Economic empowerment of unbanked women through financial inclusion in Indonesia

Afrida, Yenti et al. Article Economic empowerment of unbanked women through financial inclusion in Indonesia Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Afrida, Yenti et al. (2024) : Economic empowerment of unbanked women through financial inclusion in Indonesia, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 1-19, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2407921 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/326582 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Business & Management ISSN: 2331-1975 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 Economic empowerment of unbanked women through financial inclusion in Indonesia Rozalinda, Yenti Afrida, Irwan Abdullah, Zaenuddin Hudi Prasojo, Muthia Ulfah, Putri Ananda Saka & Jumni Nelli To cite this article: Rozalinda, Yenti Afrida, Irwan Abdullah, Zaenuddin Hudi Prasojo, Muthia Ulfah, Putri Ananda Saka & Jumni Nelli (2024) Economic empowerment of unbanked women through financial inclusion in Indonesia, Cogent Business & Management, 11:1, 2407921, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2024.2407921 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2407921 © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 25 Sep 2024. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2449 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 1 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 Banking & Finance | ReseaRch aRticle Cogent Business & ManageMent 2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2407921 Economic empowerment of unbanked women through financial inclusion in Indonesia Rozalindaa, Yenti afridaa, irwan abdullahb, Zaenuddin hudi Prasojoc, Muthia Ulfaha, Putri ananda sakab and Jumni nellid aFaculty of islamic economics and Business, state islamic university imam Bonjol, Padang, indonesia; bFaculty of Cultural sciences, gadjah Mada university, Yogyakarta, indonesia; cstate islamic institute (iain) of West Borneo indonesia; dFaculty of sharia, state islamic university sultan syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, indonesia ABSTRACT this study aims to elucidate the economic empowerment of unbanked women within the national Pension savings Bank (BtPn) sharia, focusing on the role of financial inclusion. it investigates how enhanced access to financing impacts the income and savings of the womenfolk operating home-based businesses in West sumatra, indonesia, using a qualitative methodology to delve into the empowerment pattern of unbanked women at BtPn sharia. Data collection consisted of in-depth interviews and questionnaires, sourced from various stakeholders, such as customers, community officers, and BtPn sharia leaders, followed by a thorough qualitative and descriptive analysis. the findings showed that the economic empowerment of unbanked women, driven by financial inclusion, is achieved through an initial membership training program consisting of financial literacy, management, and savings. this program also offers convenient access to financing and subsequent assistance, all conducted in a participatory manner referred to as ‘baropok’, where women gather in a circle, facing the community officer. the financial inclusion-based empowerment model, emphasizing easy access to financing, has a positive impact on the income and savings of women engaged in home industry businesses in West sumatra. these findings hold significant implications for the academic discourse on the economic empowerment of unbanked women within the framework of financial inclusion in islamic commercial banks. IMPACT STATEMENT gender inequality in the financial industry must be reduced by increasing women’s financial inclusion. the primary objective of the financial inclusion policy is to narrow the gender gap in financial access to financial institutions. the economic empowerment of unbanked women is of significant importance as they serve as financial managers within households and play a crucial role in managing family expenses. BtPn sharia empowerment of unbanked women based on financial inclusion had a positive impact on increasing the savings of females. 1. Introduction indonesia remains a country with a high number of unbanked individuals who cannot access banking services (cicchiello et al., 2021). according to the 2019 World Bank global Findex, the number of unbanked individuals in indonesia stands at 92 million (setiawan et al., 2021). to address this challenge, there is a need to increase access to the implementation of inclusive finance. Financial inclusion entails providing banking services at affordable costs to underprivileged and low-income groups (kim et al., 2018). according to adzimatinur and Manalu (2021), the objective of financial inclusion is to eliminate all forms of access barriers to banking services for the community. the financial inclusion index in 2021 shows that 65% of adult women worldwide lack a bank account compared to 72% of men (OJk, 2021b), © 2024 the author(s). Published by informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & Francis group CONTACT Rozalinda [email protected] Faculty of islamic economics and Business, state islamic university imam Bonjol, Padang, indonesia. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2407921 this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 28 november 2023 Revised 4 september 2024 accepted 18 september 2024 KEYWORDS Financial inclusion; economic empowerment; unbanked women SUBJECTS economics; Business; Management; Finance 2 ROZalinDa etal. (Boukhali, 2019), (kara et al., 2021). the level of financial empowerment among men tends to be higher at 77.2% compared to 75.2% for women (OJk, 2019). this reality correlates with the global Findex data, signifying the access to finance gap between women and men (ibtasam et al., 2018), (hendriks, 2019a). therefore, analyzing this disparity further by studying policies for women’s economic empowerment based on economic integration is essential. several studies have been conducted on financial inclusion, with a minimum of three patterns identified. First, the publication describes the implementation as a strategy for development and economic strengthening (W. chen & Yuan, 2021; Malik et al., 2022; tram et al., 2023). second, existing studies tend to discuss determinants or factors contributing to the success of financial inclusion realization (Bekele, 2023; Prakoso, 2022; Rashdan & eissa, 2019). Finally, there is a trend in the publications focusing on the impacts on vulnerable groups such as the poor and women in general (cabeza-garcía et al., 2019; Duvendack & Mader, 2020; elzahi saaid ali, 2022). studies specifically connecting financial inclusion with the economic empowerment of unbanked women remain limited. Few explain female empowerment (Bhatia & singh, 2019), and barriers to education impeding the access to finance for unbanked women (sabic-el-Rayess, 2019). therefore, this study aims to complement existing studies focusing on the impact of financial empowerment for unbanked women on the income and savings of productive poor women at BtPn sharia. the mapping of previous studies shows that publications on financial inclusion do not extensively focus on gender aspects. this gap serves as a motivation, particularly because there is limited research examining the impact of financial empowerment on unbanked women. the need for empirical evidence explaining the impact on productive poor unbanked women is also motivated. a comprehensive study on this issue will provide valuable information for the government including the policymakers, financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations in formulating and implementing more effective financial inclusion programs for women. this study aims to elucidate the economic empowerment of unbanked women at the national Pension savings Bank (BtPn) sharia, based on financial inclusion, and assess its impact on the income and savings of females engaged in home industry businesses. in indonesia, the focus is on the forms and impacts of financial inclusion implemented by BtPn sharia in three results. First, the realization through literacy mentoring is provided directly to underprivileged unbanked women. Financial literacy is further introduced to this group before becoming customers of the bank. second, providing easy access to financing for unbanked women from underprivileged backgrounds which further impact women’s income positively. third, the pattern of financial inclusion implemented by BtPn sharia has a positive implication for developing a saving culture among women. awareness of savings’ importance and access to financial facilities empowers women, leading to prosperity. therefore, studies on the economic empowerment of unbanked women are highly relevant to financial inclusion. the theoretical significance of this study will provide an overview of the economic empowerment of unbanked women conducted by BtPn sharia in indonesia in the framework of financial inclusion. Practically, the contribution is made to the development of knowledge in the field of financial inclusion for women in enhancing family economic welfare. the importance lies in the access of women micro-entrepreneurs to the formal financial sector. according to the national survey Results on Financial literacy and inclusion (snlik) in 2022, approximately 27% of women have access to financing from formal commercial banks (kacaribu, 2022). among all the banks, BtPn sharia is committed to empowering indonesian women micro-entrepreneurs by rolling out programs to strengthen the capacity of unbanked communities. in the third quarter of 2023, BtPn disbursed monetary assistance amounting to iDR 11.9 trillion (BtPns, 2024) to the communities. in this situation, the bank continuously strives to empower women considered unbankable to gain better access to the financial sector and other economic resources. therefore, further studies on inclusive financial policies are essential. the study is based on an argument that financial inclusion policies implemented by banks significantly contribute to women’s empowerment. access to finance has become an important development strategy worldwide to improve individual fiscal well-being, reduce poverty, and stimulate economic growth (Zins & Weill, 2016a). the policies aim to reduce gender gaps in access to financial facilities and institutions. empowering unbanked women economically is important because females are household financial managers (tsai, 2016). in indonesia, an islamic bank concerned with efforts to empower cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 3 unbankable women economically is BtPn sharia (taufiq et al., 2022), BtPnsharia, 2020). the bank operates based on the principles of financial inclusion by providing grants for economically disadvantaged unbankable women (Darussalam et al., 2021). economic empowerment of unbanked women can facilitate access to financing for productive poor females. therefore, increasing females’ access through financial inclusion policies will impact the empowerment of women. 2. Literature review 2.1. Financial inclusion Financial inclusion represented the availability and equal opportunity to access a wide range of financial services, including savings, credit, payment, and risk management products, for both individuals and companies, with a specific focus on low-income communities, micro and small enterprises (W. chen & Yuan, 2021) (Boukhali, 2019). esquivias etal. (2020) and Bank (2019) defined financial inclusion as having access to formal fiscal services for savings, borrowing, or conducting commercial transactions at competitive costs. allen et al. (2016) identified several factors that deterred individuals from using formal financial services, such as the remote location of banks and the high account-opening costs. elzahi saaid ali (2022) and ibtasam et al. (2018) contended that financial inclusion included a combination of initiatives aimed at making financial services available, accessible, and affordable for all segments of society, such as women, youth, rural communities, and disadvantaged groups. this was consistent with the perspectives of kling et al. (2020) and sever et al. (2023) which perceived the inclusion as an innovative mechanism that provided financial access to address income inequality (cabeza-garcía et al., 2019; kebede et al., 2023; lal, 2021). therefore, financial inclusion represented a fundamental financial concept that ensured access to banking products and services for all communities. in line with Yaumidin et al. (2017) perspective, financial inclusion should engage the participation of women, and the development of inclusive finance should serve as a means to empowerment. the empowerment of women became an important agenda for developing countries in their pursuit of economic advancement. the financial inclusion of women materialized when access was gained to a diverse range of banking products and services. the global Findex measured access to finance based on the percentage of the adult population with a bank account (Demirguc, 2021). however, economic empowerment for women tends to be challenging to achieve. social constructions dominated by men such as the psychological aspects, low income, lack of financial literacy and accessibility, as well as ethnicity were major obstacles to women’s empowerment through financial inclusion efforts (saluja et al., 2023). esquivias et al. (2020) also assessed that significant disparities in capital access occurred due to gender, income, education, and location of the applicants. Besides these factors, low education levels among women posed another constraint (aslan, 2022). therefore, empowering women through financial inclusion became an essential agenda for developing countries to address economic development lag (adera & abdisa, 2023; aziz et al., 2022; chaudhary & kumari, 2022). 2.2. Economic empowerment empowerment was a process of internal change in which individuals who lacked the power to make choices acquired the ability to take action and become aware of their potential (Xheneti et al., 2019). in the context of women, economic empowerment referred to strategies used in decision-making, asset ownership, and income enhancement (Mengstie, 2022). economic empowerment of women assisted in ensuring gender equality, national prosperity, and basic family needs (kuma & godana, 2023). this concept could be observed in a minimum of six dimensions, namely environmental quality, economic vitality, education & skills development, health, social, political, and cultural environment, as well as security (gressel et al., 2020). aggarwal et al. (2020) emphasized empowerment in decision-making, equal treatment rights, economic independence, inheritance, and protection against gender bias, potentially reducing discrimination in accessing resources such as education, information, and the economy. the economic empowerment of women evolved as an important component of the sustainable development goals (sDgs) (eggers del campo & steinert, 2022). according to cabeza-garcía et al. (2019), the 4 ROZalinDa etal. autonomy of women had a positive impact on their entrepreneurial capacity, investment, and future planning. Women’s financial inclusion was measured by access to bank accounts and credit cards (chozarira et al., 2023). limited access to financial products further marginalized women and increased gender inequality (keerthikumara & kumari, 2023). hendriks (2019b) also asserted that women’s access to personal savings accounts enhanced economic resilience by increasing savings, enabling financial choices, and enhancing bargaining power in households. Furthermore, (Morgan & long, 2020) argued that financial inclusion served as a determinant of economic growth and poverty reduction. Financial inclusion could also increase savings, investments, businesses, empower women, and improve health (Bhattacharya, 2019). 2.3. Unbanked women the term ‘unbanked’ referred to individuals who were without savings or bank accounts (Barcellos & Zamarro, 2021), thereby limiting their access to financial services (Bongomin et al., 2023). it also represented a condition of an individual or entity lacking access to banking services or similar financial institutions (Ventura, 2021). these individuals often faced challenges in securing loans, making transactions, or even saving money in a traditional banking environment. sabic el-Rayess’s article indicated that 2 billion adults worldwide still lacked a bank account, with a pronounced gender disparity, particularly affecting impoverished women. interestingly, even when women had access to financial services, many were reluctant to actively engage with their bank accounts (sabic-el-Rayess, 2019). this was due to low levels of women’s education (loaba, 2023) and financial literacy caused by self-efficacy, risk aversion, self-confidence, and socioeconomic status of women (West et al., 2020). Ventura (2021) observed that the unbanked individuals shared similar characteristics across regions with low income as well as education levels and often lacked the identification and documentation requirements to open a bank account. the individuals tend to live in rural areas far from bank branches. in many countries, this group originated from minority ethnic or religious groups with majority being women (Ventura, 2021). Discriminatory banking regulations against women were also a significant factor allowing reluctant to access bank accounts (de andrés et al., 2021; Morsy, 2020). there was a significant gap between men and women in accessing bank credit. Men were known to be more financially engaged than women (kede ndouna & Zogning, 2022). accessing safe financial facilities posed challenges for unbanked women, which impacted the ability to save and establish businesses for sustainable livelihoods (Maneth Pol, 2022). Financial inclusion was widely recognized as an innovative mechanism to address the inequality of access for women. it significantly impacted savings (chakraborty & abraham, 2021), which were connected to per capita income growth. Ownership of savings accounts significantly increased the per capita income growth of the country (khairina et al., 2021). efforts to enhance women’s access to financial services included grants for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting investment, and adjusting fiscal products as well as services to meet needs (Bialus et al., 2022). Ownership of savings accounts and access to financial facilities also improved women’s living standards and economies (O. afolabi & R. akinlolu, 2021). this correlated with trivelli et al. (2018) which emphasized the importance of financial inclusion for women to access loans, conduct transactions, save, and build assets securely. therefore, empowering women through financial inclusion had a significant impact on addressing the challenges faced by unbanked women. 3. Methodology the study obtained ethical approval from the institute for Research and community service (lPPM), imam Bonjol state islamic University, Padang with the reference number B.78/Un.13/lP2M/07/2021 accompanied by a letter of permission from Pt BtPn syariah. all procedures carried out in this study adhered to the ethical standards set by the institution’s ethics committee. all participants were informed about the purpose of the study by participating through interviews and questionnaires with the identities being confidential. the experts were committed to protecting the privacy and the confidentiality of personal information. additionally, the experts asked for permission from participants verbally and in writing regarding the publication of the study results. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 5 this study was conducted as a Direct observation using a qualitative approach in BtPn sharia, situated in West sumatra and Riau Province, indonesia. BtPn sharia was selected due to its unique focus on the economic empowerment of unbanked women. conducted in 2021 during the cOViD-19 pandemic. the study focused on the economic empowerment of unbanked women at BtPn sharia, examining the impact of financial inclusion on income and savings. the scope included women entrepreneurs in the home industry in West sumatra, indonesia. the data types included primary and secondary sources which offered a comprehensive understanding of the study. Primary data was obtained through observations, interviews, and questionnaires while secondary information were sourced from the annual Report of BtPn sharia. Participants in this study included a Branch Manager of BtPn sharia, a marketing staff member, 10 community officers, and 100 customers. the sample of the participants was determined using the total sampling method based on the highest number of customers. Furthermore, participants were selected through saturation sampling with all area customers designated as ‘informants’ as described in table 1. this study initially observed the basic membership training process and subsequently perceived the customer mentoring process during routine center meetings. interviews were further conducted to provide deeper insights into how BtPn sharia’s empowerment model was implemented for unbanked women. the interview was initiated with general questions, such as inquiries regarding the pattern of customer assistance both before and after obtaining financing, the average monthly income alteration resulting from BtPn sharia’s financial support, and the monthly savings derived from business proceeds. to collect data concerning income and savings, customers were requested to complete open-ended questionnaires and all results were recorded. the validity of the data was scrutinized through participant extension and triangulation. Data obtained from interviews underwent a qualitative analysis, following a structured approach consisting of several stages, namely (1) Organizing the data, which included categorizing the collected data, (2) comprehensive reading and noting, consisting of a thorough review of all data, annotating marginal notes, and initial code formation, (3) Describing data through codes and themes, where the customer experiences and the essence of the empowerment process executed by BtPn sharia were delineated, (4) classifying data into codes and themes, during which significant statements were further developed into units of meaning, (5) interpreting the data, entailing the development of a comprehensive description of the empowerment process and its implications, and (6) Presenting the essence and its evidence through narratives, tables, figures, and discussions (creswell, 2018; Mohajan & Mohajan, 2018). 4. Findings the sharia commercial bank in indonesia was known to be BtPn sharia, focused on providing inclusive banking services by empowering productive and underprivileged women customers through financing access with mentorship. in september 2023, the bank recorded 4.3 million active customers in 258,000 communities spread across 2,600 districts in indonesia (BtPns, 2023). By 2023, the total financing disbursed reached iDR11.39 trillion, with third-party funds totaling iDR 12.14 trillion. Furthermore, the total assets of the bank amounted to iDR 21.44 trillion (BtPns, 2024). BtPn sharia designed various programs to empower women and gave motivation to become more self-reliant, including (1) Proper sharia Financing, (2) empowerment programs such as Daya and Bestee, and (3) incentives and appreciation such as Umrah (BtPns, 2023). Table 1. Distribution of participants. no area of BPtn sharia total customer 1BtPn sharia in Padang area 15 2BtPn sharia in solok area 18 3BtPn sharia in Padang Panjang area 11 4BtPn sharia in Bukittinggi area 23 5BtPn sharia in Pesisir selatan area 11 6BtPn sharia in Pekanbaru area 22 6 ROZalinDa etal. 4.1. Participants’ description Participants in this study were BtPn sharia customers, specifically women micro-entrepreneurs. these women engaged in various businesses with diverse educational backgrounds and religious affiliations as described in table 2. the types of businesses engaged by female customers of BtPn sharia were diverse, as described in table 3. this diversity reflected the varied entrepreneurial efforts pursued by the women. 4.2. Financial literacy assistance Being the only islamic commercial bank dedicated to the empowering of productive yet underprivileged women, Pt BtPn sharia (tbk) extended its efforts beyond the mere distribution of financing to its customers. the bank also provided comprehensive training and mentoring programs to its clientele. as elucidated by informant a (25 years old), a community Officer (cO) at BtPn sharia Bukittinggi, ‘empowerment was imparted to customers to equip them with financial knowledge and the capacity to enhance the businesses, eventually elevating the welfare of the family’. Distinctively, the process of customer empowerment at BtPn sharia commenced at the PreMarketing stage, undertaken by the Mobile Marketing sentra (MMs) team. informant c (27 years old), a cO at BtPn sharia solok, underscored, ‘the team obtained information within the villages to identify women eligible for financing. this process was followed by a Mini Meeting (MM), and subsequently, the MMs team conducted a thorough survey of the prospective residence of the customer’. the next stage, known as the Projection Meeting (PM), played a crucial role in the empowerment process. according to informant Y (26 years old), a cO BtPn sharia Padang, ‘During the PM, the MMs team provided a comprehensive explanation of the purpose, benefits, and financing terms offered by BtPn sharia. additionally, the team motivated women to muster the courage to venture, maintain discipline, work diligently, and extend support to one another’. a more detailed understanding of the empowerment model implemented by BtPn sharia is shown in table 4. the empowerment of women from pre-prosperous families commenced before becoming customers, initiated during the Basic Membership training (PDk). this training consisted of the provision of financial literacy materials, basic banking knowledge, an introduction to the products of BtPn sharia, and a Table 2. Description of education, age, and length of business of BtPn sharia Customers. education age Length of business income education total age total Length of Business total income total Bachelor’s Degree 8>60 years old 11–5 years 47 <1.9 million 32 associate Degree 450–59 years old 18 6–10 years 28 2–2.9 million 21 senior High school 54 40–49 years old 37 11–15 years 11 3–3.9 million 30 Junior High school 19 30–39 years old 38 15–20 years 94–4.9 million 12 elementary school 13 29 years old 7>20 years 5>5 million 5 no school 2 source: Questionnaire, 2021. Table 3. Businesses types of customers. types of businesses total customer Food/Beverage 31 trading/P & D 42 Fashion 8 Laundry services 5 Farming 4 online shop 2 tailoring 2 secondhand goods 1 Betel nut 1 Plastic 1 Fish 1 Cell phone counter 1 electronic credit 1 source: Questionnaire, 2021. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 7 comprehensive understanding of the benefits of sharia Financing. PDk was conducted to ensure that female customers comprehended the purpose of financing at BtPn sharia. customers received education on both business and household financial management. additionally, mentoring was provided after customers had obtained financing, as part of the sentra Routine Meeting, which featured entrepreneurial guidance. customers who had completed the basic membership training could apply for financing by filling out the Financing application and account Opening Form (aP3R), as explained by the Business Manager of BtPn sharia Padang Ra (27 years old). Financing disbursement occurred after the aP3R form was approved by the leadership of BtPn sharia. the financing product for this micro-financing was murabahah financing, using murabahah bil wakalah contract. the grants received were used for business capital through the purchase of supporting business goods. according to the agreement, customers were required to provide detailed explanations and prices of the goods to be purchased and to make payments every two weeks. Murabahah bil wakalah contract was executed individually during routine center meetings, witnessed by the center chairperson and a member. Following the rendition of the contract by the community Officer (cO), the customer and two witnesses would sign the financing contract after which the financing would be disbursed. customers were required to submit purchase receipts to the bank after acquiring items for the business needs. the financing period spanned a year or 26 installments, with each customer granted exemption from an installment during the eid al-Fitr holiday at BtPn sharia. Based on observations during the sentra Routine Meeting, customers and community Officers (cOs) sat together in a particular manner known as ‘duduak baropok’, where they convened in a circle for discussions or deliberations (Basri etal., 2022; Rahmadani etal., 2021). this model of ‘duduak baropok’ is visually represented in Figure 1. all the PDk sentra Routine Meetings were conducted using the ‘baropok’ model, with the female customers seated in groups on the floor, facing the community Officer. the cO also sat on the floor, facing the customers, commencing the session by reciting the greetings. subsequently, they proceeded to collect the financing installments and savings deposits of the customers. Following this, the cO actively engaged in facilitating business development innovations for the customers, marking a distinctive feature of BtPn sharia compared to other banks. Meanwhile, most customer services typically maintain an executive appearance at the bank office, BtPn sharia adopted a down-to-earth approach, serving customers at the houses of their group leader, referred to as sentras. the sentra Routine Meeting by ‘duduak baropok’ served as a platform to obtain information, address aspirations, and find solutions to challenges faced by productive underprivileged women. there are so many things that can be explored and communicated to women BtPn sharia customers for their economic revival. this was a two-way communication discussion and learning forum, consisting of discussions on financial management, financing, savings, and entrepreneurship. During these regular meetings, customers deposited their financing and savings installments. Financing disbursements were made to both existing and new customers, accompanied by question-and-answer sessions on business development. customers who had received financing also benefited from the continued mentoring. Based on an interview with Rz (45 years old), head of the gunung talang solok sentra group, customer assistance occurred during the sentra Routine Meeting, business monitoring, and surprise Visit (sV). Furthermore, the Manager (BM) of BtPn sharia Business in the Padang area, Table 4. empowerment of unbanked women in BtPn sharia. no empowerment stage activity Material 1Pre marketing :survey and interview Customer segmentation information :Mini Meeting survey the residence of the customer. :Projection Meeting introduction to BtPn sharia: purpose and terms 2Basic training : training Financial literacy 3sentra routine meeting :Financing Disbursement Financial literacy and entrepreneurship : assistance Financial literacy and entrepreneurship source: BtPn sharia, 2021. 14 ROZalinDa etal. by fostering financial institutions to develop products and services customized to the needs of unbanked groups. increasing collaboration between financial institutions, government, and civil society organizations could also be carried out in implementing economic empowerment programs. Furthermore, strengthening the regulatory framework that supported innovation in inclusive financial services was also necessary. this study further contributed to knowledge in several avenues. First, it contributed to the growing literature on islamic economics and finance concerning financial inclusion, namely; (1) enriching the understanding of the effectiveness of inclusive finance-based economic empowerment models for unbanked women, (2) providing empirical data on the positive impact of integrating empowerment and financial inclusion on increasing income and savings, and (3) identifying best practices in implementing financial empowerment programs that could be adapted by other financial institutions and poverty alleviation programs. second, the findings provided a valuable reference for policymakers to motivate islamic banks in improving and expanding access to inclusive financial services. the study also offered insights for academics and observers interested in the inclusiveness and accessibility of the unbanked community. third, sustainable economic development was promoted by reducing gender gaps in access to financial services. this contribution proved that there was a step forward for islamic banks and policymakers in interpreting and implementing financial inclusion to empower the economy of unbanked women. although this study provided valuable insights, there were several limitations that needed to be addressed. the analysis only focused on BtPn syariah and the impact of women’s economic empowerment based on financial inclusion on income and savings. therefore, further studies were expected to conduct the publication with several developments. First, expanding the scope of the study to include other financial institutions that also focused on women’s segmentation. second, examining cultural aspects and social constructions influencing the success of financial empowerment programs. third, investigating other variables playing a role in the success of economic empowerment based on financial inclusion. Finally, conducting longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impact of inclusive financial empowerment programs. Based on these reccommendation, financial inclusion-based empowerment could be expanded to the grassroots level, providing a broader and more sustainable impact in improving community welfare for unbanked women. Acknowledgments the authors extend their gratitude to the Rector of Uin, imam Bonjol Padang, for providing support for implementing this study. the authors also appreciate the willingness of both the management and customers of BtPn sharia to participate as informants, contributing to the depth and quality of the study. special thanks are also due to the irwan abdullah scholar Foundation (ias) team, whose continuous assistance was instrumental in refining the study for publication. Finally, the authors are thankful to the dedicated reviewers whose insights and feedback contributed to enhancing the quality of this study. Authors’ contributions Rozalinda: investigated, collected, analyzed, and interpreted the data as well as drafted and revised the study. Yenti afrida: explored, obtained, analyzed, and interpreted data alongside drafting and revising the study. irwan abdullah: guided in the preparation and reviewed the study. Zaenuddin hudi Prasojo: guided in the preparation and reviewed the study. Muthia Ulfah: compiled, revised, and reviewed findings. Putri ananda saka: Reviewed the study. Jumni nelli: examined, collected, and compiled the study. all authors contributed to the writing and completion of this study. Furthermore, all authors agreed and took responsibility for the work and participation in the preparation and completion of this study in the form below. Disclosure statement no potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Funding the authors did not receive any financial support for the research and publication expenses. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 15 About the authors Rozalinda is a lecturer at the Faculty of islamic economics and Business, state University of imam Bonjol Padang indonesia. she has various researches in the field of islamic economics. Yenti Afrida is a lecturer at the Faculty of islamic economics and Business, state University of imam Bonjol Padang indonesia. she has various researches in the field of islamic economics. Irwan Abdullah is a Professor of anthtropolgy, Faculty of cultural sciences, gadjah Mada University. his research field is anthtropolgy, culture and religion. Zaenuddin Hudi Prasojo is a professor of religious studies at the Pontianak state islamic institute (iain) of West Borneo indonesia. his research field is Religious studies. Muthia Ulfah is a lecturer at the Faculty of islamic economics and Business, state University of imam Bonjol Padang indonesia. Putri Ananda Saka is a post graduate student of anthtropolgy, Faculty of cultural sciences, gadjah Mada University. Jumni Nelli is a lecturer at the sharia Faculty of the state islamic University syarif kasim Pekanbaru indonesia. her field of study is Family law. 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