A recently conducted study from the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Visa found substantial gaps in the digital and financial literacy levels of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Over 50 percent of small and micro-businesses (SMBs) in the study had poor understanding of how digital and financial services could help their businesses, and financial literacy gaps were even more pronounced for women entrepreneurs. These gender gaps remain despite women-led SMBs’ increasing awareness of the need to be financially literate, plan and actively manage their personal and business finances.

In response to the gaps in digital and financial literacy, UNCDF and Visa have developed basic e-learning modules for SMBs in Bangladesh as part of the Build Back Better – Enhancing Recovery and Resilience of Small and Micro-Businesses project. This initiative aims to improve the digital and financial literacy of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, particularly women, empowering them to confidently adopt and leverage new digital services that enhance their competitiveness and performance.

In the initial phase of the project, UNCDF and Visa partnered with ShopUp and ekShop, two of the most prominent SMB integrators in the country. UNCDF and Visa commissioned a Rapid Needs Assessment to evaluate the existing level of financial and digital literacy of SMBs. The Assessment was launched at an online event on 24 May 2021 with participants from across leading public and private organizations globally and in South Asia. The study offered insights into the needs of SMBs in terms of financial inclusion, particularly women entrepreneurs, rural and peri-urban enterprises and companies newly engaged in the e-commerce sector. Some of the key findings from this assessment include:

• Overall low level of digital literacy – Respondents showed a positive outlook on the use of social media, adoption of technology and awareness of digital services. However, they do not use digital services for business, work, or learning and training.
• Overall positive adoption of internet and digital services – Among respondents, 96 percent of SMBs reported having an email account, all respondents reported using a smartphone, and 99 percent of participants had access to the internet via broadband or mobile internet connection.
• Low usage of financial services despite awareness – While respondents knew or heard of financial services offered by financial institutions and mobile financial services providers, a small share actively benefited from them, with major financial services and products used by less than half of respondents.
• Women showed greater willingness to save and invest money – 83 percent of women preferred saving money instead of spending, compared to 67 percent for men.
• Lower levels of financial numeracy among women – Only 9 percent of women entrepreneurs were able to carry out interest rate calculations compared to 52 percent of men.

Based on the above findings from the assessment, UNCDF and Visa, along with local partners, Aspire to Innovate (a2i), ekShop and ShopUp, have developed a custom suite of basic e-learning modules – ekShop landing page and ShopUp landing page 1 and 2 – on finance and business management, including audio-visual and app-based tools. The modules available for e-learning purposes will be continually updated with additional content. The modules leverage the Visa Practical Business Skills financial educational programme, and they are also specifically designed to target gender-specific gaps in conceptual ability and technical knowledge, focusing on improving knowledge of interest and inflation rate concepts and calculations as well as providing tools to assist in incorporating these concepts in business decision-making.

“The Rapid Needs Assessment for SMBs in Bangladesh has clearly highlighted that there remains a significant gap when it comes to digital and financial literacy of women-led businesses. It is critical that our project empowers entrepreneurs, in particular women and youth, with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to access and use digital services. UNCDF has leveraged Visa’s expertise in financial and digital literacy, coupled with local knowledge and experiences of e-commerce platform partners to create a dynamic suite of e-learning modules. These modules were designed to address critical conceptual knowledge and skills gaps of women entrepreneurs, improving their decision-making and increasing productivity of their businesses. This is only the first step in our efforts to drive the digital transformation of women-led SMBs, and UNCDF looks forward to supporting Bangladesh on its journey towards an inclusive digital economy,” said Maria Perdomo, Regional Manager for Asia, Inclusive Digital Economies, ‎UNCDF.

The modules are embedded in the onboarding platforms of ekShop and ShopUp as topic-based online lessons. This will allow any SMB on the platform to directly access these tools. In conjunction with the rollout of these modules, UNCDF will provide training support to assist SMBs with the onboarding process, with a focus on closing gender gaps in digital and financial literacy.

"UNCDF has been a consistent partner of ekShop and a2i in developing the capacity of SMBs in Bangladesh over the years. As the ekShop platform focuses on the enhancement of digital capacities and financial inclusion of micro-merchants, this Visa-UNCDF initiative will add a lot of value to it. Going beyond the domain of e-commerce, this project will touch upon practical business skills and financial literacy in a more holistic way," said Rezwanul Haque Jami, Head of eCommerce, a2i.

"ShopUp is a proud partner in the growth and advancement of SMBs in Bangladesh. Being a part of this initiative is another opportunity for us to practice our core philosophy of helping SMBs build better businesses and do better business,” said Afeef Zaman, Co-Founder and CEO of ShopUp. “I am convinced we can play an important role in fostering faster digital adoption among entrepreneurs and accelerate the process of building a more inclusive digital economy in Bangladesh."

This programme is part of Visa’s ongoing work to support financial inclusion across multiple countries. Last year, the company expanded its worldwide commitment to financial inclusion and pledged to bring 50 million SMBs into the digital economy.

“Visa is deeply committed to helping SMBs around the world develop the skills and expertise they need to grow and thrive. We are proud to partner with UNCDF, a2i, ekShop and ShopUp by contributing content from our Practical Business Skills platform to enhance the e-learning modules developed for SMB-owners in Bangladesh,” said Soumya Basu, Country Manager for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, Visa.

In the initial roll-out of the e-learning modules, this project will help 5,000 women-led and owned SMBs acquire the necessary digital and financial capabilities to access and use the tools they need to grow their business in the digital age. This project will give access to digital and financial literacy e-learning modules to 200,000 SMBs over two years.

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About UNCDF

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs).

UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: (1) inclusive digital economies, which connects individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; (2) local development finance, which capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and (3) investment finance, which provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization.

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit  About Visa, visa.com/blog and  @Visa.