NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 – Women perceive a slightly higher level of gender bias than men while accessing financial services in Kenya, according to findings from a Tala research survey.
Tala, a Kenyan non-banking lender, surveyed over 800 Kenyans to identify the challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs in emerging markets, especially regarding accessing financial services.
65 percent of women respondents stated that gender bias was ‘moderate’ to ‘extreme’ in financial services.
A majority of men and women reported some level of gender bias in the financial services industry.
However, more men reported no gender bias, while 58 percent of respondents said that financial services cater to the needs of all genders equally.
“Over the years, numerous research findings have established that perception of gender bias in accessing financial services has led more women, especially in emerging markets such as Kenya to self-select themselves out of borrowing or even applying for credit,” said Annstella Mumbi, General Manager at Tala Kenya.
“Should the numbers from this report be anything to go by, as players in the credit market, we must intentionally equip our female customers with knowledge and skills to enhance their strategic business ability,” Mumbi added.
“Key skills areas include financial management, leadership, and technology which will give them confidence to utilize financial services and unleash their financial power within the larger economy.”
On access to credit, 64 percent of women reported experiencing challenges accessing financial services, while 56 percent of them reported it was tough to finance their businesses.
62 percent of respondents said gender does not impact getting a loan; men were however much more likely to report it as ‘very easy’ to finance their businesses, while only 7 percent of women reported the same.
Another notable trend was that, of the sample group, slightly more men use a bank account regularly than women respondents.
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