ADB initiates data programme to support women-led SMEs

• By Nuzla Rizkiya

Women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka are set to receive a significant backing by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with the initiation of its Women Entrepreneurs: Data Accelerating ransformative Action (WE-DATA) programme. 

Launched as the pilot project of ADB’s WE Finance Code Programme for Sri Lanka, the initiative aims to foster a gender-responsive financial ecosystem for Women Entrepreneurs (WEs) by focusing on sex-disaggregated data collection and the improvement of regulatory frameworks.
This will provide women with better access to financial services and business resources, according to the ADB. 

“This programme in Sri Lanka will support women entrepreneurs by focusing on macro level constraints, such as lack of disaggregated data that limits women’s entrepreneurship. The WE-Finance Code will seek to galvanise dedicated action and capacity across the government and the banking sector to collect segregated data and incentivise an ecosystem approach,” ADB Country Director Takafumi Kadono said. 

The lack of adequate data is identified to be key cause of women-led enterprises constituting a significant portion of the estimated US$ 17 billion financing gap faced by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka. 

Therefore, the integration of sex-disaggregated data into financial frameworks is essential to bridge the disparity and support the growth of the overall SME sector, according to the ADB.

“We’re trying to think about the whole ecosystem and how we put Women Entrepreneurs (WEs) at the center of policy action. So, the focus is more on the policy and regulatory environment and the emphasis is on data as a starting point of improving women’s access to finance,” Senior Social Development Specialist Keiko Nowacka said.

Accordingly, the WE-DATA initiative will be implemented in Sri Lanka under three main components over a period of one year.

Phases include the establishment of a ‘National Women Entrepreneur-Focused Regulatory Framework’, building a business case for female-focused investments and the fostering of innovative solutions, synergies for women entrepreneurs. 

Under the development of the WE- focused regulatory framework, the programme will adopt a national definition of women-owned/led businesses by 2Q 2024, establish a working group by 3Q2024 to integrate sex-disaggregated data into regulatory frameworks by the end of the year.