IFC Supports Afghan Women’s Access to Financial and Non-Financial Services

More than an estimated 5,000 women are expected to directly benefit from a new initiative led by Ghazanfar Bank, one of Afghanistan’s leading commercial banks, to improve Afghan women’s access to financial and non-financial services. It aims to serve as a demonstration model and set a standard for commercially viable businesses owned by women.  

The move follows the signing of the first ever advisory agreement between Ghazanfar Bank  and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and aims to help Ghazanfar Bank develop a new market in the country through financing of women-owned small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).  The IFC’s advisory services project is supported by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), a multi-donor funded facility that supports women entrepreneurs by scaling up access to finance, markets, networks and mentors and information.