Effect of Financial Inclusion on Economic Empowerment of Women, Economic Growth, and Smes, a Case Study in Jordan

Abstract

Financial inclusion implies the possibility for individuals to easily access financial services; this has a major role in supporting small and medium enterprises, economic empowerment of women, supporting economic growth and it is the basis of sustainable development. The purpose of research is to identify the determinants of financial inclusion, the reality of women in Jordan and Arab countries in the labor market, access to financial services, the problems experienced by the economy of Jordan and small and medium enterprises; the qualitative approach is used to investigate the problem of the study. The study concluded that determinates of financial inclusion are: economic variables, physical infrastructure variables and banking variables. Increasing female access to financial services enhances women's financial independence and achievement of economic opportunities. In Jordan the percentage of women’s participation in the labor force is 18.1%, and the percentage of financial inclusion is 26.6%; compared to the global average it is 64.8% and there is a reciprocal relationship between financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment. The most important recommendations of the study are: it is necessary to eliminate the obstacles of financial inclusion (economic variables, physical infrastructure variables and banking variables), and the Central Bank urges banks to ease the conditions for opening an account and obtaining loans, especially for women and small projects, which contributes to increasing the domestic product and economic growth. Keywords: financial inclusion, economic empowerment of women, SMEs, economic growth, financial inclusion index