Ecuador: 57% of unbanked people are women, reveals the World Bank

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The gender gap continues to be the subject of studies and initiatives in Ecuador and the region that seek to reduce it in different areas, one of these in the financial system.

That, in a context in which women lead 46.5% of new ventures in Ecuador, according to the second edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a study published in October 2020 by the Espol Business School.

Given the lack of job opportunities, these women needing additional income to support their household economy, decide to start a business.

However, starting it and then investing in it to maintain it or make it grow is difficult. Especially considering that the gender gap in the financial sector still remains.

According to Global Findex, a database created by the World Bank, in Latin America, between 2019 and 2020, this gap in banking reaches 6%, and in Ecuador, it is higher, reaching 18%.

The study details that 57% of unbanked people in Ecuador are women, compared to 40% of men, so they cannot obtain credit because they do not have a financial history.

Figures provided by the Central Bank of Ecuador confirm it, showing that 31% of women do not have access to formal credit, and in the rural sector, only 14.4% of them can benefit from a loan.

From the private sector, several institutions are looking for viable and concrete alternatives to provide solutions to the situation faced by women in our country.

One of the initiatives is the one proposed by Mutualista Pichincha, through the Emprende Segura account, a product that is framed in three of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, and SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.

The institution explains that this product offers several benefits to women savers, as it allows them to manage, save, and plan their entrepreneurial goals more efficiently.

Through this alternative, women can access savings plans that, upon meeting the planned goal, in a disciplined manner, generate an additional 1.5% interest on their savings.

“What is sought, by encouraging women entrepreneurs to save, is that they can have a seed capital and change the conception that it is necessary to start their new business with a debt”, explained the institution, which highlighted that the behavior in the payment of active credit obligations to 2020 of women who have accessed credits in this institution, is better than that of men; for example, the percentage of arrears of 90 days or more for the commercial portfolio, shows an average of 4.3 % in men and 3.2 % in women.

As for consumer debts, the average delinquency rate for men is 11.8%, versus 9.1% for women.