The specific objective of this call for proposals is to enhance women’s financial inclusion and access to finance through the development of innovative products and skills.

The expected outputs to be delivered by this call for proposals are:

1. Availability and accessibility of financial and non-financial services and products, including digital ones, are increased for women’s economic activity;

2. Women’s skills to access and make use of financial and non-financial services and products for their economic activity, are improved, particularly for underserved groups.

The present call for proposals aims to address women economic empowerment from the specific angle of access to finance. The project will develop concrete solutions at regional level to improve women’s access to finance and their financial inclusion. It targets women as economic actors (in different forms, notably as entrepreneurs, cooperatives, self-employed), and aims to increase their access to finance for launching, improving or sustaining their economic activity. It notably aims to include and reach out to under-served women, including women active outside of main cities and outside of the formal sector. Therefore the notion of women entrepreneurs is meant to be broad and to encompass underserved women enterprises, including women with a business project, women active in the social economy, in the rural economy etc. The potential of digitalization for women’s access to finance and financial inclusion will be explored, both in terms of digital tools and services and in terms of women’s digital skills to access financial products. The project aims  to work directly with and to enhance the key role of women associations, particularly women business associations.

The present project will be complemented by a related EU-funded project implemented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) focusing on the policy and regulatory aspects of women’s access to finance and financial inclusion in the Southern Neighbourhood. Together, these two projects form a regional programme dedicated to women economic empowerment in the Southern Neighbourhood, which will contribute to the Regional Team Europe Initiative on Jobs through Trade and Investment, notably under its inclusive entrepreneurship pillar. It will be implemented in complementarity with the EU’s bilateral projects as well as with other relevant initiatives.

Deadline for applications: 02/05/2023

Further information about this call is available here: Online Services - Online Services - Programmes de coopération extérieure - Commission européenne (europa.eu)