New deadline to submit your application: March 22nd, 2026
I am submitting my application for the FINANC’ELLES program
Financial Inclusion of Women Entrepreneurs: A Lever for Innovation and Performance
In Senegal, women entrepreneurs play a decisive role in job creation, the revitalization of local economies, and household resilience. Despite the strong growth of women-led entrepreneurship, the supply of financial services remains insufficiently adapted to the economic, social, and operational realities of these women entrepreneurs, particularly at the pre-seed and seed stages.
Diagnostic analyses conducted under the IYBA-SEED Senegal program have highlighted:
• A financial product offering that remains largely standardized.
• Internal processes that are insufficiently sensitive to gender issues.
• Underutilization of innovation levers (digitalization, alternative scoring, hybrid products, non-financial support).
In response to these findings, IYBA-SEED - implemented in Senegal by Expertise France and Enabel, with technical support from MSC (MicroSave Consulting) - is launching FINANC’ELLES, a technical support program designed to assist financial institutions operating in Senegal that wish to innovate, adjust, or sustainably strengthen their offerings for women entrepreneurs.
FINANC’ELLES: A Strategic Opportunity for Senegalese Financial Institutions
IYBA-SEED - whose main objective is to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and improve access to financial and non-financial services for young businesses, especially those led by women - and MSC are issuing a call for applications for financial institutions wishing to participate in FINANC’ELLES.
The goal of this project is to support a core group of financial institutions (banks, microfinance institutions, FinTechs, cooperatives, and funds) in a progressive yet structuring process to transform their offerings, processes, and internal practices to better meet the needs of women entrepreneurs while enhancing the economic viability of the proposed solutions.
FINANC’ELLES enables institutions to:
• Strengthen their strategic positioning in a high-growth segment.
• Benefit from high-level technical support at no direct cost.
• Improve the commercial performance and social impact of their products.
• Strengthen the internal capacities of their teams (products, credit, marketing, IT, branches).
• Join a national and regional dynamic for the inclusive transformation of the financial sector.
Concrete and Progressive Support
For eight months, selected financial institutions will benefit from a program that includes:
PHASE 1
- Awareness and training sessions on gender-sensitive financial inclusion, led by experts, with concrete case studies and operational tools.
PHASE 2
- Personalized technical support, including:
- An in-depth institutional diagnostic.
- Co-construction of a tailored assistance plan.
- Support for the design, adaptation, or testing of inclusive financial products and services.
Strategic support, aligned with the operational realities of each institution, aimed at reconciling social impact, economic viability, and scalability potential.
- Showcasing experiences through case studies and a regional toolkit designed to inspire and equip all financial sector stakeholders.
I am submitting my application for the FINANC’ELLES program
Who is FINANC’ELLES for?
FINANC’ELLES is aimed at commercial banks, microfinance institutions, FinTechs, financial cooperatives, funds, or financial intermediaries operating in Senegal, whether or not they already have an offering dedicated to women entrepreneurs, and who wish to:
• Develop new inclusive financial products.
• Adapt or strengthen an existing offering.
• Transform their internal processes (scoring, risk management, marketing, governance).
• Strengthen their teams’ capacities in gender-sensitive finance.
Why Participate in FINANC’ELLES?
For a financial institution, participating in this project provides an opportunity to:
• Access high-level expertise at no direct cost.
• Strengthen its strategic positioning in the fast-growing segment of women entrepreneurs.
• Improve the quality and performance of its financial products.
• Develop the internal skills of its teams.
How to Apply?
- To participate to Phase 1 (Training), please complete the application form by March 22nd at midnight: https://tinyurl.com/42vf8a45.
- Each institution may register a maximum of two participants.
- Following the training phase (Phase 1), two to four institutions will be selected to join the support program.
- For further information and to address any questions, you are invited to attend an online information session on Wednesday, March 4 at 2:00 PM GMT, via the following link: https://tinyurl.com/56ep6b3h.
Selection Criteria
Institutional Criteria:
• Institution legally operating in Senegal’s financial sector (bank, MFI, FinTech, cooperative).
• Number of years the institution has been active in the ecosystem.
• Presence in diverse areas, including outside Dakar (rural/peri-urban), for broad inclusion.
• Demonstrated commitment to integrating gender through strategy or innovation (motivation for participation).
Personal Criteria:
• Number of years the participant has worked at the institution.
• Total relevant experience of the participant (financial inclusion, gender, or product innovation).
• Selection will also be based on motivation, institutional commitment, and the ability to mobilize internal teams.
Schedule:
• Application deadline for training (Phase 1): March 11 at midnight
• Information session on the call for applications: March 4 at 2:00 PM GMT
• Notification of results: March 16, 2026
• Start of the training: March 25th, 2026
Duration of support (Phase 1 + Phase 2): until December 2026
Contacts:
For any questions, please contact: rocky.milingita@microsave.net, copying alya.trabelsi@expertisefrance.fr and rebecca.szantyr@microsave.net.
