Resources for Expanding Rural Financial Services

Research, guidance, and tools from WIN 2.0 offer practical lessons for supporting financial service providers to reach women in rural Mozambique.

The Women in Business project (WIN 2.0) works with private and public sector partners to improve economic opportunities for women across Mozambique. Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by TechnoServe, the project uses a market systems development approach to address the barriers that limit women’s access to financial services, agricultural inputs, information, and markets.

WIN 2.0 developed a set of resources based on practical work done with women and men in rural communities in Mozambique, field research, and lessons from its work with financial service providers. They examine what women need from financial services, how companies can integrate gender into product development, and what must be in place before financial providers expand into rural markets. The series also shares lessons from a pilot that proved commercially viable, exploring how to recognize when a model is not working and make an informed decision to pivot.

These practical resources are designed for private sector actors, development organizations, and market systems development practitioners supporting companies better serve low-income women and men. They can help companies and practitioners identify market barriers, guide partners through product development, and assess whether a proposed rural financial service is commercially viable and equipped to reach women.

All publications and tools are available in English and Portuguese.

• Understanding Rural Women’s Financial Behaviors: Unlocking Market Potential: Insights into Rural Women’s Financial Behaviours.
  • English PDF | Portuguese PDF
• Developing Gender-Inclusive Products: How to Develop a Gender-Inclusive Approach for Product Development and Communication.
  • English PDF | Portuguese PDF | Gender Inclusion Toolkit for Product Development and Communication.
• Preparing for Rural Market Expansion: Reaching Rural Women as a Customer Segment: A Readiness Guide for Financial Service Providers in Mozambique.
  • English PDF | Portuguese PDF | Rural Readiness Self-Assessment Tool
• Learning and adapting: When pilots don’t take off: Closing a Pilot, Pivoting to Redirect Efforts and What WIN Learnt. Full document.
  • English PDF | Portuguese PDF

Interested in putting these lessons into practice? Download the WIN 2.0 Case studies and tools.