Connecting Africa (Informa)

'Women Are Better Borrowers': CEOs Call for More Female Leaders to Close Gaps

African women remain disproportionately unbanked, with half of Sub‑Saharan women lacking formal accounts, despite the continent’s mobile‑money boom. CEOs like Clara Arthur of Ghana’s GhIPSS and Hortense Mudenge of the Kigali International Financial Centre argue that increasing female leadership can boost trust and uptake among women borrowers. Data from Kenya shows women default at lower rates than men, while women run over half of Africa’s 2.18 million social enterprises generating $96 billion annually. The article calls for data‑driven lending and more women in senior fintech roles to close the inclusion gap.