Banking on Women to Unleash an Economic Boom

• MIGA has reached a milestone: $1.2 billion in lending commitments by its clients to woman-owned or -led small and medium enterprises
• Women-owned businesses are creating jobs and driving growth 
• There is a $1.6 trillion financing gap for women entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries

When women are financially empowered, good things happen. From Liberia to Peru and Argentina, MIGA’s clients are supporting women to start and grow businesses.  

Since 2021, MIGA has worked with its clients to increase financing to women, particularly women entrepreneurs.

MIGA guarantees to Fondo MiVivienda (FMV), a government institution in Peru, are supporting women and low-income and vulnerable populations to access mortgages. Of the lending made possible through the MIGA-supported facility, 50 percent will be targeted to women. FMV has reached near-parity in its lending to women and men.

MIGA and FMV have also agreed on a Gender Action Plan to increase housing finance for women and vulnerable populations. It will design a new or updated financial service targeted at women and vulnerable groups. 

Orange Telecom Liberia, another MIGA-supported project, is committed to increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions from 13% to 30%, and women in technical roles from 6% to 20% between 2023 and 2028.

And there is more encouraging news. 

Last year, with a guarantee of up to $100 million to Spain’s Banco Santander that set aside funds for loans to women-owned and -led businesses from its Argentina subsidiary, MIGA reached a milestone – over $1.2 billion in lending commitments by MIGA clients to women and women-owned businesses mobilized through our guarantees.

It’s the second guarantee MIGA issued to Santander to help increase lending to women-owned SMEs in Argentina, where only about 20 percent of women-led companies use bank loans, compared with 43 percent of men-led firms, and where the rate of loan rejection is about 17 times the rate for men.

Santander supports women entrepreneurs by promoting and enhancing innovative and sustainable ventures. 

Mauara Mariussi is a co-founder of We Ballet Fitness in Argentina. It provides training combining ballet technique with fitness that generates multiple health benefits. With a loan from Santander, Mariussi developed an online fitness instructor platform, and is now expanding in Argentina and other Latin American countries. “As an entrepreneur, I love what I do because we create jobs for many women who had to reinvent themselves post-pandemic. Work gives you economic freedom and takes you out of a vulnerable situation,” said Mariussi. 

Romina Vargas is another women entrepreneur who benefitted from a Santander loan. She is a founder of Vargas Fabricamos Tus Ideas, a 23-year-old company in Argentina, which manufactures various gift items. She now leads a team of 130 women entrepreneurs. “These women have economic independence and creativity to grow. Financial independence allows you to have a rich life; it improves your self-perception and enables you to give others a little of what the life you chose has given you,” said Vargas. She believes that if you fall in love with your dreams, everything else follows. 

We have more work to do 

According to a recently released 2024 Women, Business and the Law report, the global gender gap for women’s economic opportunities is significantly wider than previously thought. Despite significant progress in enacting laws to provide equal opportunity for women, half of humanity—3.9 billion women worldwide—face gender-based legal barriers affecting their economic participation.

Excluding half of a country’s population from full economic activity is a barrier to growth and higher living standards in many countries. According to the SME Finance Forum, there is a $1.6 trillion financing gap for women entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries. 

“The private sector has a key role to play in closing the financial inclusion gap, and MIGA is leveraging its guarantees to engage its clients on this critical priority,” said Ethiopis Tafara, MIGA Vice President and Chief Risk, Legal and Sustainability Officer and Partnerships. “Our clients are demonstrating to the market that supporting women entrepreneurs is both smart business and good for development.”

Mariussi and Vargas, two successful entrepreneurs from Argentina, demonstrate the crucial role that women can play in driving economic growth and development when they have access to finance. 

As we reflect on the impact of our work, one thing is clear: we are making a tangible difference.

Our destination is to create a livable world for women and vulnerable groups.