Why women still lack access to African financial services
Across most of Africa, women remain a lot less likely than men to have a bank account, access to formal credit or savings.
While mobile money services and agency banking have expanded access to financial services across Africa, a persistent gender gap remains in account ownership and credit access. According to the AfricaNenda Foundation, 61% of men but only 49% of women held a bank account in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2025 - a gap that has actually widened from 7% in 2011 to 12% in recent years.
The disparity is most pronounced in North and West Africa, with the lowest levels in Eastern and Southern Africa. In some countries like Togo and Nigeria, women must obtain their husband's permission to open an account, while certain regions require husbands or fathers to sanction loans. Traditional banks favor salaried customers with established credit histories and collateral, which many African women lack, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.
Without bank accounts, women struggle to build credit, making it harder to obtain loans needed to expand businesses. Even when legislation guarantees equal property rights, women often own fewer titled assets than men, yet land remains the preferred collateral across much of Africa. Inheritance practices and unequal access to land registration further hinder women's ability to meet bank lending requirements.
Banks' policies, such as branch hours, documentation needs, minimum account balances and loan approval processes, often cater to salaried workers, who are more likely to be male. Identity regulations such as requiring Bank Verification Numbers or National Identification Numbers also disproportionately exclude rural women in countries like northern Nigeria.
Research shows that when women do apply for credit, they face higher rejection rates or less favorable terms, indicating bias in credit scoring methods that fail to account for informal cash flows. Economic realities also play a role, as women typically have lower incomes, fewer assets, and are more likely to work informally. Banks tend to target those with formal incomes above a certain level, making account ownership less likely for women.
Structural obstacles such as bias in credit scoring and imposing additional costs like fees and minimum balance requirements further complicate the issue. While cultural shifts are challenging, banks are beginning to address the gap through dedicated relationship managers, tailored SME products, unsecured lending, and financial education programs specifically designed for women.
Initiatives like Ecobank's Ellevate program and Access Bank's W initiative have helped support millions of women entrepreneurs across the continent. However, systemic economic problems remain difficult to overcome.
Written by urgent.news from Africa Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
