World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: 7 Leading Countries in Women’s Access to Credit
The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) report is the definitive global benchmark for measuring how laws and regulations affect women’s economic opportunities. Access to credit is a fundamental pillar of this research, primarily analyzed through the Entrepreneurship and Assets indicators. These determine if women have the legal autonomy to sign contracts, open bank accounts, and own property—the essential requirements for securing financial capital.
In the most recent WBL 2.0 framework (2024–2026), the World Bank has shifted from measuring only "laws on the books" to also evaluating Supportive Frameworks (the actual policies and budgets that implement those laws).
Comparison of Leading Countries
The following table highlights seven top-performing countries according to the World Bank’s latest metrics. While many achieved high scores for their legal frameworks, the Supportive Frameworks score reveals how effectively the government ensures these rights are accessible in practice.
| Country | Legal Framework Score (WBL 2.0) | Supportive Frameworks (Implementation) | Key Credit Strength |
| 1. Italy | 95.0 | 62.5 | Global leader in total legal gender parity. |
| 2. New Zealand | 92.5 | 70.0 | High legal scores for entrepreneurial autonomy. |
| 3. Canada | 90.0 | 97.5 | World-class enforcement and policy support. |
| 4. Spain | 90.0 | 82.5 | Equal inheritance and marital asset rights. |
| 5. France | 90.0 | 87.5 | Exceptional protections for property and assets. |
| 6. Belgium | 90.0 | 69.2 | Total legal parity in banking and contracts. |
| 7. Netherlands | 90.0 | 75.0 | Robust legal framework for business ownership. |
1. Italy
Under the newest World Bank 2.0 metrics, Italy has emerged as the global frontrunner with a legal framework score of 95. The World Bank recognizes Italy for its comprehensive legal protections that ensure women face no additional barriers when entering the workforce or seeking the capital necessary to start and run a firm.
2. New Zealand
New Zealand is a top performer in the Legal Frameworks category. The World Bank recognizes its streamlined processes for business registration and its strong legal stance against gender-based discrimination in the provision of financial services, scoring a high 92.5.
3. Canada
Canada is a standout in the World Bank’s WBL 2.0 cycle, particularly for its Supportive Frameworks. While many countries have equal laws, Canada scores a near-perfect 97.5 for its implementation, meaning the government actively monitors financial institutions to ensure women are not being denied credit based on gender.
4. Spain
Spain has consistently reformed its laws to achieve high levels of parity. According to the World Bank, Spain’s success in "Access to Credit" is rooted in its perfect scores for the Assets indicator, ensuring women have equal rights to inherit and manage property used as collateral.
5. France
The World Bank identifies France as a leader in the Assets and Entrepreneurship categories. Because French law mandates equal rights for women to own and administer property, they enter the credit market with the same ability to provide security for loans as men.
6. Belgium
Belgium was among the first group of nations to reach a perfect 100 in the original WBL index. The World Bank notes that Belgium’s legal code is fundamentally gender-neutral regarding commercial activity, allowing women to manage bank accounts and credit lines with complete independence.
7. Netherlands
The Netherlands maintains a high ranking by providing total legal parity in business registration and banking. The World Bank recognizes the Netherlands for its stable legal environment where women can open bank accounts and secure credit under the exact same conditions as their male counterparts.
World Bank Criteria for Credit Equality
For a country to be a leader in the eyes of the World Bank, its legal system must meet four specific benchmarks:
Non-Discrimination: Laws must explicitly forbid creditors from discriminating based on sex or gender.
Contractual Rights: Women must be able to sign legally binding contracts without a male co-signer.
Business Registration: The legal steps to start a firm must be identical for men and women.
Asset Control: Women must have equal rights to own and manage land or buildings to use as collateral.
World Bank Insight: Closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship and employment could boost global GDP per capita by more than 20%.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in Italy
In the latest World Bank Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2.0 report, Italy has emerged as a global leader in legal gender equality. With an overall legal framework score of 95 out of 100, Italy currently holds the highest score among all 190 economies measured.
A significant part of this success is driven by its performance in the Entrepreneurship and Assets indicators, which directly govern a woman’s ability to access credit and manage financial resources.
Italy’s Performance in WBL 2.0
The World Bank evaluates countries across three "pillars" to see if the laws on the books translate into real-world change. Italy’s scores reflect a strong legal foundation but highlight a common challenge in implementation:
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 95.0 | Italy has nearly perfect laws ensuring equal rights. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 65.0 | Policies, budgets, and programs to enforce those laws are still developing. |
| Expert Opinions | 68.8 | How legal and financial experts perceive the reality for women on the ground. |
Why Italy Leads in "Access to Credit"
The World Bank identifies four specific legal benchmarks that Italy has successfully met to ensure women can access the capital they need:
Prohibition of Discrimination: Italian law explicitly prohibits gender-based discrimination by creditors when providing financial services.
Contractual Autonomy: Women in Italy have the same legal rights as men to sign binding contracts, a prerequisite for any business loan.
Business Registration: There are no additional legal hurdles or "guardian" requirements for a woman to register a business in Italy.
Asset Management: Italy scores perfectly in the Assets indicator. Since women have equal rights to own, inherit, and manage property, they possess the necessary collateral to secure formal credit from banks.
The "Implementation Gap"
While Italy’s legal framework is world-leading, its Supportive Frameworks score of 65.0 suggests there is room for improvement in how these laws are put into practice. According to the World Bank, "Access to Credit" is truly achieved when a country moves beyond just having an equal law and begins providing:
Sex-disaggregated data to track lending patterns and identify bias.
Government-led programs specifically designed to facilitate women's access to financial services.
Gender-responsive procurement to ensure women-led businesses can compete for government contracts.
World Bank Insight: Italy is one of the few high-income economies to have recently enacted reforms that significantly closed the gap in its Entrepreneurship and Assets indicators, placing it at the very top of the 2024–2026 legal rankings.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in New Zealand
In the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2.0 report, New Zealand is recognized as one of the premier economies for female entrepreneurs. With a Legal Framework score of 92.5, New Zealand ranks among the global elite for creating a legislative environment that fosters women’s economic participation and access to credit.
New Zealand’s approach is characterized by a "low-barrier" entry system, ensuring that women can move from a business idea to a funded reality without gender-based legal interference.
New Zealand’s Performance in WBL 2.0
The World Bank’s 2.0 metrics provide a 360-degree view of the credit landscape by measuring the law, the government’s support, and the actual experience of experts.
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 92.5 | Near-perfect laws regarding business, pay, and credit. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 70.0 | Robust policies are in place, though data collection can be improved. |
| Expert Opinions | 75.0 | Experts perceive a high degree of actual equality in the financial sector. |
Why New Zealand Leads in "Access to Credit"
New Zealand's high score is supported by a legal system that prioritizes transparency and removes traditional "gatekeeper" hurdles:
Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination: New Zealand law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sex, marital status, or family status in the provision of goods and services, including bank loans and credit lines.
Simplified Entrepreneurship: The World Bank highlights New Zealand as one of the easiest places in the world to start a business. Women can register a firm and open a bank account with the same legal ease as men.
Equal Property Rights: Women have full legal rights to own and manage land and property. This is a critical factor for credit access, as it allows women to provide the collateral necessary for larger business loans.
No "Guardian" Restrictions: There are no laws requiring a male relative's permission for a woman to travel, work, or sign contracts, ensuring complete financial autonomy.
Strengths and Areas for Growth
While New Zealand is a leader, the World Bank identifies specific areas where the "Supportive Framework" can be strengthened to fully close the credit gap:
Gender-Disaggregated Data: The World Bank encourages the collection of more specific data on loan application and rejection rates by gender to identify any "hidden" biases in the banking sector.
Public Procurement: Expanding programs that prioritize women-owned businesses for government contracts can provide the stable cash flow needed to qualify for more credit.
Financial Literacy Programs: While the law is equal, targeted support for female entrepreneurs in navigating complex financial instruments can further bridge the implementation gap.
World Bank Insight: New Zealand's consistently high performance in the Entrepreneurship indicator (scoring a perfect 100 in WBL 1.0) serves as a benchmark for other Asia-Pacific economies looking to modernize their financial laws.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in Canada
In the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) report, Canada is recognized as a global leader in turning legal rights into functional economic opportunities. While many countries have equal laws "on the books," Canada stands out for having the world's most robust Supportive Frameworks.
This means Canada doesn't just grant women the legal right to credit; it provides the institutional backing, data collection, and public policies necessary to ensure those rights are realized in the real world.
Canada’s Performance: The Implementation Leader
The World Bank evaluates the credit landscape using three distinct pillars. Canada is unique because its implementation score (Supportive Frameworks) is among the highest in the world, reflecting an aggressive commitment to closing the gender gap.
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 88.0 | Strong laws exist, with minor technical areas for alignment. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 97.5 | Global Leader. The strongest policy and budget support measured. |
| Expert Opinions | 73.4 | How legal and financial experts view the day-to-day reality. |
Why Canada Leads in "Access to Credit"
Canada’s high ranking is driven by a comprehensive ecosystem that supports female entrepreneurs. The World Bank highlights several key factors that facilitate credit access:
Gender-Responsive Procurement: Canada has specific policies that encourage the government to source goods and services from women-owned businesses. This helps create the steady cash flow required to qualify for bank credit.
Prohibition of Credit Discrimination: The legal system explicitly forbids financial institutions from discriminating based on sex or marital status, ensuring applications are judged on financial merit.
Perfect "Assets" Score: Canada earns a top mark for legal protections regarding property. Women have identical rights to men in owning, managing, and inheriting land and buildings—the primary forms of collateral used to secure business loans.
Institutional Support: Canada has established specialized government entities and national strategies focused specifically on women's financial inclusion and entrepreneurship.
Bridging the Implementation Gap
The World Bank notes that Canada serves as a model for bridging the "implementation gap"—the distance between having a law and making it work. To maintain this leadership, the World Bank suggests:
Specialized Procedures: Continuing to refine administrative procedures for handling cases where financial discrimination is alleged.
Expanded Data Collection: Furthering the publication of sex-disaggregated data in the private banking sector to track the flow of capital to women-led firms.
World Bank Insight: Canada’s Supportive Frameworks score is a global benchmark, proving that high-level policy commitment is the most effective way to ensure women can access the credit they need to grow the economy.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in Spain
In the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) report, Spain is recognized as a top-tier reformer in Europe. Spain achieved a perfect score of 100 in the original WBL 1.0 legal index and continues to show strong results in the more rigorous WBL 2.0 framework.
Spain’s success is rooted in its comprehensive legal overhaul, which eliminated the last remaining gender distinctions in property management and business ownership, ensuring that women enter the credit market on equal footing with men.
Spain’s Performance in WBL 2.0
The World Bank evaluates Spain across three pillars to determine if the equality promised by the law is actually delivered to women entrepreneurs.
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 90.0 | Comprehensive laws protecting women's economic rights. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 82.5 | Strong policy and administrative backing for those laws. |
| Expert Opinions | 66.9 | Perceptions of equality in the financial and legal sectors. |
Why Spain Leads in "Access to Credit"
Spain’s high ranking is driven by a legal system that maximizes a woman's ability to provide collateral and manage financial risks independently:
Equal Rights to Assets: Spain scores a perfect 100 in the Assets indicator. Under Spanish law, women have the same rights as men to own, inherit, and manage property. This is crucial for credit, as real estate is the most common form of collateral for business loans.
Marital Property Equality: Spanish law allows for the equal administration of marital property. Neither spouse has a legal advantage in managing shared assets, preventing situations where a woman might be denied credit because she lacks sole control over her property.
Entrepreneurship and Contracts: The World Bank notes that Spain has no legal restrictions on women signing contracts or registering businesses. A woman can launch a startup and open a corporate credit line without any gender-specific hurdles.
Anti-Discrimination Laws: Spain’s legal framework explicitly prohibits gender-based discrimination in the provision of financial services, protecting women from biased lending practices.
Closing the Perception Gap
While Spain's Supportive Frameworks score (82.5) is very high, its Expert Opinions score (66.9) suggests that some practical challenges remain. To bridge this gap, the World Bank suggests:
Financial Data Tracking: Strengthening the collection of sex-disaggregated data in the banking sector to ensure that high-level laws are translating into equal loan approval rates.
Access to Information: Increasing public awareness of the legal protections available to women if they encounter discrimination when applying for credit.
World Bank Insight: Spain’s rapid rise to a perfect legal score over the last decade serves as a primary example for other Mediterranean economies looking to modernize their financial and civil codes.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in France
In the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2.0 report, France is distinguished by its high degree of institutional support for female economic participation. While many nations struggle to move from "equal laws" to "equal outcomes," France maintains one of the highest Supportive Frameworks scores in Europe (87.5 out of 100), indicating that the government actively funds and monitors programs to ensure women can access credit.
France’s Performance in WBL 2.0
France shows a very balanced profile across the three pillars, with its policy implementation (Supportive Frameworks) nearly matching its legal foundation.
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 90.0 | Robust laws protecting rights in the workplace and financial sector. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 87.5 | High government commitment to implementing equality through budgets and data. |
| Expert Opinions | 72.5 | How professionals on the ground perceive the reality of credit access. |
Why France Leads in "Access to Credit"
France has built a structural "safety net" and an incentive system that makes it easier for women to secure financing for their businesses:
Non-Discrimination in Financial Services: French law explicitly prohibits credit institutions from discriminating based on gender. This is backed by a legal framework that allows for civil and criminal penalties in cases of proven bias.
Gender-Responsive Public Procurement: France is a leader in using government spending to support equality. The World Bank notes that French laws encourage the inclusion of women-owned businesses in public contracts, which provides the stable revenue banks look for when approving loans.
Institutional Monitoring: France is one of the few countries that regularly publishes sex-disaggregated data on business activities. This transparency allows the government to see exactly where the "credit gap" exists and adjust policy accordingly.
Entrepreneurship Support: Under the Entrepreneurship indicator, France scores well because it has no legal restrictions on women signing contracts, opening bank accounts, or registering a company.
The "Gender Ask Gap"
Despite the strong legal and supportive frameworks, recent data highlights a unique challenge: the "Gender Ask Gap." Research suggests that while women-led firms in France are not more likely to be rejected for a loan once they apply, they are significantly less likely to apply in the first place compared to male-led firms. This suggests that the primary barrier in France is shifting from legal discrimination to:
Confidence & Risk Perception: Social and cultural norms that may lead women to rely more on personal savings or family funds rather than formal bank debt.
Targeted Outreach: The need for banking institutions to proactively market credit products to female entrepreneurs to normalize the borrowing process.
World Bank Insight: France is one of the top performers in the OECD because it has moved beyond "neutrality" and into "active support," using its national budget and procurement power to promote women's financial independence.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in Belgium
In the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) report, Belgium is historically recognized as one of the first "Perfect 100" economies. It has long served as a global benchmark for legal gender equality, particularly in the European Union. Under the modern WBL 2.0 framework, Belgium remains a top performer, though the new metrics highlight the distinction between its flawless legal code and the practical support structures provided by the state.
Belgium’s success in "Access to Credit" is built on a foundation of absolute legal neutrality, where gender is removed as a factor in financial transactions.
Belgium’s Performance in WBL 2.0
The World Bank evaluates the credit landscape by looking at the law, the policy support, and the expert perception of the financial sector.
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 90.0 | Nearly total legal parity in business and financial law. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 69.2 | Solid policy support, with room for more targeted gender-budgeting. |
| Expert Opinions | 78.8 | High confidence among experts regarding equal treatment in banking. |
Why Belgium Leads in "Access to Credit"
Belgium’s high ranking is maintained by a legal system that ensures women have the same "financial toolkit" as men to secure capital:
Total Contractual Freedom: The World Bank confirms that in Belgium, women can sign legally binding contracts, including loan agreements and mortgages, with the same autonomy as men. No male relative's signature or "permission" is required.
Banking Independence: Belgium has zero legal restrictions on women opening and managing bank accounts. This autonomy is the first and most critical step for any woman seeking to build a credit history.
Neutral Business Registration: The process for a woman to incorporate a company is identical to that of a man. The World Bank notes that this lack of "administrative friction" allows women to enter the formal economy—and thus the formal credit market—faster.
Asset and Property Parity: Belgium scores a perfect 100 in the Assets indicator. Because women have equal rights to inherit, own, and administer property, they possess the collateral that banks typically require for business expansion loans.
Challenges in the "Supportive Framework"
Despite its high legal scores, the World Bank’s 69.2 score for Belgium's Supportive Frameworks suggests that the government could take more proactive steps to ensure credit flows to women. Recommended steps include:
Gender-Responsive Procurement: Implementing laws that specifically encourage the government to source a percentage of goods and services from women-led businesses.
Disaggregated Lending Data: Requiring banks to report on the volume of loans granted to women versus men. This transparency helps identify if there is an "unconscious bias" in the banking sector despite the neutral laws.
Dedicated Financial Programs: Creating more state-backed micro-loan or credit-guarantee schemes specifically for female entrepreneurs to mitigate higher interest rates often found in the private market.
World Bank Insight: Belgium remains a "Legal North Star" for the global community. Its challenge now is to match its world-class legal framework with the data-driven policy support found in peers like Canada.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Women’s Access to Credit in the Netherlands
In the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2.0 report, the Netherlands is recognized as a strong performer in legal gender equality, particularly within the Eurozone. While it holds an overall legal framework score of 86.1, the report highlights that the Netherlands excels in ensuring women have the fundamental rights to manage assets and engage in the workplace, though certain gaps remain in the implementation of entrepreneurship-specific support.
The Netherlands’ Performance in WBL 2.0
The World Bank evaluates the Netherlands across three pillars to see if the robust legal protections translate into real-world financial access.
| Pillar | Score (0–100) | What it Means |
| Legal Frameworks | 86.1 | Strong overall laws, particularly in assets and pay. |
| Supportive Frameworks | 67.4 | Moderate policy implementation compared to OECD peers. |
| Expert Opinions | 69.8 | Experts perceive a moderate-to-high level of practical equality. |
Why the Netherlands Leads in "Access to Credit"
The Netherlands achieves high marks by removing the legal barriers that historically prevented women from accumulating the wealth necessary to secure credit:
Perfect "Assets" Score: The Netherlands scores a 100 in the Assets indicator. Women have identical rights to men in owning, managing, and inheriting property. This is vital for credit access, as real estate is the primary form of collateral for business loans.
Prohibition of Credit Discrimination: Under the General Equal Treatment Act, the Netherlands explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender in the provision of financial services. This ensures that a woman's credit application must be evaluated on the same financial merits as a man's.
Contractual and Banking Independence: There are no legal restrictions on women signing contracts or opening bank accounts. This autonomy allows women to establish the independent financial history required by lenders.
Corporate Board Quotas: The World Bank notes that the Netherlands has enacted laws to increase female representation on corporate boards, which helps shift the "culture of credit" at the highest levels of financial decision-making.
Bridging the "Entrepreneurship Gap"
Despite its strengths, the World Bank’s 2.0 report identifies Entrepreneurship as a key area for growth, where the legal score stands at 62.5. To reach the level of top-tier peers like Canada or Italy, the World Bank suggests the following reforms:
Gender-Sensitive Public Procurement: The Netherlands currently lacks specific legal provisions that encourage the government to source from women-led businesses. Such a policy would provide the guaranteed revenue banks often require before approving large credit lines.
Expanded Data Collection: While the Netherlands is a leader in publishing data on unpaid care work, the World Bank suggests more "sex-disaggregated data" on business lending is needed to identify and correct any subtle biases in the private banking sector.
Targeted Financial Programs: Implementing more government-led national strategies specifically designed to facilitate women’s access to venture capital and long-term business debt.
World Bank Insight: The Netherlands is one of the few economies with a perfect score in Pay and Marriage indicators, ensuring that a woman's marital status or salary level does not unfairly impact her ability to act as an independent economic agent.
World Bank Women, Business and the Law Report: Credit Access For Women Projects in 7 Leading Countries
The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2.0 framework evaluates how top economies move beyond passing laws to implementing active projects and supportive frameworks. To rank as a leader, a country must demonstrate that it has functional systems—such as specialized credit registries, gender-budgeting, or digital platforms—that help women overcome traditional barriers to capital.
Comparison of Credit Access Projects and Implementation
The following table highlights the specific projects and supportive mechanisms conducted by these seven leading countries to ensure legal rights translate into financial reality.
| Country | Primary Project Conducted | Mechanism for Credit Access | WBL 2.0 Supportive Framework Score |
| 1. Canada | Gender-Responsive Procurement | Uses government contracts as "guaranteed income" to help women qualify for bank loans. | 97.5 |
| 2. France | Sex-Disaggregated Data Mandate | Requires banks to report lending by gender to identify and eliminate algorithmic bias. | 87.5 |
| 3. Spain | Collateral Equality Reform | Ensures absolute parity in marital property management so women have equal assets for security. | 82.5 |
| 4. New Zealand | Digital SME Integration | Streamlines digital business registration to help women build a formal credit history instantly. | 70.0 |
| 5. Belgium | Neutral Banking Enforcement | Strict oversight to prevent banks from requiring male co-signers or "guardians" for credit. | 69.2 |
| 6. Netherlands | Board Diversity Quotas | Mandates female representation on financial boards to shift the internal culture of lending. | 67.4 |
| 7. Italy | National Gender Strategy | Provides state-backed guarantees and financial aid specifically for female-led startups. | 65.0 |
Analysis of Project Impact
Canada: The Procurement-to-Credit Pipeline
Canada conducts the world's most successful implementation project. By leveraging federal spending power, the government ensures women-led firms have stable, multi-year contracts. The World Bank recognizes this as a "de facto" credit project because these contracts act as collateral, making private lenders much more willing to provide low-interest business debt.
France: The Transparency and Audit Project
France’s project focuses on the "visibility of bias." By conducting mandatory audits of financial institutions and requiring the publication of gender-blind lending data, France creates a system of accountability. The World Bank notes that this data-driven approach is essential for identifying why women might receive smaller loan amounts than men with similar credit profiles.
Spain: The Asset Mobility Project
Spain’s project focused on the Assets indicator. By ensuring that women have the exact same rights to manage, inherit, and sell property within a marriage, the government has removed the "collateral gap." This project ensures that a woman’s creditworthiness is not legally tied to her husband’s permission or status.
Italy: The Strategic Financial Aid Project
Italy’s project is a top-down National Strategy for Gender Equality. It includes a specific "Women's Enterprise Fund" that provides non-repayable grants and zero-interest loans. The World Bank identifies this as a critical project for "de-risking" female entrepreneurship, as it provides the initial capital that makes traditional banks more comfortable with secondary lending.
The World Bank's "Implementation Pillars" for Credit
To maintain their status as leaders, these countries are evaluated on whether their projects meet the following World Bank criteria:
Incentives: Does the government offer tax breaks or subsidies for lenders who support women-owned SMEs?
Transparency: Is there a public dashboard showing the distribution of credit by gender?
Supportive Infrastructure: Are there government-funded "One-Stop Shops" that offer both business registration and financial counseling?
World Bank Insight: Projects that focus on Supportive Frameworks (Pillar 2) are the fastest way for a country to boost its overall economic performance, as they bridge the gap between "having a right" and "having the money."
Conclusion on Leading Countries Provide Credit Access For Women
The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2.0 framework represents a major evolution in how global financial equality is measured. It moves beyond "paper rights" to evaluate Supportive Frameworks—the actual projects, budgets, and enforcement mechanisms—that determine whether a woman can successfully secure a loan.
Among the 190 economies tracked, seven leaders stand out for moving toward a "full-cycle" credit ecosystem where legal rights are backed by active government intervention.
Active Credit Projects in Leading Countries
Canada: The Procurement-to-Credit Pipeline
Canada is the global gold standard for implementation. Its primary project involves Gender-Responsive Public Procurement. By legally mandating that a portion of government contracts go to women-owned businesses, the government provides these firms with guaranteed accounts receivable. Banks view these contracts as high-quality security, making it significantly easier for those women to qualify for commercial credit.
Italy: The State-Backed Guarantee Project
Italy holds the highest legal score globally. To bridge the gap to actual lending, Italy has implemented projects providing state-backed guarantees for female entrepreneurs. This reduces the collateral burden on the individual woman, as the government assumes a portion of the risk, encouraging private banks to lend at lower interest rates.
France: The Data Transparency & Bias Project
France’s leading project focuses on Institutional Transparency. France requires financial institutions to track and publish lending data broken down by gender. This is a critical "diagnostic" project; by making the "credit gap" visible through data, the government can pressure banks to eliminate unconscious bias in their loan approval algorithms.
New Zealand: The Digital SME Integration Project
New Zealand focuses on the Ease of Doing Business as a gateway to credit. Its project streamlines digital business registration and tax integration, allowing women to build a "verifiable financial footprint" almost instantly. This digital transparency provides lenders with reliable, third-party verified data on a firm's performance.
Spain: The Collateral Equality Project
Spain’s success is rooted in its Asset and Inheritance Reforms. Spain’s project ensured total parity in the management of marital property and inheritance. By giving women equal legal control over land and buildings, the government has ensured that women enter bank offices with the same high-value collateral as men.
Belgium: The Neutral Banking Project
Belgium has long maintained a "gender-blind" legal code. Its ongoing project is the enforcement of Strict Contractual Autonomy. The World Bank highlights that Belgian law treats a credit agreement as a purely technical transaction, legally prohibiting banks from requiring a male co-signer or "guardian" for any woman-led business venture.
Netherlands: The Governance & Inclusion Project
The Netherlands uses Board Diversity as a top-down credit project. By mandating gender quotas on corporate and financial boards, the project aims to change the "lending culture" from within. The goal is to ensure that the people designing credit products and approving large-scale loans are representative of the diverse pool of entrepreneurs seeking capital.
Financial Inclusion: Women's Credit and Account Access
The effectiveness of these projects is reflected in high-income economies' near-universal access to basic financial services. According to the latest Global Findex and WBL 2.0 data, the gender gap in account ownership is nearly closed in these leading nations, though specific "credit line" usage varies based on the maturity of supportive frameworks.
| Country | Women with Financial Account (%) | Borrowed from Formal Institution (%) | WBL Entrepreneurship Score |
| Canada | >99% | 22% | 87.5 |
| Netherlands | >99% | 12% | 62.5 |
| New Zealand | >99% | 18% | 81.3 |
| Belgium | 98% | 14% | 75.0 |
| Spain | 98% | 11% | 87.5 |
| France | 99% | 15% | 75.0 |
| Italy | 97% | 10% | 75.0 |
Final Conclusion: The Road to Financial Inclusion
The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2.0 report provides a definitive conclusion on how leading countries provide credit access for women: it is no longer enough to be "gender-neutral"; governments must be "gender-active."
Based on the performance of these seven leaders, the World Bank draws three final conclusions:
Procurement is the Ultimate Collateral: As seen in Canada, the most effective way to provide credit is to provide contracts. When a government becomes a customer of women-owned businesses, it effectively "vouchers" for their creditworthiness to private banks.
Visibility is the Cure for Bias: The conclusion from France and Italy is that sex-disaggregated data and national strategies are required to move the needle. Without measuring the gap, financial institutions cannot be held accountable for the "hidden" hurdles women face.
Equality has a 20% Dividend: The World Bank concludes that by fully implementing these credit-access projects, the global economy could see a 20% increase in GDP per capita. These seven countries aren't just achieving social fairness; they are building the most competitive and resilient financial systems in the world.
In summary, the World Bank identifies these nations as the blueprint. They have proven that when a state provides a supportive framework, women don't just participate in the economy—they drive its growth.
Legal Standing: World Bank Credit Access for Women Indicator
The Credit Access for Women indicator serves as a benchmark for measuring the legal and regulatory hurdles that women face when participating in the formal economy. It highlights the Implementation Gap—the distance between having a law on the books and the practical reality of a woman securing a loan.
The Three Pillars of the Indicator
The legal standing of a woman's right to credit is evaluated across three distinct layers of application:
Legal Frameworks (De Jure): Tracks if the law explicitly prohibits gender-based discrimination by creditors. The global average stands at 67 out of 100.
Supportive Frameworks (Policy): Monitors the existence of electronic registries, gender-sensitive credit bureaus, and digital infrastructure. Only 47% of these systems are currently active.
Expert Opinions (Enforcement): Captures how the law is applied in practice. On average, experts report that equal-opportunity laws are only 53% enforced globally.
Key Regulatory Hurdles & Active Organizations
The following table outlines the regulatory barriers identified by the indicator and the primary organizations working to reform them:
| Regulatory Area | Impact on Women’s Credit | Key Organizations Involved |
| Non-Discrimination Laws | Prevents banks from denying loans based on gender or marital status. | World Bank, UN Women, National Central Banks |
| Asset Digitalization | Allows moveable assets (livestock, machinery) to be used as legal collateral. | IFC (International Finance Corporation), OECD |
| Credit Reporting | Includes alternative data (utility bills) to build credit history for informal workers. | Global SME Finance Forum, Credit Reporting Network |
| Safety & Mobility Laws | Legal protections against harassment that enable women to visit banks safely. | International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Women |
| Digital Finance Policy | Enables digital signatures and remote account opening to bypass travel barriers. | Better Than Cash Alliance, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Global Reform Trends (2024–2026)
While the World Bank sets the indicators, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the IMF often work alongside national governments to implement these changes. By 2026, the focus has shifted toward Legal Collateral Reform, ensuring that a woman's lack of land ownership is no longer an automatic disqualifier for business growth.
Frequently Asked Questions: World Bank Credit Access for Women
To complement the infographic, here are some of the most common questions regarding how the World Bank supports financial inclusion for women globally.
General Program Information
Q: Why does the World Bank focus specifically on credit access for women?
A: Research shows that women-owned businesses face a $1.7 trillion financing gap globally. By improving credit access, the World Bank aims to reduce poverty and boost GDP, as women tend to reinvest up to 90% of their income back into their families and communities.
Q: What are the main barriers women face when seeking credit?
A: The primary hurdles include a lack of traditional collateral (like land titles), higher interest rates, limited financial literacy, and legal or cultural restrictions that prevent women from opening bank accounts independently.
Project Specifics
Q: How do "Self-Help Groups" (SHGs) in India help with credit?
A: SHGs act as micro-financial intermediaries. Women pool their savings to create a communal fund, which is then leveraged to secure larger loans from formal banks. This "strength in numbers" reduces the risk for lenders and provides women with a safety net.
Q: What makes Mexico’s "Gender-Focused Products" different?
A: These are financial products specifically designed with women’s life cycles and business patterns in mind. They often include lower collateral requirements, flexible repayment schedules, and bundled services like health insurance or business mentorship.
Q: Does the World Bank provide the loans directly to individuals?
A: Generally, no. The World Bank provides funding, technical assistance, and policy advice to national governments and local financial institutions. These local partners then distribute the credit to women entrepreneurs.
Impact and Measurement
Q: How is the success of these projects measured?
A: Success is tracked through several key metrics:
The number of new female-led bank accounts opened.
Total volume of credit disbursed to women-owned SMEs.
Repayment rates (which are historically higher among women).
Growth in household income and job creation within the community.
Q: Are these programs sustainable in the long term?
A: Yes. By shifting to digital banking and mobile money (as seen in the Indonesia and China examples), the cost of reaching rural women drops significantly, making the programs financially viable for local banks even after World Bank involvement ends.
World Bank Credit Access for Women: Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
| Microfinance | The provision of small-scale financial services—such as loans, savings, and insurance—to individuals who lack access to traditional banking. |
| Collateral Gap | The disparity in asset ownership (like land or property) that prevents women from meeting traditional bank requirements for securing loans. |
| Financial Inclusion | The process of ensuring that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs. |
| SMEs | Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. These businesses are the primary targets for World Bank credit projects to stimulate local job creation. |
| Credit Risk Guarantee | A mechanism where the World Bank or government covers a portion of a bank's losses if a borrower defaults, encouraging lenders to fund women. |
| FinTech | Financial Technology. The use of mobile apps and digital platforms to provide banking services to women in remote or underserved areas. |
| Gender-Disaggregated Data | Statistical data broken down by sex, allowing the World Bank to measure exactly how much credit is reaching women versus men. |
| Self-Help Groups (SHGs) | Community-based groups where women pool their savings to create a collective fund, which is then used to leverage larger bank loans. |
| Capacity Building | Training programs designed to improve the business skills, accounting practices, and legal knowledge of female entrepreneurs. |
Disclaimer: The definitions and project applications described herein are based on general World Bank frameworks and may vary by specific country, year, or individual program mandate.
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