Unlocking Climate Finance for Women-led Enterprises in Nepal: Ground-level Insights

The document identifies significant structural, gender-based, and climate-related barriers that prevent women-led enterprises in Nepal from accessing formal and climate finance. Based on a survey of 200 enterprises, it highlights a reliance on personal savings and a lack of preparedness for climate shocks. It recommends a multi-stakeholder approach involving policy alignment, tailored capacity building, de-risking financial instruments, and the promotion of cooperatives to improve market power.

• Women-led enterprises (WLEs) in Nepal face severe operational and market constraints, with over 70% relying on local markets and struggling with high transport costs, raw material shortages, and low digital literacy.
• Gender-specific barriers, including lack of control over productive assets, decision-making limitations, household care burdens, and mobility restrictions, disproportionately hinder the growth of women's enterprises compared to men's.
• Climate change exacerbates existing vulnerabilities for WLEs; 65% of surveyed enterprises reported being affected by climate shocks, but only 37% of those affected felt they were adequately prepared.
• Access to formal and climate finance is extremely limited for WLEs, with 88% relying on personal savings and only 56% accessing formal finance due to collateral gaps, complex procedures, and a lack of suitable financial products.
• Nepal faces a significant climate financing gap, estimated at USD 6.7 billion per year by 2035 according to NDC 3.0, which restricts investments in sustainable growth and resilience.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2026). Unlocking Climate Finance for Women-led Enterprises in Nepal: Ground-level Insights. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/unlocking-climate-finance-for-women-led-enterprises-in-nepal-ground-level-insights/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Unlocking Climate Finance for Women-led Enterprises in Nepal: Ground-level Insights. 2026. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/unlocking-climate-finance-for-women-led-enterprises-in-nepal-ground-level-insights/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Unlocking Climate Finance for Women-led Enterprises in Nepal: Ground-level Insights |date=22 January 2026 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/unlocking-climate-finance-for-women-led-enterprises-in-nepal-ground-level-insights/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2026unlocking, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Unlocking Climate Finance for Women-led Enterprises in Nepal: Ground-level Insights}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/unlocking-climate-finance-for-women-led-enterprises-in-nepal-ground-level-insights/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }