Webuye, September 2018
At Bidhaa Sasa, we don’t do “gender mainstreaming.” We just build a business around what our customers and employees actually need – and it turns out, those needs are often shaped by gender.
From the beginning, we’ve focused on serving rural women – not as beneficiaries, but as primary customers, users, payers, and community leaders. Today, 69% of our clients are women, and they’re also more reliable when it comes to repayments.
Our group-based lending model works because women in rural Kenya already have rich social networks. We tap into those through Group Leaders – 78% of whom are women – who recruit peers, manage group payments, and build trust in their communities. They earn cash bonuses, non-cash incentives, and social recognition for their role. It’s flexible, self-reinforcing, and effective.
Internally, we apply the same lens. Most of our branch managers and field coordinators are women, and we offer flexibility, paid parental leave, and training on bias and inclusive leadership. We’ve even had to invite husbands to learn about the work their wives do – to help them understand the professionalism and impact of it all.
We collect sex-disaggregated data not just to tick a box, but to understand usage, satisfaction, and drivers of adoption. The result? A Net Promoter Score of 89%, and products that fit real lives—not imagined ones.
This report was supported by the International Center for Research on Women.