Bogotá, 28 February - 1 March 2019
by Maria Luisa Saponaro
The MuJeR: Promoting the financial inclusion of rural young women programme is an initiative implemented by Fundación Capital (FundaK) and financed by an IFAD large grant, to contribute to the economic and social inclusion of rural women through their financial inclusion.
MuJeR aims to promote and facilitate the access and use of diversified financial services by rural young women, in a way as to respond to their specific needs, thus contributing to improve their living conditions. It is implemented in Colombia, Paraguay and Mexico, in partnership with various government agencies and financial entities.
In Colombia and Mexico, the initiative works with groups of young women in similar situations. Most of them are housewives who started a married life and/or became mothers at a very young age, often with few opportunities to study or start a business of their own.
In Colombia, more than 3,000 young rural female beneficiaries of the Families in Action programme led by Prosperidad Social worked on strengthening their leadership skills, self-esteem and financial capabilities, through a gender sensitive approach and using digital technologies. As a result, in the last four months, over 2,000 women have begun to use financial products.
In Mexico, the project is implemented with Acreimex, a savings and credit cooperative with broad coverage in the State of Oaxaca. FundaK has been working with one branch of the State of Puebla and eight in the State of Oaxaca, promoting better financial conditions for young people, as well establishing objectives to be achieved through saving plans. This has been achieved through face-to-face workshops.
In Paraguay, the project was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science in 200 educational institutions in 11 districts of the Departments of San Pedro and Caaguazú, reaching 2,700 young people. Through innovative methodologies of classroom learning with a gender focus, and the use of digital tools, both teachers and students have been trained not only on financial education, but also on how to access and use financial products and services made available by different financial institutions. Additionally, 194 young women strengthened their leadership skills through promoting the use of financial products among their classmates.
During the implementation of the project, high levels of exclusion from the financial system were noted in rural areas, especially among young women.
The main reason behind this is fear and lack of confidence in the financial system, mainly due to lack of information. Added to this are the costs associated with most traditional accounts, together with transportation costs to physically reach these institutions, which reduces the interest in this type of products. Finally, it is worth mentioning that young people usually associate financial institutions with credit, and do not think of them as a means to save.
On the other hand, in the research phase it was noted that the majority of rural young women have cell phones or smartphones, and that they frequently use Facebook and WhatsApp. In this context, MuJeR combined the use of digital solutions with exchange venues to present gather information and establish bonds of trust with young women. In this way, they have managed to change their perceptions regarding the financial system, and develop new abilities.
Savings: through the training received, young women realized that they can save and begin to set financial goals.
Technology: young women discovered electronic wallets, and realized that using this technology can save them time and money, since they can make transfers and pay for services from home. In addition, they understood that it is a safer instrument to save and manage their resources. In this way, technology facilitated the financial inclusion of young women and became an important instrument for their economic and personal improvement.
These lessons and experiences were shared by FundaK, at the event - Lessons and challenges of financial inclusion of rural young women in Latin America, Bogotá, 28 February - 1 March 2019.
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