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The Financial Inclusion Gender Gap is Wide. Which FinTechs Are Working to Narrow It?
Significantly more women than men around the world lack access to digital finance – and in some countries, the gender gap is actually getting worse. According to Alina Kaiser at DFS Lab, that's why her organization is bringing a gender focus to their own work. It's also why they're recognizing and rewarding the efforts of other organizations to tackle this gap, by launching the Female-Focused Fintech Prize. Kaiser discusses the problem and some potential solutions, and invites interested fintechs to apply for the prize – applications are open until May 15.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Can Superplatforms Transform Financial Inclusion in the Least Developed Countries? Emerging Insights from Nepal
Superplatforms like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Alibaba are at the forefront of technology in countries around the world. But can their model work down market? Using insights generated by homegrown superplatforms in Nepal, Keyzom Ngodup Massally and Audrey Misquith at UNCDF discuss their potential to build a new-generation financial sector in the least developed countries.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Speculating on the Future of Financial Inclusion: Predictions, Solutions (and Warnings) for the Next 20 Years
We live in extraordinary times: In the next 20 years, futuristic technologies like drones, driverless cars, virtual reality and robotics will transform communities and entire industries. Meanwhile, says MSC founder Graham Wright, breakthroughs in areas like artificial intelligence, big data and mobile connectivity will have a similar impact on financial inclusion. Wright makes some bold predictions, and highlights the trends and technologies that are likely to play important roles in the sector’s development.
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- Finance, Technology
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Four Reasons Kenya’s Economy Might Not Be as Inclusive as You Think
When it comes to building inclusive economic systems, Kenya is often held up as a global standard. And with 73% mobile money penetration and 82% financial inclusion rates, it's easy to see why. But as Brigit Helms at DAI points out, the “Silicon Savannah” isn't always as inclusive as it seems. She explores four reasons why the country is still falling short in serving its most excluded communities and customers.
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- Finance, Technology
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Don’t Fear the Algorithm: The Risks and Benefits Of Machine Learning in Finance
Billions of people around the world lack access to basic financial services, and far too many promising entrepreneurs are deprived of financial opportunities simply because they don’t have a credit history. As JUMO founder and CEO Andrew Watkins-Ball sees it, this lack of access is fundamentally a technology problem – and machine learning can help solve it. But algorithm-assisted banking is not without risks: Watkins-Ball discusses its benefits and downsides, and how it's powering JUMO's work in Africa and Asia.
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- Finance, Technology
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Women Helping Women: How a Network of Female Digital Finance Agents is Boosting Empowerment in India
Digital finance has made great strides in India, but many women remain excluded – especially in rural areas. Grameen Foundation India is tackling this issue with a unique, digitally driven social enterprise model that harnesses the untapped potential of rural women, training them as field agents to extend digital finance to other women (and men) in their communities. Tanvi Gupta explores how these agents are empowering hundreds of thousands of women with access to financial services – while also generating needed income for themselves and their families.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
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The Key to Financing the SDGs: UN Task Force Seeks New Ideas for Digital Finance – Here’s How You Can Contribute
Most people know about the gap in financing the Sustainable Development Goals – estimated at around US $2.5 trillion per year. Yet few people seem to know what to do about it. According to Tillman Bruett, Secretariat Director for the UN Secretary-General’s Task Force on the Digital Financing of the SDGs, solving this problem will require creative new financing models – and the digital revolution may provide the answer. He discusses the UN's new call for ideas about how digital finance can help fund the SDGs – and invites all interested parties to respond.
- Categories
- Finance
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Managing Money in Retirement is Hard – Fintech May Make it Easier
As many as 42 million Americans aged 50 or older struggle with some aspect of their financial lives, according to new research by the Center for Financial Services Innovation. The new report shows how the work-to-retire model of building savings and paying off debt has been replaced with far more complex scenarios and, for many, delayed retirement. Karen Andres, Vice President at CFSI, sees a solution in fintech – she highlights several apps that leverage tools like prize-linked savings, automated transaction monitoring, and innovative ways to create steady income streams.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Tags
- financial health, fintech
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