The World Bank Group and Visa Foundation are supporting women-led small businesses across emerging markets through a programme focused on improving access to finance, digital tools, business training and stronger financial ecosystems.
The partnership, which initially targets India, South Africa, Nigeria, Colombia and Mexico, aims to help local financial institutions, governments, microfinance organisations and non-profit groups develop solutions tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs.
The initiative comes as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises continue to account for a significant share of global businesses and employment, particularly in developing economies where they play a major role in job creation and poverty reduction.
However, the World Bank said many small businesses, particularly those owned by women, remain constrained by limited access to capital, business training and financial services. The financing gap for women-led businesses globally remains a major barrier to growth, limiting their ability to invest, hire workers and expand operations.
Rather than relying on a single solution, the partnership is focused on combining financing access with digital innovation, including the use of alternative data sources, digital distribution channels and technology-enabled tools that can help financial institutions better serve underserved entrepreneurs.
“Tailoring alone is not enough. What changes the equation is innovation,” the World Bank said in a blog post, highlighting the role of new data sources and digital tools in expanding access to financial services.
In Nigeria and other focus markets, the programme will support initiatives designed to strengthen women entrepreneurs through training, market access, improved capacity among financial institutions and regulators, and innovative financing solutions.
The global apex bank said the approach recognises that entrepreneurs operate in different economic environments and that solutions must reflect local conditions. A financing model that works for a woman-owned business in India, for instance, may not directly apply to one operating in Nigeria, South Africa, Mexico or Colombia.
A key focus of the partnership is the use of technology to overcome traditional barriers to finance. These include AI-assisted credit decisions, digital platforms for business support and financial products designed around the realities of smaller enterprises.
The World Bank highlighted examples of targeted interventions, including an India pilot exploring credit-enhanced “gender bonds” to help financial institutions access longer-term funding that can be directed towards women entrepreneurs.
The partnership also places emphasis on skills development. In Latin America, Visa Foundation has supported digital training initiatives for women entrepreneurs, including programmes that provide access to business tools and resources at different stages of enterprise development.
For Nigeria, the initiative aligns with broader efforts to improve access to finance for small businesses, which remain central to economic activity but often face challenges accessing formal credit. The World Bank has previously identified limited access to affordable finance as a major constraint affecting Nigerian MSMEs, particularly women-led enterprises.
The World Bank and Visa Foundation said the long-term objective is to strengthen the ecosystems around small businesses by combining global expertise with local knowledge, enabling more entrepreneurs to access the capital, skills and technology needed to scale.
By: Justice Okamgba
