When it comes to financial inclusion, women in the Dominican Republic have long been stuck in the “second row”. Half of all micro-entrepreneurs in the country are women. However, women receive less credits to start their own businesses, and if they do, these come at higher interest rates.
The Dominican government has recognized the problem – and started to confront it. Microcredits have been heavily promoted in recent years by the Dominican government as a development tool and to eradicate poverty. The government has handed out more than 66,300 loans for women via the National Council for the Promotion and Support of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. And a governmental programme called “SuperEmprendedoras”, which translates in English to Super Women Entrepreneurs, has started in 2021 to support women in extreme and moderate poverty in starting their own businesses. The programme aims to provide credits to 10.000 women countrywide and create 20.000 jobs.
Dominican private banks have jumped on the bandwagon and started to act against gender-based discrimination, spurred by the regulatory changes and out of economic and moral considerations.
Click here to read further on the success story of access to credit for women in the Dominican Republic
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Name: Mirco Lomoth / Jens-Peter HillerEmail: jens-peter.hiller@giz.de