It Starts Within: ProCredit Bank’s Journey Toward Gender-Inclusive Financial Services

Silvia Sánchez joined the Business Academy for Women, focused on sustainable business and gender violence prevention. Her business, rooted in Ecuador’s traditions,  has been serving authentic local cuisine for over 20 years.

About

ProCredit Bank Ecuador is a commercial, development-oriented Bank aimed at generating impact. It forms part of the international ProCredit Group, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. The Bank offers tailored digital services to (MSMEs), supporting their growth and financial inclusion. It has a strong focus on sustainability and responsible banking, reflected in its support for green finance initiatives and its efforts to reduce its ecological footprint.

Since its founding, ProCredit Bank has upheld a core philosophy: respect for human dignity. This principle has guided every aspect of its operations and continues to shape its approach to inclusive and responsible banking.

Despite considerable progress, in Latin America, gender disparities continue to limit access to economic opportunities in a range of ways. 

In Ecuador, women face deep-seated social and economic barriers: 

• Women make up 50.4% of the population yet face unequal access to credit and formal employment. (National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC)

• They spend nearly four times more time on unpaid care work than men (CEPAL and UN Women)

• Women face greater barriers to accessing mortgage loans than men, even when they have similar characteristics in terms of income, education, and employment. (Central Bank of Ecuador BCE)

• Women represent a significant proportion of micro-enterprises, especially in necessity-driven ventures motivated by a lack of employment opportunities (90%). However, their representation decreases significantly as companies grow.

• Only a small percentage of women entrepreneurs have access to formal financing, which limits their ability to scale their businesses.

This situation reflects a structural gap that not only affects access to ownership, but also women's ability to invest in their businesses, acquire assets, and improve their economic well-being.

Type of actor
Financial institution (ProCredit Bank Ecuador)

Investment type
Debt

Operates from
Ecuador

Sectors
Financial Services, MSMEs

Key Partners

In light of these deep-seated challenges and the barriers which women still face in to accessing credit and scaling their businesses, ProCredit Bank, in collaboration with GIZ under their develoPPP program, launched a  transformative initiative aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs across the country.

Approach

Under the #YoGeneroEquidad (#YoGeneroEquidad) initiative ProCredit Bank started a journey towards gender equity, beginning with internal training, awareness and capacity building for staff . The organisation honed in on:

• Training staff on gender-based violence and discrimination

• Promoting awareness to foster inclusive mindsets

• Promoting a workplace culture rooted in equity and respect

The campaign revealed several structural challenges in promoting gender equity within and beyond the organisation. These included the normalisation of gender stereotypes, limited awareness around gender-based violence, and persistent inequalities in women’s access to financial services. While women are well represented in microenterprise segments, their participation declines significantly in medium-sized businesses due to barriers such as limited access to formal credit, business networks, and leadership opportunities. 

Participants in the workshops at the Business Academy for women led by Jenny Tapia, Branch Manager at ProCredit Bank.

By prioritising internal awareness and education, the team then became better equipped to understand and respond to the real needs of their women clients. 

Rather than adapting existing products, ProCredit then adopted a human-centered design strategy for the customer implementation aspect of the initiative. This approach was guided by their internal training process and informed by the needs and lived experiences of women clients and employees. This involved:

• Listening to the experiences of women clients and employees

• Working to then co-create solutions that considered their realities

• Offering flexible credit, digital literacy support, and tailored advisory services where needed and relevant.

This approach ensured that the financial services and solutions offered were not only accessible but also meaningful and relevant.

Impact

Thousands of women entrepreneurs were reached and supported in critical ways after three years. Key outcomes included:

• Reaching over 14,800 women with business training and digital tools

• Supporting nearly 90 women through a second project that specifically combined entrepreneurship development with violence prevention

• Delivering non-financial services such as mentoring, education, and digital inclusion

• Co-operation with 11 key players in the financial sector, with whom all project materials and lessons learned were shared.

As a result, all project indicators received an A+ rating from GIZ, reflecting a high level of compliance, effectiveness and commitment. This partnership reflects a holistic approach that addresses both the economic and social barriers to women’s empowerment. 

Silvia Sánchez’s business, rooted in Ecuador’s traditions,  has been serving authentic local cuisine for over 20 years.

Key Takeaways

This experience serves as a model for the region. In Latin America, where women’s economic empowerment is both a development goal and a necessity, this initiative shows how financial institutions can become agents of change.

By starting from within, fostering strategic partnerships, and designing with purpose, the organisation demonstrates that inclusive finance is not just about access, it’s about equity, dignity, and transformation.

ProCredit Bank remains open to establishing new partnerships with organisations which share its vision of a more empowered, inclusive and equitable society. By continuing to invest in the potential of women entrepreneurs, the bank reaffirms its role as a catalyst for sustainable development and social transformation.