Empirical study of barriers to women's financial inclusion in Morocco

Abstract

Financial inclusion is the set of mechanisms put in place to enable individuals and businesses, which are excluded from the traditional banking circuit, to access and use financial products and services adapted to their needs. Financial inclusion enables poor people to finance their activities, save and provide for their families.

Several studies have demonstrated significant impact that access to and use of financial services has on the lives of individuals and businesses, which in turn leads to increased savings, productive investment, consumption, poverty reduction and women's empowerment.

Poor and vulnerable people, especially women, are the most excluded and face great difficulties in accessing formal financial services.  The gender gap is wider in Morocco than in similar countries: only 34% of women have access to a bank account compared to 66% of men. Financial inclusion is therefore both an opportunity and a necessity, but is nevertheless hindered by a number of obstacles.

The objective of this study is to map out and analyze the barriers to women's financial inclusion through a quantitative study using SPSS software.  The study found that the main barriers to women's financial inclusion include their lack of knowledge of financial services, cultural or religious factors, and lack of provisions or aversion to credit.  In order to strengthen women's financial inclusion, it is necessary to develop financial services that meet the needs of all social categories and particularly women, the popularization of financial services and products for women, and financial education, which is one of the pillars of financial inclusion, Finally, the use of mobile banking, which is considered a gas pedal of access to and use of financial services, consists of banking transactions carried out from a cell phone, which makes it possible to compensate for the low penetration of formal financial services and to remove the barriers imposed by traditional channels that penalize a large clientele, particularly women.