Rwanda Civil Society Platform has recommended managers of Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) to design specific financial products for women and particularly women with disabilities that are in the informal sector.

The recommendation is part of Civil Society Organizations inputs towards the revision of Rwanda Economic Recovery Plan to be more gender-responsive presented on Friday, October 1.

Rwanda launched the fund last year with an initial Rwf100 billion capital to help businesses recover from Covid-19 impact.

However, despite the raising awareness of the Economic Recovery Plan, CSOs assessment, disclosed that there remain gendered barriers in both the design and implementation for women especially access to finances and services where 26 percent of adult women are formally excluded from financial services.

It revealed that the accessibility criteria in the Economic Recovery Fund put more emphasis on formal businesses which are already able to access credit from other financial institutions while the majority of women are in the informal sector.

Women have been affected by Covid-19 b3vause majority of them, 91 per cent, work in the informal sector

CSOs observed that the recovery plan emphasizes a transition to digital economies which is positive in the long run but difficult for women especially to partake in, in particular women with disabilities.

The assessment also observed that while it requires digital literacy and access to phones to embrace e-payment, only 54 per cent of female-headed households in Rwanda own at least one mobile phone as compared to 71 per cent for male heads of houses.

This illustrates that many women might not be able to use e-payment especially in semi-urban areas and rural settings.

An assessment of the awareness of the fund in 2020 and 2021 by CSOs also found that awareness is low in general.

At least 68.8 per cent of individual respondents in December last year in 13 districts had not yet heard about the recovery plan of whom 66 per cent were females.

Another assessment by the gender and family promotion ministry and UN women in September the same year also found that more male respondents or 52 per cent were aware of the economic recovery plan.

Over 70 per cent of respondents said they were not aware of any services being offered to women and girls under the Covid-19 economic recovery plan and 78 percent found no specific services for women and girls with disabilities.

Recommendations

CSOs have called for addressing gender responsiveness in the next phase of the recovery plan in the design, implementation and monitoring.

The fund and its component of social protection response and recovery plan, CSOs recommended,  should include data disaggregated by sex, aged and disability and include quotas for available funds to reach specific groups of vulnerable women and girls adding the recovery plan should also design specific financial products of Micro Small Medium Enterprises and the informal sector.

A country-wide awareness-raising plan and budget should also be allocated with emphasis on women and youth.

Eugenie Mukabagire, a facilitator at Rwanda Women’s Network in Bugesera district said that women in small businesses and informal sector were severely affected by Covid-19 and therefore advocacy is needed for their recovery.

"Such women at grassroots level have no information about the recovery fund and they need to access specific financial products for them at lower interest rates among others and be trained,” she said.

Bosco Nyemazi, the Executive Secretary of Rwanda of Civil Society Platform said that many small businesses thought that the economic recovery fund had been designed for big businesses yet they are also allowed.

"There must be enough awareness so that women with disabilities are included in the recovery fund. We will continue to advocate. People also need to share their ideas about the fund,” he said.

Sarah Mukantaganda, the Women Economic empowerment specialist at The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) also emphasized special products need to be tailored to women’s needs to benefit from economic recovery fund depending on their categories such as disability, informal sector and others.

Amina Rwankunda, the Senior Economist at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning said that the next phase of the fund will ensure it is gender-responsive as recommended.

"We assured the inputs on gender responsiveness in the recovery fund are going to be considered,” she said.

She said there are also funds through Business Development Fund (BDF) and others such as BRD to support women.