RBM, allies urge women SMEs to support reforms
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) have called for expanded financial education and targeted credit reforms to help women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to overcome long-standing barriers to growth.
Speaking when he opened the RBM–AFI Joint Learning Programme in Lilongwe on Tuesday, RBM Deputy Governor for economics and regulation Kisu Simwaka said financial literacy remains key to unlocking the potential of women entrepreneurs.

“This gathering is more than just a joint learning programme, it is a call to action. A call to recognise, support and empower the women entrepreneurs who are the backbone of our respective economies,” he said.
Simwaka said in Africa, MSMEs account for over 90 percent of businesses and 80 percent of employment.
However, he decried that many remain financially excluded due to high collateral requirements, limited credit histories and weak financial infrastructure.
Said Simwaka: “In Malawi, 84 percent of women entrepreneurs operate micro-enterprises, often in the informal sector. Only a few have transitioned to medium-sized businesses.
“This disparity reflects deep-rooted challenges which include limited access to affordable credit, lower levels of digital and financial literacy; and limited collateral ownership which hinder them from fully unlocking their entrepreneurial potential.”
He stated that RBM in collaboration with government has initiated programmes to scaleup women entrepreneurship support.
The initiatives include the World Bank-funded Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Scaling project, in which $40 million (about K70 billion) in subsidised credit, which has been disbursed to 48 353 MSMEs, 66 percent of which are women-led.
Simwaka said they also rolled out a nationwide campaign under the Support for Digitisation, Financial Inclusion and Competitiveness project with 62 percent of participants being women.
On her part, AFI head of policy management Audrey Hove praised Malawi for making “significant progress” in supporting women-led small businesses.
“The programmes they have instituted, particularly for rural women, are commendable and something that we can learn from as a network,” she said.
However, Hove stressed that more work is needed, especially around credit access, collateral for loans and awareness of financial services.
She said: “There is need for flexibility so that collateral should include movable assets.
“The emphasis has been on immovable assets which many women may not have and end up struggling to get loans.”
The Joint Learning Programme seeks to share lessons from Malawi and other countries in the Alliance for Financial Inclusion network on effective strategies for improving women’s access to finance, focusing on sustainable and inclusive models.