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Bangladesh has witnessed steady progress in women's financial inclusion over the past five years, marked by significant rise in the number of both deposit and loan accounts held by women in commercial banks.
The number of female-owned deposit accounts surged from 33.45 million in 2019 to 55.32 million in 2024. As a share of total deposit accounts, women's participation increased from 30 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent in 2024, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) latest data.
Even stronger growth was observed in women's access to credit. The number of female-owned loan accounts more than doubled during the period -- from 918,480 in 2019 to over 2.15 million in 2024. This lifted women's share in total commercial bank loan accounts from 8.31 per cent to 16.49 per cent.
The BB has prioritised gender-inclusive financial inclusion as a core component of its national strategy. To close the gender gap in access and usage of financial services, the bank has implemented several institutional, financial, and policy-based interventions.
One major step is the establishment of Women Entrepreneurs Development Units (WEDUs) and Women Entrepreneurs Dedicated Desks (WEDDs) in all banks and financial institutions. These units are designed to support women entrepreneurs through guidance, loan facilitation, and financial literacy.
Stakeholders attribute this progress to focused interventions, including collateral-free lending for women entrepreneurs, dedicated refinance schemes and mandatory quotas for SME loans disbursed to women. The central bank's gender-focused policies have played a pivotal role in expanding financial opportunities for women, particularly in small and medium enterprises.
However, they also note that while numerical gains are significant, challenges remain in ensuring that women's financial empowerment translates into sustainable business growth and improved household welfare. Limited financial literacy, social barriers, and difficulties in scaling up women-led enterprises still constrain the full impact of financial inclusion initiatives.
Nevertheless, the more than doubling of female-owned loan accounts in just five years reflects strong policy momentum in fostering gender-inclusive banking. They also say sustaining this trend will require deeper integration of women into digital finance platforms, enhanced business development support, and continued regulatory commitment to bridging the gender gap in access to finance.
When asked, Dr. M Masrur Reaz, chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB) said the surge in women's deposit and loan accounts over the past five years is an encouraging sign of Bangladesh's progress in financial inclusion.
The sharp rise in deposit accounts shows women's growing engagement with formal finance, while the doubling of loan accounts reflects their increasing role as entrepreneurs and borrowers, he told The Financial Express.
"To sustain this momentum, we must focus on larger credit access, financial literacy, and women-focused digital products so that financial inclusion truly translates into empowerment and economic participation," he added.
The BB has also introduced and operationalised the Women's Financial Inclusion Data (WFID) Dashboard, which provides real-time, sex-disaggregated data to track progress, identify gaps, and guide gender-responsive policy. This dashboard, developed in collaboration with Consumer CentriX and supported by international partners, is the first of its kind in South Asia.
To enhance women's access to credit, BB mandated that 15 per cent of CMSME loans be allocated to women entrepreneurs by 2029.
Additionally, several dedicated refinance schemes have been introduced, including the Tk 30 billion Small Enterprise Refinance Scheme (SERS) for women. Women are also prioritised in COVID-19 recovery refinance schemes, no-frills account initiatives, and credit guarantee facilities. Beyond credit, BB promotes collateral-free lending of up to Tk 2.5 million for women entrepreneurs and offers incentives for timely loan repayment.
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