Expanding the financing options of women-led businesses in the MENA region

This chapter addresses issues related to the supply and demand sides of financing for women-led businesses in the MENA region. The first section presents a supply-side analysis of banks' financing practices, based on the results of a survey of banks carried out by the OECD in collaboration with the Union of Arab Banks. The section reviews whether banks consider women's businesses as a market for their own development, the amounts and types of loans they provide to those businesses and the ways and means to enhance the proportion of bank lending to women's businesses. The second section consists of a practical guide to improving the demand side of lending to women-led businesses, by providing concrete advice to women on how to approach banks for financing their businesses, within the context of the larger financing needs of their businesses.