Gendered Finance and Economic Opportunities in SADC Communities: An Overview of Challenges and Prospects

Abstract Southern African Development Community (SADC) economies have tried to enable access for women and girls to finance and gender equality within their constitutional rights, yet the effort seems futile. Women in the SADC region are currently creating opportunities to claim their space through liberal models of solidifying collectives on economic fronts. However, SADC communities still have a long way to go to achieve sustainable development in gender equality, financial security, and economic rights. The article focuses explicitly on women entrepreneurs and the growth of SMEs which are women-led in South Africa, Namibia, and Lesotho, debating on how beneficial this has been in terms of financial inclusion for women across the SADC member countries. The study engaged an exploratory qualitative analysis from secondary data to project the findings in the study, specifying the contextual overview on financial sector development in SADC countries and its significance to gender financial inclusion. The results yield significant insights into the trajectories of Southern economies in terms of gender politics and the importance of further research into gender economic policies affecting these economies.