Financial inclusion has been identified as an enabler for seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the World Bank Group considers it a key enabler to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity. Despite progress in recent years, people with disabilities still face multiple barriers in accessing financial services and products.

In this 23-minute conversation, Paul Horsters from GIZ’s Global Project on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities speaks with Mary Asare and Ana de la Vega Núñez from GIZ and Sheru Muuo from Sightsavers about research they carried out in Ghana, Mexico and Kenya. They discuss why women with disabilities are often more financially excluded and how this can be improved.

Sheru also explains how, with funding from GIZ, Sightsavers is piloting a new loan product with a reduced interest rate and a longer repayment period, to support women retailers with disabilities in western Kenya to grow their businesses in the Global Labor Program – Inclusive Futures.

Download transcription [pdf.]