CAF in alliance with INAMU supports financial inclusion of women in Costa Rica

On November 15, 2021, INAMU, Costa Rica's National Women's Institute, signed a non-refundable technical cooperation agreement with CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, to support the development of the project “Implementation of the actions contained in the guidelines document for closing the financial gap between women and men in Costa Rica and its pilot program”. 

As part of this alliance, on March 16 in San José, various financial institutions from the public and private sectors participated in the presentation of the results of this important initiative to reduce gender gaps in Costa Rica's financial system. 

The entities participating in this project are the Banking Association of Costa Rica, BAC-Credomatic, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Grupo CS Ahorro y Crédito, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce, the National Women's Institute, the Banking System for Development, the General Superintendence of Financial Institutions, the General Superintendence of Pensions and the Superintendence of Securities and Insurance. All of them committed to continue advancing in the implementation of policies and concrete actions to facilitate financial services and products for women. 

“Today we are moving forward with sure steps towards a real improvement in the lives of women in terms of access and good use of financial resources offered by financial institutions in Costa Rica,” said Cindy Quesada Hernández, Minister for the Status of Women. 

One of the central aspects of this project was to raise awareness and train the staff of public and private financial institutions on the impact of gender norms and biases on the behavior and attitudes of women and the multiple barriers they face in accessing financial services in banks and other institutions. The project worked on these issues in a pilot program implemented with BAC-Credomatic, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica and the cooperative CS Ahorro y Crédito, which made it possible to develop tools and prototype programs for segments of women who are mostly excluded from the financial sector. In addition, support was provided to public institutions in the development of roadmaps for mainstreaming a gender perspective in their policies and action plans and the application of guidelines for the financial inclusion of women. 

Finally, this cooperation enabled a strategic alliance between CAF and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) for the development of a new technical cooperation on financial education with a gender approach. 

Data   

• Of the total number of debtors in the country's financial system, 56% are men and 44% are women, and the average loan amount of women represents 86% of that of men. 

• In terms of savings, the average amount in women's term accounts is equivalent to 64% of the average amount saved in men's term deposits. 

• There is a 38% gap in credit placement in State Public Banks, where, for every 100 men who receive a loan in a state bank, only 62 women are granted loans.