BLC Bank - Lebanon : Leading in Banking on Women

The overall objective of this study is to learn about the impact of International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Banking on Women (BoW) Program in the Europe and Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (EMENA) through BLC Bank of Lebanon. The objective of this specific case study is to understand the success of the BoW program for BLC Bank in Lebanon in terms of the program's contribution to the bank's bottom line, the growth and sustainability of the BoW business, as well as the capacity created within the bank to sustainably service women entrepreneurs and consumers. BLC Bank's BoW Program has been branded by the Bank as the, We Initiative (Women Empowerment Initiative) and will be referred to as such throughout the study. The focus of the study is on what the authors consider as aspects critical to a successful BoW investment and advisory program. Particular attention is paid to acknowledging the varying influences on a client bank's success including but not limited to different types of IFC interventions, stages of program maturity, client buy-in and commitment and data challenges. The focus of the study is on banking for women-led Small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The definition of women-led SMEs for the purpose of this study is based on the definition provided by BLC Bank Lebanon