The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has started the yearly “Women’s Financial Inclusion Event” as part of its mission to increase women’s access to formal financial services. Expanding financial inclusion opportunities for women throughout Egypt is the goal of the event, which begins on March 8, International Women’s Day, and ends at the end of the month.
The program has made a substantial contribution to the availability of financial solutions for women since its launch in 2019. About 1.4 million financial goods, such as 530,000 prepaid cards, 196,000 e-wallets, and 664,000 bank accounts, were offered by March 2024. As a result of these initiatives, which are in line with the CBE’s overarching goal of advancing financial inclusion, the rate of financial inclusion for women increased significantly, reaching 68.8% by the end of December 2024, a 295% increase from 2016. As a result, out of 33.9 million women in this age group, 23.3 million are now able to access financial services and have transaction accounts.
The CBE’s Financial Inclusion Strategy 2022–2025, which prioritises integrating women at the forefront of the financial system with all socioeconomic sectors, is responsible for the advancements made. This approach is based on several important pillars, such as creating a favourable legal and regulatory framework, starting projects in collaboration with national and international organisations, and urging banks to offer financial solutions that are specifically designed to meet the requirements of women. As increasing awareness is crucial to equipping women with the knowledge they need to make wise financial decisions, financial literacy is also a key component of the plan.
The CBE has implemented new regulations that streamline due diligence processes in order to make banking services more accessible to women. Notably, these rules permit women to create corporate or personal accounts with just their National ID and no other supporting proof. Housewives, microbusiness owners, and artisans especially benefit from this measure. The legislation also removes long-standing obstacles that have limited women’s involvement in the banking industry by allowing mothers, particularly those who are divorced or widowed, to open accounts for their minor children.
Additionally, by providing bank staff with specialised training, the CBE has taken proactive measures to improve women’s economic empowerment. To better understand women’s financial requirements, the CBE has trained staff members in retail banking and customer segmentation in partnership with global organisations including Women’s World Banking and the OECD. Consequently, banks have started to offer and create customised financial packages that are intended to satisfy the unique needs of female clients.
The CBE has backed the Digital Saving and Lending Groups Project, “Tahwisha,” in recognition of the revolutionary role that financial technology (FinTech) plays in promoting women’s financial inclusion, particularly in underprivileged communities. This program helps rural women to start small and microbusinesses by saving money and applying for loans. In addition to 209,000 women in savings groups and 102,500 outside of them benefiting from financial literacy and awareness initiatives, by December 2024, about 246,400 women were actively utilising the Tahwisha electronic application.
The “Digitisation of International Remittances Project,” which aims to integrate women into the official financial system, was also established by the CBE as part of Egypt’s drive for digital transformation. By providing financial products to remittance recipients, 1.5 million of whom are women, accounting for 85% of the overall beneficiaries, this program assists Egyptian expatriates and their families.
Furthermore, the CBE actively participates in the Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment Program (WESEP), which is carried out by Pathfinder in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Through this program, efforts to give women financial instruments that improve their financial independence and economic involvement are further strengthened.
The CBE keeps making excellent progress in promoting women’s financial inclusion, stimulating economic growth, and guaranteeing improved financial accessibility for millions of Egyptian women through these major projects.
