16 Jul 2025
A Segmentation Framework and Toolkit for Serving Women-Led Businesses in Emerging Markets
Description: Around the world, governments and financial institutions increasingly recognize the vital role women-owned and led SMEs (WSMEs) play in driving business growth, job creation, and economic development. However, many interventions still take a one-size-fits-all approach, failing to reflect the diverse motivations, business models, and support needs of WSMEs. Treating WSMEs as a single segment limits the effectiveness of programs and the potential for meaningful investment outcomes.
To address this gap, e-MFP member ConsumerCentirX together with the Argidius Foundation (on behalf of the Growth Firms Alliance), the Dutch Good Growth Fund and We-Fi developed a new framework for WSME segmentation that is both practical and easy to implement. The new report “What Enables Her Business to – A New Segmentation Framework to Unlock the Opportunity of Serving Women-Owned/Led Businesses in Emerging Markets”, along with the accompanying toolkit, is intended for financial and non-financial intermediaries, investors, program designers, and donors. These practitioners can use the framework and tools provided to define distinct segments and profiles of WSMEs in emerging markets and design products and services that meet their unique financial and non-financial needs.
Objective: The goal of this webinar is to discuss key insights from the report and introduce participants to the practitioner toolkit and its components. The event will also bring together different practitioners who will share their experiences and learnings from WSME segmentation to illustrate the value and use cases of specific components of the toolkit.
9:00 – 9:05: Welcoming Remarks by We-Fi
9:05 – 9:20: Introducing the WSME Segmentation Framework and Toolkit by CCX
9:20 – 9:45: Panel Discussion with Practitioners
Sarah Nansikombi, Head of Women’s Market Value Proposition at Stanbic Bank Uganda
Serena Cavicchi, Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank and Head of the World Bank GROW Program in Uganda
Zainab Saeed, Financial Inclusion & Gender Specialist, Consulting Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Moderator: Anna Gincherman, Partner at ConsumerCentriX
9:45 – 10:00: Short Q&A and Closing