using this as an entry point for women clients will enable banks to gradually serve other women needs with their financial products.
Build a strong network of bank agents, especially in rural areas to help solve the physical
accessibility constraint.
Opportunity to learn from the informal service providers, particularly on the attributes of their products. These include quick access to money, suitability of repayment terms, collateral requirements.
Banks can also develop a credit scoring system that will help them have a better perception of
the women risk profile, given than women tend to have less default rates than men. Applying strict KYC requirements inherently excludes most part of the population, particularly with regards to proof of residence, giving that most people are now able to meet the identification requirements. Banks have the opportunity to:
Further increase women´s inclusion, by finding innovative ways to prove their clients residence, through neighborhood declarations, partnerships with local or traditional
authorities and other. The similar profile of women using formal and informal products illustrate that it is not a difference in needs that make them select formal or informal, but it is
their different ability to meet KYC requirements.
Opportunities and Recommendations for Development Partners
The opportunities and recommendations for development partners are under the assumption that some areas that need intervention are not (yet) considered profitable but the private sector and the
government may not have (yet) the know-how or experience in this realm.
50 | Opportunities and Recommendations to Improve Financial Inclusion in Mozambique
From the demand side, development partner can: Support women to satisfy the requirements made by financial institutions through the
provision of education, enterprise development and training. Development partners can: o Support initiatives to increase general financial literacy particularly targeted at
women, resorting to simple and clear communication techniques that will promote greater learning from women whose levels of education are still very low;
o Enter into partnerships with capacity building organizations to strengthen their training
materials to develop women´s skills.
Partner with the Government and financial institutions to organize “documentation fairs”, particularly in rural areas to increase the number of women with ID and NUIT, to comply with KYC requirements.
On the supply side, development partners can:
Business case for women financial inclusion
Support financial institutions to develop below the line (BTL) marketing using
unconventional methods and delivery channels appropriate for the target group to promote products and services. BTL techniques ensures that the customers familiarize with the brand while at the same time highlighting the features of the product. These include tele-marketing,
road shows, promotions, in- shop and shop-front activities, display units targeting the women segment.
Support the development of sustainable financial education initiatives in Mozambique by illustrating the business case for financial education for financial institutions. This will motivate banks to conduct financial education from their own resources, as they understand that financial education is not just a social responsibility matter, but also an investment that
will generate returns for the financial institutions through increased customer base (inclusion of the auto-excluded) and promotion of responsible finance (helping reduce non-performing loans) and promote a savings culture;
Support financial institutions to develop women tailored products, bringing in experiences from countries that are successfully serving women through a women-centered service delivery approach;
Support service providers to develop insurance and social protection system that caters
for non-salaried women to help them prevent, manage, and overcome risk. These could include initiatives such as pension and micro-pension schemes including pay-as-you-go schemes with payments determined by the level of individual contributions and the returns on these contributions and social protection for informal sector;
Support financial institutions to profitably and sustainably serve women-owned businesses. In
addition to sector studies to determine the needs, demands and debt capacity of women, development partners can support risk sharing initiatives for financial institutions serving women; promote long term loans to women and other.
On the policy level, development partners can:
Support regulators and policy makers by promoting best practices and providing information on critical issues related to the women’s business environment. Development partners can share experiences from successful experiences on:
o Insurance and social protection system o Risk sharing programs that facilitate women´s access to financial services o Innovative ways to expand financial services to women in rural areas, such as mobile
banking, agent banking and others