Ethiopia: Empowering Ethiopian Women Through Digital Financial Inclusion

In a country where gender inequality is entrenched, Lemma is a shining beacon of hope for the future

Hanna Lemma, a fearless women's rights advocate and feminist researcher from Ethiopia, is leading a revolution. She is passionate about uplifting youth, amplifying young feminist voices, and advocating for the rights of other young women in her country. Through her pioneering work at Addis Powerhouse, a young women-led feminist knowledge production platform, she is challenging the status quo and empowering young women to take their deserved place in Ethiopian politics and society.

Millions of women around the world struggle to access finance, with an alarming 9% gap between women's and men's access, according to a joint report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Research shows that women face a number of challenges in accessing digital financial tools, including poverty, limited digital and financial literacy, cultural barriers, lack of training and awareness of insurance services, difficulty accessing information on insurance products and services, and limited access to capital. Some women are also limited by social norms that restrict their decision-making and interaction outside the home.

The lack of access to finance is a major challenge in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa, especially for women. It demands attention, raising important questions for decision-makers: What continues to fuel gender disparity in access to finance across the continent?

In a conversation about empowerment with allAfrica's Melody Chironda, Lemma called for stronger policies and improved digital financial inclusion to break down barriers to financial inclusion for women in Ethiopia.

"I was motivated to create Addis Powerhouse to address the gender gap in Ethiopia, said Lemma. "This gap is curtailing evidence-based advocacy for women's meaningful inclusion and decision-making, and it is also preventing the country from overcoming gender-based violence. Young women, in particular, are disproportionately excluded from decision-making spaces and targeted for gender-based violence. These issues are often neglected because young women are not part of the decision-making process. For example, catcalling, online gender-based violence, unwanted pregnancy, and period poverty are not taken seriously because young women are unable to advocate for their own rights...Read more on All Africa

Source: All Africa