The COVID-19 pandemic has affected women and men differently, with the crisis exacerbating many of the existing challenges women entrepreneurs face in accessing fitting financial services.

Financial institutions can help women entrepreneurs navigate the crisis by better understanding their needs, connecting them to knowledge and information, and providing tools to help them take action.

To highlight the role financial institutions can play, IPC provides this document summarising what financial institutions can do to support women entrepreneurs during the crisis, with examples of successful cases globally. For banks and other financial institutions, supporting women in weathering the crisis is not only a necessary step towards more gender equality, it is also good business.