Financial Inclusion of Female Social Commerce Entrepreneurs in Light of the Lebanese Economic, Financial, and Sanitary Crisis

Abstract

Social commerce in Lebanon is on the rise in light of the sanitary, financial, and economic crisis that the country has been facing. Female entrepreneurs are increasingly investing in this informal market. This paper aims to study whether social commerce, in a turbulent context, paves the way for more financially included women. Female social commerce entrepreneurs have been asked to fill a survey about their financial behavior before and after the pivotal point of the Lebanese crisis, on October 17, 2019. Results show that social commerce in Lebanon is mainly cash-based. Nonetheless, a remarkable number admitted using some banking products and services prior to the pivotal point of the crisis, in October 2019. Overall, this article shows that social commerce affects some aspects of female entrepreneurs’ financial inclusion; but the Lebanese triple crisis that has struck the core of the banking system has slowed the financial inclusion process down, possibly reversing it to a financial aversion