ABSTRACT
Financial inclusion has been a topical issue over the past two decades. It offers numerous benefits to policymakers and researchers, both at national and societal levels. This chapter explores the state of financial inclusion for women in four selected countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region namely Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Financial inclusion plays a significant role in employment creation, stimulation of growth, savings, investments, alleviation of poverty and the reduction of gender inequalities. Globally, there are about 1.7 billion people who are financially excluded, with 56% of them being women in developing countries. Despite the major roles played by women in entrepreneurship and leadership, several challenges have been observed in the quest to financially include women in the formal financial system. A myriad of challenges in the SADC region militates against the inclusion of women in the formal financial services sector. These include the reluctance by banks to advance credit to rural communities and the poor and the demand for collateral/security by financial institutions when they advance loans to women. The chapter shows that Namibia and South Africa have higher rates of financial inclusion compared with Botswana and Zimbabwe.
