Bridging the Gap: Empowering Women Through Micropensions and Financial Inclusion

 

This session highlighted the importance of empowering women through micropensions and financial inclusion, focusing on innovative approaches and the power of public-private partnerships. 

Key Highlights 

1. The Demographic Imperative and Gender Inequality 

Dr. Amlan Roy emphasised the demographic shift: By 2050, 2.2 billion people will be over 65, with women disproportionately affected by poverty in old age due to lower labour participation and wage gaps. 
Gender equality is crucial for economic growth, debt reduction, sustainability, and reduced inequality. Despite progress in some developed countries, more work is needed, especially in emerging economies like India, China, and Brazil. 

2. Rwanda’s Financial Inclusion Success Story 

  • Dr. Diane Karusisi from Bank of Kigali shared Rwanda’s achievements, such as 64% female parliamentary representation and gender-balanced leadership in banks. 
  • Despite political progress, economic participation still lags. The bank has developed uncollateralised loans bundled with savings products, targeting women entrepreneurs. During the pandemic, women with savings products fared better, emphasizing the need for financial resilience. 
  • Dr. Karusisi highlighted the necessity of mandatory savings mechanisms and digital literacy to enhance adoption. 

3. Women-Centric Financial Products in India 

  • Kalpana Ajayan from Women's World Banking discussed India’s success with Jan Dhan accounts, which led to an increase in micro-insurance and micro-pension enrolments, like the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), with 52% female participation.
  • She stressed the importance of advocacy and involving banking correspondents for effective outreach. Ensuring financial inclusion makes business sense, especially for sticky deposits, but needs continuous policy focus and gender-intentional design. 

4. The Role of Technology and Payments 

  • Adama Bari Diallo from Google highlighted the role of technology in democratising financial services. Google Pay’s introduction of gold loans in India saw 50% adoption by women, leveraging gold as a trusted asset. 
  • Google’s AI-driven fraud prevention measures have saved $1.5 billion in potential fraud losses, emphasizing the role of technology in building trust. 
  • Diallo also stressed the importance of addressing structural challenges like linguistic diversity and collaboration between public and private sectors. 

5. The Cost of Inaction and the Need for Data 

  • Dr. Amlan Roy warned of rising public debt and economic stagnation if gender equality and savings are not prioritised. Informal labour markets have not recovered from COVID-19, worsening the situation for women. 
  • He underscored the need for gender-disaggregated data to define, measure, and monitor risks, and called for differentiated insurance and pension products tailored to women’s unique needs. 

6. The Way Forward: Public-Private Partnerships and Policy 


  • Public-private partnerships are essential for scaling financial products. Dr. Karusisi emphasised leveraging existing infrastructure, while Kalpana Ajayan called for gender-intentional policies that make financial inclusion sustainable and scalable. 
  • Regulators need to support data-driven, gender-sensitive approaches. Adama Diallo highlighted the potential of data as a regulatory tool and the importance of collaboration to achieve economic growth through widespread savings. 

Conclusion 

The panel underscored the urgency of action-oriented solutions, emphasizing the need for gender-intentional financial products, mandatory savings, digital literacy, and robust public-private collaboration. The discussion highlighted that empowering women with financial tools not only fosters gender equality but also drives sustainable economic growth. 

 

Speakers:

  • Adama Bari Diallo, Head of Google Consumer Payments APAC, Google
  • Dr Amlan Roy, Partner LCP, Research Associate LSE (FMG & SRC), Author “Demographics Unravelled”, LSE & LCP
  • Dr Diane Karusisi, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Kigali Plc
  • Kalpana Ajayan, Regional Head South Asia, Women's World Banking

Moderator:

  • Parul Seth Khanna, Co-founder & Director, Pinbox

 

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