Women's financial inclusion is part of the sustainability agenda that Uruguay has been promoting to move toward a more competitive financial system with greater impact.

With this in mind, the conference “Include to Grow: Expanding Financial Access—Economic Opportunities for Women in Uruguay” was held, organized by the Central Bank of Uruguay, UN Women, and IDB Invest, as part of REIF, in collaboration with UNIDO and UNDP.

The event was organized by the BCU, UN Women, and IDB Invest, as part of the Renewable Energy Innovation Fund (REIF), in collaboration with UNIDO and UNDP. It brought together government officials, banking representatives, public agencies, and international institutions with the aim of sharing regional evidence and experiences to expand women’s access to financial products and services.

The opening remarks were delivered by Ana Claudia de los Heros, vice president of the Central Bank of Uruguay; Magdalena Furtado, program director at UN Women; and Matilde Peñagaricano, Lead Officer and coordinator of Financial Institutions at IDB Invest for Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile.

At the start of the event, De los Heros stated that “a financial system that is more inclusive also allocates resources more effectively, creates more opportunities, strengthens economic autonomy, and contributes to more balanced and sustainable growth.” 

Along these lines, Magdalena Furtado noted that although Uruguay has one of the most developed financial systems in the region and has had a financial inclusion law in place for more than a decade, “there is evidence of a gender gap defined as women’s reduced access to and use of financial products and services, particularly productive credit.” As she explained, the “Include to Grow” event was designed to highlight this gap and issue a call to action to the financial ecosystem.

Throughout the event, women’s financial inclusion was addressed both as part of a sustainability agenda and as a concrete business opportunity for financial institutions. The presentations agreed that there is unmet demand in a segment with growth potential and a strong repayment track record, whose needs are not always met by current offerings. 

In Uruguay, 46% of MSMEs are women-led businesses. However, only 15% applied for bank loans, compared with 22% of men-led businesses. In turn, just 6% of women-led businesses reported difficulties repaying their loans, compared with 20% of men-led businesses. 

These data show that the challenge does not lie in the profile of women as customers, but rather in the way financial products are designed, marketed, evaluated, and implemented. To capitalize on this opportunity, a strategic and tailored approach is required.

The first presentation was given by Cecilia Lazarte, senior advisor on financial inclusion and technical lead of UN Women’s Inclusive Financial Ecosystems program. Her presentation proposed strengthening the ties between the various actors in the financial ecosystem and moving from product-centered models toward people-centered models.

Next, Jimena Serrano, Lead Officer for Economic Opportunities, Gender, and Social Inclusion at IDB Invest, presented evidence on the business opportunity represented by financing women-led companies. Her presentation showed that serving this segment requires a deliberate and differentiated approach, closer engagement with female clients, and products designed or tailored to their specific needs. 

In this context, the discussion addressed some of the barriers women face even before applying for a loan, primarily related to collateral requirements, interest rates, insufficient loan amounts, short repayment terms, and self-exclusion behaviors stemming from the perception that their applications will not be approved. The importance of addressing biases in credit assessment and financial product design was also emphasized, given that IDB Invest studies on this topic in 2023 reveal that 88% of bank staff tend to present less favorable offers to their female clients, resulting in 56% of female applicants receiving an unfair (and lower) offer compared to men with poorer credit profiles and less profitable businesses. 

The event continued with a presentation on the self-assessment tool for women’s inclusion in the provision of financial products and services, led by Emy Sierra, an economic empowerment specialist at UN Women Honduras. The tool enables financial institutions to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for incorporating gender intelligence into their operations, based on five dimensions: data availability, analysis and segmentation, product and service design, implementation, and organizational culture.

“Women’s financial inclusion begins with data, translates into decisions, and is realized through action,” Sierra said.

The event also featured an international panel highlighting the experiences of Davivienda, Prisma, Banco Pichincha, and the National Commission of Banks and Insurance of Honduras. These institutions shared the diagnostic processes they conducted using the UN Women tool and presented innovative financial solutions developed with a gender perspective. These experiences demonstrated that increasing the share of women-led companies in the portfolio requires internal decisions, established capabilities, and tailored solutions—with benefits for both female clients and the financial institution. 

Paula Cobas, REIF coordinator, delivered the closing remarks, highlighting the potential this segment represents for financial institutions and the importance of incorporating this approach into a broader sustainable finance process in Uruguay. She also invited the institutions to use the workshop as a starting point and to express their interest in receiving technical support, with the goal of beginning to define a data-driven strategy, identify barriers, and design more inclusive financial products and services.