
Purpose
This paper aims to address the issues of Asian countries toward why females are discouraged and more likely to be removed from the formal financial system than males. Further, whether there is any connection between religion and women’s financial inclusion is also addressed.


Design/methodology/approach
This paper explores gender disparities in the use of structured financial services through multilevel models tailored to the individual. The data from 2004 to 2017 have been used for eight South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. We used a multilevel modeling methodology to estimate the impact of the socio-economic climate on women’s financial inclusion while controlling for individual-level features, with all control variables included, the two-level logistic regression model used for this study.


Findings
The results of this study demonstrate that sex appears to be strongly correlated with the usage of financial services. The study also found that in nations where religious restrictions limit women’s willingness to work for a living, they are less likely than males to own a bank account. However, through legislation and regulations, countries that encourage gender equality in the labor market and have effective regulatory mechanisms to maintain these initiatives appear to have more financially active women.


Practical implications
This research advises that government authorities strengthen women’s empowerment in South Asian countries.


Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that explains the linkage between financial inclusion and women empowerment and will contribute to existing knowledge.


Financial inclusion for women empowerment in South Asian countries


Purpose
This paper aims to conduct an empirical investigation of how financial inclusion impacts women empowerment. Then, it examines the overall effect of various dimensions of financial inclusion on women empowerment in developing countries using the panel data for the time period of 2004–2019.


Design/methodology/approach
To overcome the problem of endogeneity, the study has used a fixed-effect model, two-stage least square GMM estimation techniques. Secondary data was collected from various websites such as WDI, UNICEF and UNESCO.


Findings
The results show that generally, the influence of financial inclusion on women empowerment is positive, confirming previous empirical literature results. The study found evidence that if there is more financial inclusion in the country, it will benefit women by enabling them to see their qualities and skills, which make them strong and dominant. Proper development and enhancement of those skills are only possible if proper education, awareness and space are given to express oneself. According to the results, financial development, gender parity index and women's employment positively affects women empowerment, while gender discrimination has a negative impact on women empowerment. The study highlights that to encourage women empowerment in developing countries. Governments and policymakers have to carefully check and reconsider that what are the most optimal financial inclusion programs that will help to improve the women empowerment in the country.


Practical implications
The study highlights that to encourage women empowerment in developing countries, governments and policymakers have to carefully check and reconsider what are the most optimal financial inclusion programs that will help to improve women empowerment in the country.


Originality/value
The literature does not clearly show the impact of financial inclusion dimensions on women empowerment in developing countries. Therefore, there is a need to use all the dimensions of financial inclusion to check the overall impact on women empowerment in developing countries. For this purpose, the financial inclusion index is developed. A new dimension of non-life insurance is introduced, which has not been used previously by any researcher to check financial inclusion impact.


Nexus between financial inclusion and women empowerment: evidence from developing countries

In low-income economies, large gender gaps suggest that fewer women engage in entrepreneurial activities. The quest for gender inclusion has been a relevant issue, contested among scholars investigating ways to alleviate poverty through economic growth in South Africa and the sphere of entrepreneurial studies.&#x0D; The aim of this study was to investigate the obstacles that female entrepreneurs in small, medium, and micro-informal companies face in the uMhlathuze Municipality in South Africa.&#x0D; Twenty-four (24) females who operate small and medium micro-informal companies were interviewed using a qualitative research methodology. Content analysis was used to examine the data.&#x0D; Females confront various challenges, including criminality, draughts, non-conducive working settings, and intense competitiveness, according to the research. Lack of infrastructure, funding and information, education and training, and operational permission concerns are all obstacles to business development. The key issues that most of the participants faced were a lack of funds, infrastructure, and education and training, all of which were used to develop recommendations.&#x0D; The municipality should establish training centres in each township to train and educate women who want to start or expand their companies.&#x0D; The study seeks to contribute to the literature on women entrepreneurship in the informal sector by focusing mainly on challenges/barriers hindering female entrepreneur’s success in the uMhlathuze Municipality. They are limited studies that have conducted a similar research in this geographic area. 

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Entrepreneurial challenges facing female entrepreneurs in informal micro businesses: a case study of uMhlathuze municipality

This chapter shows how women entrepreneurs in Africa generate significant benefits for their countries economically, socially and environmentally. They continue, however, to face significant cultural, social and legal barriers to the entrepreneurial process. The support of governments, institutions, and local and international companies will be vital to the development of entrepreneurial initiatives among women in the sustainable fashion sector and above all, to the consolidation over time of empowering business activities that provide equality for women.

Sheriff A. O. Alabi

Papers

Challenges and Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs