Gender Inclusion

This brief explores how CARE is using VSLA data, digital tools, and partnerships to help women entrepreneurs access formal credit. By digitizing savings group records and developing alternative credit scores, the approach creates pathways for women to transition from small group loans to larger, formal financing. Early pilot efforts in Uganda aim to demonstrate a scalable model for inclusive financial services and business growth.

CARE Uganda’s “Echoes of Change” campaign uses radio drama, community events, and VSLA discussions to challenge social norms that restrict women’s use of mobile technology. Early insights suggest strong engagement and emerging shifts in attitudes, with both women and men beginning to see the value of women’s access to digital tools.

Insights from CARE’s digital pilot with 100 VSLA groups in Rwanda and Uganda reveal how social norms limit women’s digital access—and what it takes to design safer, more inclusive digitalization efforts.

This framework outlines how household dynamics, social norms, and structural inequalities shape women’s digital access—and offers a roadmap for gender-responsive digital inclusion.

This brief from Yale Inclusion Economics examines two policy levers in India—smartphone distribution and digital literacy training—and finds that while free phones offer a short-term boost, it's digital skills that create lasting impact for women’s connectivity, confidence, and well-being.