How Do We Better Support Women-Led MSMEs Post COVID-19?

Over 90 percent of MSMEs across sub-Saharan Africa are suffering harsh economic impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Women-led MSMEs have been especially hard hit, with many reporting revenue losses of over 50 percent, largely due to their smaller size, informality, and concentration in heavily affected sectors. IFC has implemented a number of COVID related interventions to support its financial inclusion clients and their end customers, which include the provision of stress testing capabilities for our key clients, developing NFS solutions, and conducting COVID-19 surveys in many countries across the region, among others.

In this open webinar, authors will present the findings of the report "COVID-19 and Women-Led MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa: Examining the Impact, Responses, and Solutions," which aims to understand whether these measures were enough and whether there were any specific nuances that may be experienced by women-led MSMEs.