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AMMAN — Experts from across the Southern Mediterranean have examined how digital tools, from fintech applications to crowd funding platforms, are transforming financial inclusion, during a recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regional forum on women’s economic empowerment.
Drawing on the OECD’s 2025 publication "Bridging the Finance Gap for Women Entrepreneurs", the discussion highlighted both the breakthroughs and the ongoing barriers of digitalisation.
Delegates argued that while digital tools can cut transaction costs, widen market access and offer alternative credit-scoring systems, many women still face deep-rooted challenges, including limited digital literacy, regulatory gaps and concerns about security and trust.
In a presentation, Regional Chief Economist at UNDP Vito Intini, outlined three key areas of development in the region related to digital social change: mobile money and Fintech, innovative design and commercial rollout of mobile phone systems to enhance user choice and affordability, and importantly, data and credit scoring.
Intini stressed the need to leverage social data and digital tools to improve women's access to financial and social data, thanking the panelists for the discussion.
'It is a social problem'
CEO at Business and Professional Women Association (BPWA)Thanaa Khasawneh, stressed that women’s financial exclusion cannot be addressed without recognising the social dynamics that shape it.
"This is not only a financial problem, it is a social one," Khasawned said.
"Women face layers of social barriers that determine how confidently they enter the market, how they are perceived by financial institutions, and how much risk they are allowed to take."
She pointed to Jordan as a case where digital tools have begun to break down some of these barriers. "The rollout of JoPACC’s and CliQ system has rapidly become a staple of daily life."
She pointed out that social norms have long restricted women’s financial autonomy.
"Change is underway. Jordan’s introduction of JoPACC’s CliQ instant payment system has transformed daily life. Today, virtually every company and individual in Jordan relies on the platform, marking what they described as a genuine social shift in how payments are made and how women manage essential services from home."
"Fintech can gather new kinds of data," She said. "This helps women who were previously judged only by traditional financial histories."
Khasawneh added that digitalisation has also forced society to rethink its relationship with money. "Money is not only a number. It represents the future and we must start understanding it from new perspectives."
'Women are influencers'
Head of strategy, representing Dinarak and DigiEx, HadeelTbeishat, outlined how mobile finance has transformed women’s financial lives in Jordan.
"When Dinarak launched in 2016, fewer than 30 per cent of adults had access to formal financial services; among women, only 15 per cent held a bank account."
She said that Dinarak’s mobile solutions allowed women to pay bills, manage household finances, transfer funds to family and even save money digitally.
"These tools give women a digital status. They help her protect her income, reduce her losses and strengthen her role in the household economy," she said.
These products, she explained, were designed to meet women’s specific needs while enabling micro-entrepreneurs to operate with greater security and reduced financial risk.
"Women are not beginners, they are influencers. They influence the family, they influence society. In many ways, they are already the first managers of economic life."
Innovative Solutions
Khasawneh stressed the need for tailored approaches.
"One-size-fits-all is no longer viable, women operate in very different contexts, from home-based micro-businesses to large companies with international clients. Our digital solutions must reflect these differences."
"Digitalisation, is now central to competitiveness for businesses of all sizes.Even micro-enterprises today can reach across borders, fintech is the new business norm."
Tbeishat explained that progress must be measured in a meaningful manner. "It is not about the number of transactions, but it is about impact."
