Girls signify the world’s largest and fastest-growing market—and one which has been largely ignored by the incumbent and fintech sectors alike. By overlooking the feminine economic system alternative, fintechs are leaving trillions on the desk.
Accelerating the monetary energy of all ladies by working to champion the feminine economic system and unlocking its full worth has been the driving drive of the Monetary Alliance for Girls.
In 2019, the Monetary Alliance for Girls recognized the fintech sector as a major enterprise alternative to handle key points within the monetary inclusion of girls globally, which the standard sector has struggled with and instituted the Alliance Hackathon to develop scalable options that resolve key feminine economic system challenges.
This yr’s version, sponsored by Moniepoint Inc and HSBC, with the theme – Shaping Economies by means of Gender-Clever Fintech, showcased cutting-edge options geared toward advancing monetary inclusion and empowerment.
In response to Inez Murray, CEO, Monetary Alliance for Girls, “we make the enterprise case for girls’s financial development and assist them drive earnings, develop their applications by means of key platforms. We obtained a report variety of entries to our annual Alliance Hackathon this yr, with greater than 200 fintechs from all over the world making use of to participate. After pouring over the purposes, the sector narrowed to fifteen distinctive finalists chosen to compete within the hack all through early August, nice tuning their tech-based options to facilitate ladies’s monetary inclusion.”
With a name to fintechs all over the world to pitch artistic and revolutionary tech-based options that expands ladies enterprise homeowners’ entry to finance; supplies non-financial companies that speed up their enterprise progress; helps ladies to speculate and construct wealth; and assist ladies to mitigate and adapt to local weather change, the shortlist of 15 fintechs that made the ultimate embody Penny, Pilou, Rusyve, DREX, QuickLegal, MICROWD, Halal Cash Switch (HMT), Finan Co., Ltd, Warmi, Kitspay Personal Restricted, HiSofi, Futa, Famunera Restricted, and 6C’S Talent’s Alternate.
The shortlisted fintechs obtained one-on-one mentoring from a extremely skilled mentor cohort that includes leaders like Moniepoint’s VP, Company Affairs, Edidiong Uwemakpan. In addition they took half in peer studying clinics centered on constructing a profitable women-centered technique, and acquired the prospect to pitch in entrance of a panel of high-impact executives from world monetary companies establishments.
Creating an answer that helps develop mass market ladies’s funding capabilities, Pilou, a by-women, for-women platform providing ladies in Latin America customized monetary training and funding instruments alongside low-cost, diversified funding portfolios managed in a clear method has emerged first place winner because the Feminine Economic system FinTech of the Yr within the 2024 Alliance Hack.
DREX, a renewable vitality financing platform devoted to funding small to medium-sized renewable vitality initiatives and hyperlink women-owned companies in Ecuador in with women-owned photo voltaic farms that might cowl 100% of their vitality necessities took second place as Feminine Economic system Silver Fintech Award winner and Futa, which helps small companies in Francophone Africa by utilizing payroll knowledge to offer their staff with quick and honest entry to financing obtained the Feminine Economic system Bronze Fintech Award as third place winner.
Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO, Moniepoint Inc, acknowledged that ladies’s monetary inclusion is not only a matter of equality – it’s a robust catalyst for financial progress and societal progress.
“At Moniepoint, we’re dedicated to taking part in our half in unlocking the total potential of the Feminine Economic system. This is the reason we selected to sponsor the Alliance Hackathon. We consider that by fostering innovation in fintech, we will speed up the event of options that deal with the distinctive monetary wants and challenges confronted by ladies all over the world. From increasing entry to finance for girls entrepreneurs to offering instruments for wealth constructing and local weather motion, the challenges tackled on this hackathon align completely with our imaginative and prescient for a extra inclusive future the place societies can expertise monetary happiness and their desires are powered,” Eniolorunda mentioned.
Moreover, Eniolorunda, who additionally served as a decide on the Hackathon mentioned, “To the winners, you’ve proven us that with the best instruments and assist, we will make important strides in bridging the gender hole in monetary companies and making an actual distinction to enhance ladies’s lives throughout the globe. Moniepoint stays dedicated to supporting this journey, and we sit up for seeing the impression these options could have within the years to come back.”
Recognizing the contributions of the sponsors, Moniepoint Inc and HSBC, Monetary Alliance for Girls famous that “in the present day, 5 years later, we’re happy with the good impression we’re creating. Not solely are we elevating consciousness inside the fintech ecosystem, however we’re additionally witnessing fintechs changing into more and more gender-intelligent. We wish to thanks to your high-level engagement and dedication to the Alliance Hack. With out your contributions, the hackathon wouldn’t be attainable.”
