Liberia: The Ripple Effect of Financial Inclusion and Women’s Economic Empowerment

I met Mary (not her real name), a mother of five from Bong County, Liberia, last November. She joined BRAC in 2020, taking her first loan of LRD 25,000 (USD 130) to stock her small provision shop.

Mary shared the struggles she faced trying to access finance–she lacked the necessary collateral and couldn’t understand the paperwork required to apply for a bank loan. As a result, she often had to rely on borrowing from friends and family or taking high-interest loans from

local money lenders.

Since…