BLC Bank - Lebanon : Leading in Banking on Women

International Finance Corporation

International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC

关键词: SME;    small and medium-sized enterprises;    microfinance;    banking on women;    gender gap;   

RP-ID  :  109542

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The overall objective of this study isto learn about the impact of International FinanceCorporation’s (IFC) Banking on Women (BoW) Program in theEurope and Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa(EMENA) through BLC Bank of Lebanon. The objective of thisspecific case study is to understand the success of the BoWprogram for BLC Bank in Lebanon in terms of the program’scontribution to the bank’s bottom line, the growth andsustainability of the BoW business, as well as the capacitycreated within the bank to sustainably service womenentrepreneurs and consumers. BLC Bank’s BoW Program has beenbranded by the Bank as the, We Initiative (Women EmpowermentInitiative) and will be referred to as such throughout thestudy. The focus of the study is on what the authorsconsider as aspects critical to a successful BoW investmentand advisory program. Particular attention is paid toacknowledging the varying influences on a client bank’ssuccess including but not limited to different types of IFCinterventions, stages of program maturity, client buy-in andcommitment and data challenges. The focus of the study is onbanking for women-led Small and medium enterprises (SMEs).The definition of women-led SMEs for the purpose of thisstudy is based on the definition provided by BLC Bank Lebanon.