BY EPN REPORTER
MBABANE – Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg today launched the Gender-Inclusive Finance Roadmap of Eswatini. The goal of the roadmap is to improve the participation of women in the financial system and economic growth of the country.
Speaking during the launch, Minister Rijkenberg said, “It is driven by a host of reasons, including restrictive cultural norms, policies and regulations that are not gender-sensitive, structural barriers, as well as limited access to financial prducts and services. However, in Eswatini we took the first step constitutionally to empower women and recognise their rights as citizens in this country – but that is not enough. We can do more to enhance the level of economic empowerment by the roadmap we are launching today. Women balance in accessing resources has enourmous economic consequences.”
Minister Rijkenberg added that, “It is estimated that if women’s participation in the economy were equal to men’s then the annual global GDP would increase by US$27 trillion by 2025, resulting in 26% increase in global GDP. One can imagine the impact of such growth for our own early economy. In this regard, for all of seeking growth and development in our economies, it’s an obvious choice to include women. Access and usage of financial services is know to be a key driver.”
The minister also highlighted that the boy-child should not be forgotten as this exercise of financial inclusion continues, in order to avoid a future inequality. Minister Rijkenberg also noted with reverence the importance of women in economic development.
“A savings culture, development credit, payments, remittances, and insurance are examples of valuable tools to build resilience against unexpected shocks. These are also key avenues to grow in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, a sector in which most of the women in Eswatini operate. As we all know, MSME’s are the key engine to economic growth,” concluded Minister Rijkenberg.
The Gender-Inclusive Financial Roadmap was launched today at the George Hotel by different stakeholders in the commerce sector of Eswatini.
