Bosnia and Herzegovina has Won the WE Finance Code Award for Excellence in Data

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the winner of the international WE Finance Code Data Excellence Award, which was received by the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The award is given for progress in collecting, using and improving financial data on women entrepreneurs, with the aim of better understanding and improving their access to finance. The award was presented on October 1, 2026 in Paris, during the Global WE Finance Code Forum.

The WE Finance Code (Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code) is a global initiative that aims to improve access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises owned and led by women. The initiative includes a more systematic collection and use of gender-disaggregated data, so that financial institutions, public institutions and other relevant stakeholders could better understand the needs of women entrepreneurs and create more adequate financial products and services.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the initiative is implemented with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), while the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) has a leading role in its implementation. The CBBH coordinates the cooperation of the institutions involved, the activities to improve the collection and use of gender-disaggregated financial data, as well as the development of tools that enable their analysis.

One of the key results of this work is the development of the first interactive platform for the analysis of gender-disaggregated financial data in Bosnia and Herzegovina – WE Finance Code Dashboard. The platform has been developed by the CBBH and the EBRD, and it enables the analysis of data on lending and deposit activities of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, including data classified by the gender of owners.

The CBBH also coordinates the WE Finance Code partnership at the entire country level, bringing together financial institutions and other relevant organizations. Through this partnership, institutions work together to improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs, better data collection and their use for decision-making.

To date, 17 institutions have signed Letters of Intent, while 11 of them have also signed Letters of Commitment, thus expressing their willingness to contribute to the goals of the WE Finance Code initiative.

The CBBH Governor, Jasmina Selimović, Ph.D. pointed out that the award confirms the importance of systematic work on improving data and financial inclusion:

"This international award confirms the value of the work which we, together with our partners and institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have focused on improving the quality and use of data. Our goal is not only to collect data, but to turn them into high quality analyses and specific activities that can contribute to better access to finance for women entrepreneurs and the development of a more inclusive financial system."

The award confirms Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress in implementing the WE Finance Code initiative, as well as the importance of the CBBH's role in connecting institutions, developing data infrastructure and improving financial inclusion.