Women's entrepreneurship development

IWD Webinar: Unlocking potential of women entrepreneurs: Provision of gender inclusive financial and business development services

The webinar, organized by the ILO’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme and the “Rebuilding Better: Fostering Business Resilience Post-COVID-19” Project, discussed the key role of financial and business development service providers in unlocking women entrepreneurs’ potential.

Objective

The objective of this webinar was to discuss the key role of financial and business development service providers in unlocking women entrepreneurs’ potential and to highlight the importance of gender-inclusive service provision. The webinar also showcased the approach that the ILO has developed to support the provision of better financial and business development services to women entrepreneurs in the last few years. It was an opportunity for participants to learn more about the ILO-WED’s gender self-assessment tools for service providers, and to attend the official launch of the ILO publication “Gender-inclusive services provision: A quick guide for financial and business development service providers”, the latest offering to ensure service providers are supported in their efforts towards greater gender equality.

Format and Programme

The webinar took place online via Zoom, on International Women’s Day, the 8th of March 2022, at 10am Geneva/4pm Bangkok/5pm Manila time. It lasted one hour.

Questions for discussion

Discussion was centered around the following questions:
  • What are some of the key challenges faced by service providers that are taking measures to provide more gender-inclusive services and cater to women entrepreneurs?
  • What are, if any, the characteristics, skills or competencies that service provider display that are already providing gender-inclusive services?
  • What measures need to be taken to support service providers in responding to the needs of women entrepreneurs and become more gender-inclusive in their service provision?
  • How we can we more systematically address inherent gender bias in entrepreneurial ecosystems and ensure equal access to resources and services?

Webinar resources: