Women Entrepreneurs Driving Fintech Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Barriers, Strategies, and Policy Recommendations for Inclusive Growth

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A recent study by ongesa nyamboga, T. (2025) titled “Women Entrepreneurs and Innovation Strategies: Driving Inclusive Fintech Business Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa” published in F1000Research reveals that women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa drive inclusive fintech growth, but systemic barriers hinder scalability, requiring stronger infrastructure, policies, and ecosystems.

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Women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa drive inclusive fintech growth, yet systemic barriers limit scalability, requiring supportive policies and stronger infrastructure.
– ongesa nyamboga, T. 2025

The study examining how women-led fintech ventures are shaping inclusive economic development in the region. The study highlights the critical yet understudied role of women entrepreneurs in driving innovation, expanding financial access, and building sustainable businesses through fintech solutions. Drawing on Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory, the author explains how women entrepreneurs adopt and spread financial technologies across social systems and networks. These innovators are leveraging a wide range of tools: mobile payments and microloans through platforms like M-Pesa and Numida; AI-powered credit scoring and customer profiling via JUMO; blockchain applications for secure transactions and identity verification through BitPesa and Kora; and digital payment systems integrated with e-commerce platforms such as Flutterwave and Yoco. Many also collaborate with innovation hubs like MEST and iHub, gaining access to mentorship, funding, and collaborative networks.

Despite their progress, women entrepreneurs continue to face significant obstacles, including limited digital literacy, entrenched gender bias, restrictive regulatory frameworks, inadequate gender-disaggregated data, and infrastructure deficits—particularly in rural areas. These challenges hinder their ability to scale and sustain innovations at the same pace as male-led ventures. The study concludes that while women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly harnessing fintech to promote financial inclusion and market expansion, systemic barriers remain. Limitations of the research include scarce gender-specific data, reliance on case studies, and a lack of longitudinal evidence, underscoring the need for more comprehensive and sustained inquiry into this vital area of inclusive economic growth.

How the Study was Conducted

The study adopted a qualitative narrative review design to examine how women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa are fostering fintech-driven business growth. A narrative literature review was conducted to synthesize existing research published between 2015 and 2025, with the analysis guided by a qualitative thematic approach aimed at identifying recurring patterns and emerging themes.

Data collection drew on a wide range of sources, including peer-reviewed journal articles, institutional reports, policy briefs, and grey literature. Searches were conducted across leading databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, using carefully constructed keyword combinations with Boolean operators (e.g., “women entrepreneurs AND fintech,” “AI AND financial inclusion”).

The inclusion criteria focused on publications from 2021–2025 that specifically addressed women entrepreneurs in fintech within the Sub-Saharan African context. Eligible studies also had to be written in English and cover at least one of five thematic areas: mobile technology, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital payments and e-commerce, or innovation hubs/incubators. Conversely, studies were excluded if they lacked a gendered perspective, were unrelated to fintech, were not published in English, or failed to provide empirical or policy-based evidence.

For data analysis, Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework was employed. This involved familiarization with the collected data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing and refining themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the final synthesis. Both predefined themes and emergent insights were incorporated, with particular attention given to the five innovation domains.

The study was theoretically grounded in Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory, which provides a lens for understanding how new technologies and practices are adopted within social systems. Core attributes such as relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability were used to interpret the spread and uptake of fintech innovations by women entrepreneurs.

Finally, the evaluation process incorporated triangulation across academic, policy, and case study sources to ensure robustness, alongside reflexivity to minimize researcher bias. A critical appraisal framework for qualitative synthesis was also applied to strengthen the credibility and reliability of the findings.

What the Author Found

The author found that women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa are key drivers of inclusive growth through fintech innovation, but their full potential is constrained by systemic barriers such as digital literacy gaps, gender bias, weak infrastructure, and fragmented policy support.

Why is this important

Women-Led Fintech as Economic Drivers: Women entrepreneurs are building inclusive financial ecosystems through mobile loans, AI credit scoring, and blockchain solutions, reaching underserved populations overlooked by traditional banks.

Confronting Structural Barriers: Persistent challenges—such as gender bias, limited digital literacy, and regulatory hurdles—restrict women’s full participation, underscoring the need for supportive policies and targeted interventions.

Advancing Sustainable Development Goals: By fostering financial inclusion, resilience, and equity, women-led fintech ventures contribute directly to poverty reduction, community empowerment, and global development priorities.

Shaping Policy and Research Agendas: The study fills a critical gender gap in fintech research and offers actionable strategies for governments, investors, and incubators to scale inclusive innovation.

What the Author Recommended

The author of the study offer a set of concrete, actionable recommendations aimed at accelerating women-led fintech growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are aligned with the five thematic innovation areas explored in the research:

• Increase mobile network coverage, reduce data costs, and strengthen mobile-based financial platforms to reach underserved women entrepreneurs.
• Provide research grants, enforce ethical data policies, and improve access to AI analytics for customer profiling and credit scoring.
• Establish clear legal frameworks, enhance transparency in cross-border payments, and support blockchain solutions that benefit women-led SMEs.
• Ensure interoperability, reduce transaction fees, expand merchant credit access, and scale platforms that support women in online business.
• Fund incubation programs for women, foster partnerships with fintech firms, and replicate successful mentorship and training models.
• Implement inclusive fintech policies, expand digital literacy initiatives tailored to women, and ensure equitable access to internet and infrastructure.

In conclusion, women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa are pivotal drivers of inclusive fintech growth, leveraging mobile technology, AI, blockchain, and digital payment systems to expand financial access and foster sustainable economic development; however, systemic barriers such as gender bias, limited digital literacy, and infrastructure gaps continue to restrict scalability, highlighting the urgent need for supportive policies, targeted interventions, and investment in women-centered innovation ecosystems to fully realize their transformative potential.