Assessment of the Gender Gap in Access to Digital Financial Services in Burkina Faso

Abstract

The project Assessment of the Gender Gap in Access to Digital Financial Services in Burkina Faso was established in 2019 through a partnership between MIT D-Lab CITE and USAID’s Center for Digital Development/Digital Financial Services Team (CDD/DFS). The objective of this research is to understand the current and potential role of digital financial services (DFS) in the lives of female entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso to increase their empowerment and resilience. The findings are relevant to those working to promote women’s empowerment through digital financial inclusion in Burkina Faso and similar contexts. The findings of our study point not only to the importance of giving female entrepreneurs access to certain digital services, but also to the importance of 1) making sure they know exactly how DFS can be integrated into their daily lives for their benefit, and 2) engaging important people in their lives—their households, communities, and DFS agents—in order to build systemic support and goodwill among those who might otherwise be resistant—consciously or not—to women using DFS.