Outcome LAC_D_2.3

More women have access to decent work and women’s entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprises, networks and cooperatives are strengthened through financial and digital inclusion, green and circular economy alternatives in local and regional value chains

In 2023 UN Women ACRO continued to support the implementation of regional and subregional programs to promote the access to opportunities for income generation and sustainable livelihoods, particularly focusing in financing and digital inclusion, explicitly and systematically integrating an intersectional approach (principle Leave no one behind) that enhances the inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups (rural, indigenous, migrant women) with the capacity to provide differentiated responses. The application of this principle as a central approach to the design and management of programs makes possible to influence changes in structural barriers that limit poverty reduction, equal opportunities, gender equality and economic growth, and to build and strengthen women's capacity to make decisions and act on issues such as the acquisition of financial commitments, assessment of associated risks, control over their money - spending and savings - through personal accounts, investment in education and health care expenses, access to productive credit and insurance that allow them to grow their businesses. In particular, beginning in 2023 UN Women is contributing to the development of an inclusive financial ecosystem (IFE) in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras through the implementation of the IFE programme, funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The programme. aims to articulate efforts, to strengthen capacities of financial institutions and public financial sector actors, strategic partnerships with relevant agents of the financial ecosystem (such as Central American Bank for Economic Integration -CABEI-), to advocate for the inclusion of gender equality in public policies and programmes linked to financial inclusion, and many actions that has been promoting the agenda of financial inclusion and the economic autonomy of women in the region. The programme is contributing to increase the availability of knowledge products, tools and methodologies to promote the incorporation of a gender perspective and innovations in financial products and services and in financial inclusion strategies, as well as the generation and use of gender-sensitive data to monitor and evaluate initiatives to promote financial inclusion. The development of knowledge products contributes to highlight women financial inclusion and support the relevance of the region's priorities and serve for policy dialogue. In particular, the launching of the policy brief of women´s financial inclusion was published: “Women’s financial inclusion Keys to a transformative post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean”, produced the framework of the IFE programme highlighted how women’s levels of financial inclusion in the region were, and continue to be, a vulnerability factor that is hindering their economic autonomy and the post-COVID-19 recovery. This publication reached in 2023 more than 156,000 people in social media. Knowledge products are also being used to guide the design and provision of financial products and services with a gender perspective, as well as the incorporation of gender equality in public policies and programmes. A tool is being developed, which will be used by the IFE programme to guide the strengthening of capacities of financial institutions in the provision of final products and services and will be used as a self-assessment tool. Its piloting started during the fourth quarter 2023 by 11 financial institutions and was reviewed by two regulators. Furthermore, the programme also contributes to foster partnerships between regional and national financial institutions. National and regional partnerships are also being leveraged to advocate for women’s financial inclusion and engagement with the IFE programme, with a focus on the need to work at the ecosystem level to better advance women’s financial health and their economic empowerment. An example of this was the development of the IV Central American Forum of Financial Inclusion, held in El Salvador on the 11th and 12th of October of 2023, organized by jointly by the IFE and the MELYT programmes, in alliance with CABEI and with the collaboration of multiple national and regional organizations was a strategic initiative. The Forum aimed to strengthen partnerships, promote peer-to-peer learning and share best practices on how to reduce gender gaps in access to capital, and increase dialogue and cooperation among financial ecosystem actors engaged with gender equality was. In total, 170 people attended in person on the first day and 110 people on the second day of event. Additionally, over 6.720 people were reached through social media during both days. Thanks to the work through the EFI programme, UN Women achieved to influence national strategies and public policies on financial inclusion, integrating the gender equality perspective. For example, in Guatemala with the technical support of ACRO the new National Financial Inclusion Strategy (ENIF) incorporates a gender perspective and focus on women’s financial inclusion, including sex disaggregated indicators. UN Women national and regional teamS also provided technical support for the revision of the "Roadmap for financial inclusion for women" of the National Council for Financial Inclusion and Education (CNIEF) of El Salvador and has been providing technical support to the National Banking and Insurance Commission (CNBS) in defining a Household Survey Module specifically dedicated to the topic of financial inclusion and other efforts in terms of measurement. In Costa Rica during 2023, the “Hecho por Mujeres” initiative (an e-commerce platform that promotes women's autonomy and economic empowerment), continued to support women’s entrepreneurship and strengthening financial inclusion 319 businesswomen were able to strengthened their capacities through the virtual cycle of 16 trainings and webinars with the objective of promoting their financial and digital inclusion. The platform also operates as a promotional platform for their products, both through social networks (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and for in person sales (fairs). As a result, 98 active sellers have made a total of 110 sales through the platform, for a total amount of sales since its launch of approximately US$3,700. Also in Costa Rica, regarding in person sales to strengthen financial inclusion, UN Women supported FIDEIMAS, in coordination with the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Sistema Banca para el Desarrollo, IMAS and the Municipality of San José in the organization of the IMAS-FIDEIMAS Christmas Fair. For the second consecutive year after the pandemic, this fair provides an opportunity to have a marketing space for businesswomen and their families, where they can exhibit their handmade products and invite visitors to purchase Christmas gifts with purpose. During December 13, 14 and 15, 2023, 135 businesswomen supported by FIDEIMAS, many of them active sellers in Hecho por Mujeres platform, offered national products in the Central Park of San José, achieving an approximate of US$32,000 in total sales. In terms of promoting digital inclusion, during 2023 UN Women ACRO contributed with the initiative TodasConectadas.com, a collaborative virtual platform that serve as a hub for training courses in digital skill, networking communities to connect with digital markets, and information about economic opportunities, like financial resources or marketplaces. By the end of 2023 a total number of 35.003 visitors were registered, having the opportunity to access 37 virtual courses, to information about 19 communities, and about 8 financial resources for digital inclusion.

More women have access to decent work and women’s entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprises, networks and cooperatives are strengthened through financial and digital inclusion, green and circular economy alternatives in local and regional value chains

Through the Inclusive Financial Ecosystem (IFE) programme, funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, UN Women has advocated for the inclusion of women’s financial inclusion and its measurement in public programs and policies in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Each country team has been working with central banks and regulators with technical support from the regional office. To guide advocacy processes, an analysis of regulatory frameworks has been developed for the three countries. One of the most important achievements in 2024 has been the incorporation of women’s financial inclusion as a pillar of the updated ENIF in Guatemala, thanks to UN Women’s advocacy and technical support during the formulation process. Additionally, the IFE programme team advocated for the inclusion of sex-disaggregated indicators and provided technical recommendations for their definition. This will enable the Central Bank and Superintendence of Banks to collect the necessary data to measure progress in women’s financial inclusion and promote targeted actions within the ecosystem. In El Salvador, technical support was provided to revise the "Roadmap for Women’s Financial Inclusion" of the National Council for Financial Inclusion and Education (CNIEF), and a workplan to support its implementation is under discussion. In Honduras, technical assistance was provided to the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS) and the national statistics institute to define a Household Survey Module on Financial Inclusion and improve the measurement of women’s access to and use of financial products and services. Additionally, efforts began in December 2024 to strengthen financial inclusion ecosystems in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador through collaboration mechanisms and the co-creation of tools aimed at promoting and providing technical assistance to enhance women’s financial health and economic opportunities. Initial sessions for these efforts are already underway, setting a solid foundation for achieving inclusive financial systems in the region. National institutions, local governments and civil society organization in Costa Rica have increased capacities and have made significant efforts to provide more gender transformative services and programs that contribute to women’s economic empowerment, financial and digital inclusion. For example, FIDEIMAS, a key program for the financial inclusion of businesswomen in poverty in Costa Rica, has strengthened capacities to provide services to support the income generation and sustainable livelihoods of businesswomen as a result of the search of a partner to undertake the management of the Hecho por Mujeres e-commerce platform, the support provided by UN Women to the annual Christmas Fair, and the technical support to include a gender perspective in institutional processes, including its value proposal, monitoring and evaluation system and the analysis of analysis of the scope of its services and barriers to access. With the organization of the Christmas Fair, 127 businesses of women and families living in poverty (119 led by women) were able to sell their products directly to consumers (sales reported exceeded US$20.000) and to position their businesses. In addition to incorporating a gender perspective in its value proposal and monitoring and evaluation system, FIDEIMAS has requested support in understanding the causes of the gender gap between loans approved for women-led compared to men-led businesses by financial institutions under their programme, which will help guide actions to close gender barriers in access. As a tool to increase income generating opportunities for businesswomen and women entrepreneurs in Costa Rica, UN Women has continued to support the sustainability and strengthening of the Hecho por Mujeres e-commerce platform. UN Women is working with a partner, the Fundación para la Sostenibilidad y la Equidad (ALIARSE), to implement actions to strengthen the platform, including a market strategy and the search for more businesswomen and a training process to generate capacities to use the platform and sell online, and is supporting the transition between FIDEIMAS and ALIARSE in the management of the platform. This new partner will allow more women sellers from diverse backgrounds, not only women in poverty – a restriction of FIDEIMAS, to sell on the platform, significantly increasing its reach. Furthermore, through the SDG Fund joint programme on SDG Localization and Digitalization, UN Women is strengthening the capacities of the Institute for Municipal Development and Advisory Services (IFAM), Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), and the three local governments selected: Sarchí, Atenas and Palmares, to incorporate a gender perspective in their programs and services, making them more gender-transformative, and to create more spaces for women’s participation and economic and political empowerment. This includes increasing opportunities for the effective participation of women in communities in decision-making processes, the design and implementation of plans and policies, and innovations processes and strengthening their capacities, as well a strengthening leadership and technical capacities of women political authorities and staff of the three municipalities. For example, an intervention model and training program for women to be piloted in three Community Innovation Labs (LINCs), enabling spaces for the co-creation and incubation of productive ideas, including women-led businesses, and gender-sensitive solutions to community problems, is being developed with technical support of the joint programme. This will help strengthen the implementation of this initiative led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT) in coordination with local governments or regional branches of public universities by providing a gender-transformative implementation strategy that can be replicated in the other LINCs, scaling up the results of the joint programme.