As Head of Strategic Delivery & CX at JUMO, Carmia Lureman-Norton plays a vital role in shaping financial services that are accessible to women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Drawing on her understanding of the challenges experienced by women entrepreneurs, Carmia explains how JUMO is tackling barriers to access to finance, while recognising there’s still much to learn.
JUMO was founded in 2015 and is the market-leading banking-as-a-service provider that uses AI to power financial services in emerging markets. Over the past decade, we’ve enabled the disbursement of over $7 billion in loans and reached more than 28 million customers and small businesses. By offering savings and credit products, as well as financial infrastructure to partners like e-money operators, mobile finance platforms and banks, we’ve established ourselves as a vital player in eight African markets.
Yet, despite these milestones, there is still a persistent gap when it comes to reaching women entrepreneurs. Women-led MSMEs remain disproportionately underserved, even though they represent a significant growth opportunity for financial services providers. Bridging this gap is a challenge and a responsibility we take seriously at JUMO.
Understanding the challenges
Reach remains our biggest challenge. Social norms, digital literacy and caution around credit often make it harder for women to access financial products. Even with great product design and simplified journeys, barriers often stem from societal dynamics or a healthy caution women show toward credit.
For instance, women often face systemic barriers tied to trust, access and comfort with digital tools, but we strive to adapt our products to make them as inclusive as possible regardless.
At JUMO, we rely heavily on data and research to understand these barriers. We disaggregate our data to uncover specific trends among women users. This approach helps us make informed design choices. For example, in Zambia, our research showed that many women preferred set fee amounts instead of percentages, which felt intimidating. By adjusting how we present our fees, we’ve made our products more accessible and understandable for women.
We focus on reducing barriers to access by prioritising simple, inclusive solutions like USSD technology and adapting to the social norms in different markets.
The power of partnerships
Collaboration is key to overcoming these challenges. A major part of how we extend our reach is through partnerships with large, trusted brands. These partners often have existing networks, strong brand equity and a level of credibility we can build on to connect with women entrepreneurs.
In particular, we’ve learned that the gender dynamics of these partnerships matter. Portfolios with higher numbers of female agents consistently show better engagement from women customers. This insight has been crucial in guiding our discussions with partners. We share data showing the impact of female agents and work with our partners to expand their agent networks in ways that align with our goals of inclusivity and accessibility.
Partnerships also allow us to scale our reach in tangible ways. With their help, we can deliver financial services in even the most remote areas, creating touchpoints that women can trust and rely on.
Technology as an equaliser
One of the most impactful tools we use at JUMO is USSD technology. In many of the African markets we serve, smartphone penetration remains low, and the cost of mobile data can be prohibitive. USSD solves this by providing a text-based interface that works on any phone – whether it’s a feature phone or a smartphone. Importantly, there are no data costs, making it an accessible option for everyone.
This simplicity does come with its own challenges. For instance, literacy can be a barrier for some women, particularly in older demographics. We’ve found that some women navigate our USSD menus by memorising the numbers they need to press, which makes consistency in our design important. Any change in a USSD code or menu structure requires widespread communication and retraining to ensure we don’t lose the trust and engagement of our users.
Building trust through adaptability
One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is the importance of adapting to local contexts. Even within the same continent, user needs and behaviours can vary significantly. For example, a word or phrase that resonates in one country may have no meaning – or even a negative connotation – in another. Our team continuously refines our language, presentation and user flows based on rigorous testing in each market.
Trust is critical. Women are often sceptical when it comes to engaging with financial services. To address this, we’ve designed our products to be transparent and straightforward. We clearly communicate loan terms and ensure users understand their repayment options. Transparency builds confidence, which is particularly important for women who may be new to digital financial tools.
Always learning
While we’ve made progress, we know there’s still much more to do. One of the toughest questions we face is determining how far our responsibility as a fintech goes in addressing societal barriers. In some markets, women still experience cultural or societal restrictions that limit their ability to engage with financial services. These are systemic issues that no single organisation can solve, but we remain committed to doing our part.
Through every challenge, we continue to learn and evolve. For example, we’ve introduced structured payment plans for customers who fall behind on repayments, helping them regain financial stability without punitive measures. This approach has improved repayment rates while strengthening loyalty among our users.
The women we serve are the backbone of their communities. By enabling them to succeed, we’re contributing to a broader cycle of economic empowerment that benefits families and communities across Africa. JUMO remains committed to unlocking the potential of women-led MSMEs by breaking down barriers to access, leveraging trusted partnerships and designing inclusive financial solutions.
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