espanol

<p><strong>Washington, D.C., 1 de diciembre de 2021</strong> &#8211; Accion, en colaboración con MetLife Foundation, publicó hoy el documento &#8220;<a href="https://www.accion.org/how-providers-can-build-products-that-improve-financial-health-examples-from-mexico-and-chile/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cómo pueden los proveedores crear productos que mejoren la salud financiera: los ejemplos de México y Chile</a>&#8221; para compartir las lecciones aprendidas de la <a href="https://www.accion.org/accion-and-metlife-foundation-announce-partnership-to-advance-financial-inclusion-in-latin-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asociación entre Accion y MetLife Foundation</a> para desarrollar excelentes e innovadores productos digitales que mejoran la salud financiera de los clientes desatendidos en América Latina. La publicación precede un <a href="https://accion.zoom.us/webinar/register/1016365661691/WN_cPjN_gOaSD61ItF3SeDzlw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evento este el jueves, 2 de diciembre, en el que será presentado el impacto de la asociación.</a></p>
<p>Accion Global Advisory Solutions y MetLife Foundation se asociaron estrechamente con fintechs, cooperativas y proveedores de servicios financieros tradicionales (PSF) en México y Chile durante los últimos tres años y medio. Juntos, utilizando un diseño centrado en el ser humano y principios de economía conductual, trabajaron para ampliar el acceso a las herramientas que los dueños de micro y pequeñas empresas necesitan para hacer frente a las adversidades, formar hábitos financieros saludables y desarrollar las destrezas necesarias para el logro de sus objetivos económicos.</p>
<p>“A medida que las disparidades económicas se profundizan en todo el mundo, se hace cada vez más difícil para las personas de bajos ingresos y financieramente desatendidas, ahorrar, hacer crecer negocios rentables y mantener a sus familias”, dijo Michael Schlein, Presidente y Director Ejecutivo de Accion. “Ahora más que nunca, los nuevos productos y servicios financieros deberían capacitar a los clientes para fortalecer su salud financiera y su resiliencia. El desarrollo de estos productos es beneficioso tanto para proveedores como clientes: logra cambios significativos en la vida de la gente en comunidades de bajos ingresos, generando clientes más leales, más resilientes y más satisfechos &#8220;.</p>
<p>Los estudios de caso que presenta el documento comparten los desafíos, aprendizajes e indicadores preliminares claves de aceptación e impacto de los productos hasta el momento, en los proyectos de la asociación en Chile y México, poniendo de relieve las mejores prácticas sobre cómo diseñar para, e influir en, la salud financiera.</p>
<p>En Chile, la asociación trabajó para lanzar una aplicación de gestión empresarial para microempresas con <a href="https://www.accion.org/this-new-app-is-helping-small-business-owners-build-financial-health-and-resilience" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Organizame y Banigualdad</a>, renovar un portal de salud financiera con <a href="https://www.accion.org/fintech-founders-have-a-formula-for-building-financial-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Destácame</a> e implementar una plataforma de financiamiento colectivo para microempresarios con <a href="https://redcapital.cl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RedCapital</a>. En México, los proyectos incluyeron el trabajo para desarrollar un producto de ahorro para jóvenes con <a href="https://www.accion.org/young-people-in-mexico-need-finance-that-fits-their-lives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caja Popular Cerano</a> y el lanzamiento de un producto de financiamiento de cadenas de suministro con <a href="https://www.ahorrosbienestar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caja Bienestar</a>.</p>
<p>“La colaboración de MetLife Foundation con Accion ha abierto nuevas vías creativas para ayudar a las pequeñas empresas a maximizar los recursos de salud financiera”, comentó Nalleli García, Directora de Sostenibilidad de MetLife Foundation México. “No existe un enfoque único para la inclusión financiera; en cambio, creemos que el enfoque debe centrarse en soluciones innovadoras que se adapten a las necesidades y comportamientos de cada persona. Estamos entusiasmados con los resultados positivos que estos esfuerzos están mostrando en América Latina &#8220;.</p>
<p>Los productos están aún en las primeras etapas de aceptación y crecimiento entre los clientes, pero los resultados preliminares de estos proyectos revelan mejoras significativas y positivas en las dimensiones clave de la salud financiera. Entre los hallazgos iniciales encontramos que para los usuarios:</p>
<ul>
<li>Casi todos los productos redundaron en menor estrés financiero y mayor satisfacción con su situación financiera actual. Entre los usuarios dueños de sus propios negocios, muchos demostraron capacidad de recuperarse a los niveles de ventas previos a la pandemia COVID-19, o superiores, en comparación con los grupos de control que no utilizaron los productos financieros desarrollados a través de este proyecto.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Las herramientas de gestión presupuestaria fáciles de usar llevaron a que más usuarios hicieran seguimiento a sus ingresos y gastos de manera más regular, lo que les hizo sentirse más en control de sus finanzas.</li>
<li>En todos los productos, las personas y las empresas sintieron que tenían niveles de deuda manejables, estaban en mejores condiciones de pagar sus créditos a tiempo y se sentían más cómodos solicitando créditos a proveedores financieros formales.</li>
<li>Quienes utilizaron los productos pudieron ahorrar más y alimentar fondos de emergencia.</li>
<li>Los propietarios de negocios que obtuvieron crédito de capital de trabajo o utilizaron herramientas de gestión empresarial notaron que la liquidez adicional les permitió aprovechar más oportunidades para sus negocios.</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8220;En medio de la enorme incertidumbre financiera provocada por el COVID-19, estos esfuerzos por ayudar a familias y empresas desatendidas a desarrollar comportamientos financieros saludables resultan fundamentales&#8221;, declaró Liza Guzmán, Vicepresidenta y Gerente de Programas, Estrategias de Clientes, de Accion Global Advisory Solutions. “Estos estudios de casos pueden orientar a los proveedores en su trabajo de desarrollo de herramientas más integrales para las personas desatendidas, al incorporar las capacidades y comportamientos financieros de los usuarios y así lograr mejores productos, mayor aceptación y cambios significativos en la vida financiera de los clientes”.</p>
<p>Informaciones adicionales y conclusiones esenciales para los proveedores de servicios financieros se detallan en el documento, disponible aquí.</p>
<p>Las ideas surgidas de la asociación serán discutidas más a fondo en un evento el 2 de diciembre de 2021, a las 9 a.m. EST con líderes de Accion, MetLife Foundation y de los socios de Accion, Caja Bienestar, Caja Cerano, Destácame, Organizame, Fundación Banigualdad y RedCapital. Los interesados pueden <a href="https://accion.zoom.us/webinar/register/1016365661691/WN_cPjN_gOaSD61ItF3SeDzlw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtener más información sobre el evento y registrarse aquí</a>.</p>
<p><strong>###</strong></p>
<h2><strong>Acerca de Acción </strong></h2>
<p>Acción es una organización mundial sin fines de lucro comprometida con la creación de un mundo financieramente inclusivo, con un legado pionero en las microfinanzas y las inversiones de tecnología financiera con impacto social. Impulsamos a proveedores de servicios financieros para que ofrezcan soluciones asequibles y de alta calidad a escala a los 3.000 millones de personas excluidas o subatendidas por el sector financiero. Por 60 años, Acción ha ayudado a decenas de millones de personas mediante su trabajo con más de 170 socios en 55 países. Más información en <a href="https://www.accion.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accion.org</a>.</p>
<h2><strong>Acerca de MetLife Foundation</strong></h2>
<p>En MetLife Foundation, estamos comprometidos a hacer crecer las oportunidades de las personas de ingresos bajos a moderados alrededor del mundo. Apoyamos organizaciones y empresas sociales a fin de crear soluciones de salud financiera y desarrollar comunidades más fuertes. A la vez, motivamos a los colaboradores de MetLife para ayudar a generar un impacto positivo, a través del voluntariado corporativo. Nuestro trabajo a favor de la salud financiera ha alcanzado a más de 17,3 millones de personas de ingresos bajos a moderados en 42 países. Para obtener más información sobre MetLife Foundation, visita <a href="https://www.metlife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">metlife.com</a>.</p>


Press Release

<strong>Washington, DC, Dec. 1, 2021</strong> — Accion, in collaboration with MetLife Foundation, today released the paper “<a href="https://www.accion.org/how-providers-can-build-products-that-improve-financial-health-examples-from-mexico-and-chile" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How providers can build products that improve financial health: Examples from Mexico and Chile</a>” to share lessons learned from <a href="https://www.accion.org/accion-and-metlife-foundation-announce-partnership-to-advance-financial-inclusion-in-latin-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Accion and MetLife Foundation’s partnership</a> to develop new, best-in-class digital products that improve the financial health of underserved customers in Latin America. The paper comes ahead of an <a href="https://accion.zoom.us/webinar/register/1016365661691/WN_cPjN_gOaSD61ItF3SeDzlw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">event on Thursday, Dec. 2</a>, showcasing the partnership’s impact.

Using human-centered design and behavioral economic principles, Accion Global Advisory Solutions and MetLife Foundation partnered closely with fintechs, cooperatives, and traditional financial service providers (FSPs) in Mexico and Chile over the past three and a half years. Together, they worked to expand access to the tools that micro and small business owners need to stay resilient against adversity, form healthy financial habits, and build the skills necessary to achieving their economic goals.

“As economic disparities continue to worsen around the world, it’s increasingly difficult for low-income and financially underserved people to build their savings, grow profitable businesses, and provide for their families,” said Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion. “Now more than ever, new financial products and services should empower customers to build their financial health and resilience. Developing these products is a win-win for both providers and clients: making meaningful change in the lives of low-income communities and creating more loyal, more resilient, and more satisfied clients.”

The case studies in the paper share key challenges, learnings, and preliminary measures of product uptake and impact to date across the partnership’s projects in Chile and Mexico, uncovering best practices on how to design for and influence financial health.

In Chile, the partnership worked to launch a business management application for microbusinesses with <a href="https://www.accion.org/this-new-app-is-helping-small-business-owners-build-financial-health-and-resilience" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Organizame and Banigualdad</a>, revamp a financial health portal with <a href="https://www.accion.org/fintech-founders-have-a-formula-for-building-financial-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Destácame</a>, and deploy a crowd-funding platform for microentrepreneurs with <a href="https://redcapital.cl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RedCapital</a>. In Mexico, projects included work to develop a savings product for youth with <a href="https://www.accion.org/young-people-in-mexico-need-finance-that-fits-their-lives" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Caja Popular Cerano</a>, and to launch a supply chain finance product with <a href="https://www.ahorrosbienestar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Caja Bienestar</a>.

“MetLife Foundation’s collaboration with Accion has opened up creative new avenues to help small businesses maximize financial health resources,” said Nalleli Garcia, Sustainability Director at MetLife Mexico Foundation. “There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to financial inclusion – instead, we believe the focus should be on innovative solutions that adjust to the needs and behaviors of each individual. We’re excited by the positive outcomes that these efforts are showing across Latin America."

The products remain in the early stages of customer uptake and traction, but preliminary results from these projects reveal significant and positive improvements across key dimensions of financial health. Among the initial findings:
<ul>
 	<li>Nearly all products resulted in less financial stress and greater satisfaction with their current financial situation. Among users that own their own business, many demonstrated an ability to bounce back to levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic level of sales or higher when compared with control groups that did not use the financial products developed through this project.</li>
 	<li>Easy-to-use budget management tools led to more users tracking their income and expenses on a more regular basis, therefore making users feel more in control of their finances.</li>
 	<li>Across all products, individuals and businesses felt that they had a manageable level of debt, were better able to pay their credit on time, and were more comfortable taking out credit with a formal financial provider.</li>
 	<li>Individuals using each of the products were able to save more and contribute to emergency funds.</li>
 	<li>Business owners that took out working capital credit or used the business management tools noted that the additional liquidity enabled their business to take advantage of more opportunities.</li>
</ul>
“In the midst of enormous financial uncertainty sparked by COVID-19, these efforts to help underserved families and businesses develop healthy financial behaviors are critical,” said Liza Guzman, Vice President and Program Manager, Customer Strategy, for Accion Global Advisory Solutions. “These case studies can offer guidance to providers as they work to develop more holistic tools for underserved individuals, incorporating users’ financial capabilities and behaviors to inform better products, greater uptake, and meaningful changes in customers’ financial lives.”

Additional insights and crucial takeaways for FSPs are detailed in the paper, available here.

Insights from the partnership will be discussed further at an event on Dec. 2, 2021, at 9 a.m. EST, featuring leaders from Accion, MetLife Foundation, and Accion partners Caja Bienestar, Caja Cerano, Destácame, Organizame &amp; Fundación Banigualdad and RedCapital. Interested parties are welcome to <a href="https://accion.zoom.us/webinar/register/1016365661691/WN_cPjN_gOaSD61ItF3SeDzlw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">learn more about the event and register here</a>.

<strong>###</strong>
<h2><strong>About Accion</strong></h2>
Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of — or poorly served by — the financial sector. For 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 170 partners in 55 countries. More at <a href="http://accion.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">accion.org</a>.
<h2><strong>About MetLife Foundation</strong></h2>
At MetLife Foundation, we are committed to expanding opportunities for low- and moderate-income people around the world. We partner with nonprofit organizations and social enterprises to create financial health solutions and build stronger communities, while engaging MetLife employee volunteers to help drive impact. Our financial health work has reached more than 17.3 million low- and moderate-income individuals in 42 countries. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit <a href="https://www.metlife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">metlife.com</a>.

Accion and MetLife Foundation Release Case Studies to Advance Financial Inclusion in Latin America

<strong>Jakarta, 23 November 2021</strong> – Pintek, an education fintech platform that provides innovative financial services to students, parents, education institutions, and education suppliers, announced today that it has successfully raised a US$7 million Series A round funding via its holding company Socap Holding Pte. Ltd. This brings the total capital raised to more than US$35 million, to continue improving the access to education and livelihoods of unbanked/underbanked MSMEs in Indonesia. With this new funding, Pintek is taking strategic steps to maximize its contribution to the education ecosystem in Indonesia by hiring new talents to accelerate its product development, improve its technology platform, and strengthen its commercial reach.

New investors to the round include Kaizenvest, Heritas Capital, Blue7, and Earlsfield Capital. Existing investors Finch Capital, Global Founder Capital (GFC), Accion Venture Lab, Strive and Fox Ventures are also joining the round.

<strong>Ioann Fainsilber, Socap Holding Pte. Ltd. CEO &amp; Pintek Co-Founder</strong> said “We want to continue to maximize our role in supporting the education sector in Indonesia. Our strong value proposition was validated by increasing our loan origination volume by more than 5-times in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year. Amid Covid-19, we focused on sustaining our capabilities to operate in various effective ways, which includes adapting our product portfolio, launching new solutions for education players, strengthening our capital structure, and expanding our reach throughout Indonesia. We want to be one of the key enablers to accelerate the penetration of education technology and embedded financial services products for inclusive and high-quality education in Indonesia.”

Since inception in 2018, Pintek and its affiliates have supported more than 2,750 education institutions and 100 education MSMEs to reach more than 650,000 students spread across 29 of 34 provinces in Indonesia and provide financial educational content to a community of 1,350,000 unique monthly visitors. Through its value-added technology and financial services, Pintek targets to impact 10 million customers in the ecosystem in the next five years.

<strong>Tommy Yuwono, Pintek Co-Founder and President Director</strong> said “Pintek sees an increasing demand in the education sector and wants to encourage the accessibility of financial services in Indonesia by serving the whole ecosystem. For this reason, we strive to provide solution-based, relevant, and accessible services for all students/parents, teachers, schools, and education supply SMEs.”

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has affected the education infrastructure and severely restricted education access in Indonesia. More than 68 million students had to study from home, and more than 642,000 educational institutions had their operations affected. The poor transition of education institutions to online learning and lack of digitization have become a significant challenge that affects teaching and learning activities, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative players such as Pintek to finance it.

<strong>Gaurav Jain, Principal at Kaizenvest</strong> said, “As an education-focused investment fund, we are very impressed by what Pintek has built in Indonesia within the past three years, combining social impact and innovative financial services for their customers. We are aiming to support the rapid digitalization of Indonesia’s education sector to ensure that high-quality learning opportunities are available to a wider segment of the society in our endeavor to pursue learning for all. We are excited by our collaboration with Pintek as we believe the Company is developing a comprehensive solution that will have a multiplier effect in increasing access to quality for the entire education ecosystem.”

<strong>Charis Goh, Director at Heritas Capital</strong> added, “As a leading early-stage pan Asian impact investment fund, Heritas Capital is pleased to back Pintek in catalysing capital access to the underserved Indonesian education sector by providing solutions not only to students but also schools and suppliers, especially those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pintek’s tech-enabled ecosystem-funding approach enables credit data insight and superior lending decisions thereby driving a virtuous cycle of growth and impact resulting in enhanced access to education in Indonesia.”

“Pintek believes that education gives us the tools to improve our lives. It brings hope to families, surroundings, and drives economic growth.” said <strong>Ioann Fainsilber</strong>. “Through the collaboration, we strive to provide the best financial services for education and its whole ecosystem”.
<p style="text-align: center;">###</p>

<h2>About Pintek</h2>
PT Pinduit Teknologi Indonesia (Pintek) is a financial technology company that provides financial services to students/parents, education institutions, and education suppliers. Licensed and supervised by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) since 2018, Pintek engages in providing access to financial services to the education community in Indonesia. Pintek is also registered with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and is a member of AFPI (The Indonesian Joint Funding Fintech Association).

Pintek is owned by Socap Holding Pte. Ltd., a company that aims to grow ventures that facilitate cooperation and innovation for technology and social impact in the region.

&nbsp;
<h3>Details and information, please contact:</h3>
Fajar Kurniawan

Public Relations, Pintek

+62 857 1459 7924

Fajar.Kurniawan@pintek.id

Pintek Raises $7m Series A to grow its Education Fintech Ecosystem in Indonesia

<em><strong>Washington, DC, November 16, 2021</strong></em> – Global nonprofit Accion announced today that it will award the seventh annual Edward W. Claugus Award to Buhle Goslar, Africa CEO of JUMO, and to Rose Goslinga, CEO of Pula. The award, which is given to exceptional leaders advancing financial inclusion, will be presented at a <a href="https://www.accion.org/honoring-two-women-ceos-creating-inclusive-recovery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">virtual event</a> on Dec. 8, 2021.

“Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to face the most challenging recovery from the global pandemic, and this year we are honored to present the Edward W. Claugus Award to two extraordinary leaders from the region whose work is empowering women, small businesses, and underserved families as they rebuild and adapt,” said Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion. “As Africa CEO of JUMO, Buhle Goslar is working to address the digital gender divide and ensure that women can access and benefit from digital financial services. Under Rose Goslinga’s leadership, Pula has provided agricultural insurance and data-driven insights to more than 5.1 million farmers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, many of them women, to help them increase their crop yields and build resilience to climate change.”

Buhle Goslar is Africa CEO of JUMO, a financial technology company that connects people and small businesses in emerging markets to credit and savings choices in six markets across Africa, and in Pakistan. Since founding in 2015 JUMO has disbursed over 120 million individual loans and is planning to launch in two new African markets in 2022.

Buhle is a certified retail banker, experienced board director, and avid researcher. Over the past two decades, Buhle’s work has covered an array of markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia, in sectors spanning financial services, technology, retail, and tourism. Her research interests include regulation of inclusive, data-driven financial services, gender-responsive financial product design, online entrepreneurship in Africa, financial justice, customer protection, and empowerment. Buhle holds a bachelor’s in marketing from UNISA and an Executive MBA from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. She also completed post-graduate management programs in inclusive finance, digital finance, and social impact at Harvard Business School, Tufts Fletcher School of Law &amp; Diplomacy, and Oxford Saïd Business School, respectively.

Buhle Goslar, Africa CEO for JUMO said: “For me, choosing to do this work has always been about solving the issue of unequal access to finance. The size of the challenge, the fact that we have the potential to rethink business models, to rethink capital, to rethink product — it’s incredibly exciting. I’m honored to receive this award and will continue to work towards creating a more prosperous future for financially excluded communities.”

Rose Goslinga is the CEO of Pula, a company that is radically restructuring agricultural insurance. Pula uses technology to scale climate insurance to smallholder farmers in 25 markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since its founding in 2015, the company has provided crop and livestock insurance cover to 5.1 million smallholder farmers through partnerships with governments, input providers, and credit lenders.

Rose has worked in agriculture and insurance for the last eight years. She is a fellow through Poptech’s Rainer Arnhold Fellow and Social Innovation Fellow programs, as well as a TED speaker. Rose’s work in agriculture insurance has been recognized through several international awards, including the Financial Times/IFC Award for Sustainable Finance, InsureTech 3.0, and the Singapore Fintech Festival. Rose holds a master’s in political economy of development from the University of London, where she graduated with first-class honors, and a bachelor’s in business and economics.

“It is truly an honor to be receiving this award and having our work at Pula seeking to serve previously uninsured rural smallholder farmers recognized,” Rose said. “This award is a testament to the significant role that agricultural insurance plays in the future of inclusive financial service offerings to smallholder farmers — by not only improving their access to agricultural inputs and funding, but also protecting rural household income and tackling poverty, thus transforming nations and empowering farmers worldwide to be food secure and climate resilient."

The Claugus Award is named in honor of Accion benefactor Edward Claugus, a skilled investor who was passionate about social change. Accion presents an annual award in his name to honorees who have shown exceptional work and innovation in financial inclusion. This year, the award will be presented virtually at an event on Dec. 8, 2021. Interested parties can learn more and register <a href="https://accion.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2YTCrfxTQ4uBMzF2r1yqDQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>. <strong> </strong>
<h2>About Accion</h2>
Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of — or poorly served by — the financial sector. For 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 170 partners in 55 countries. More at <a href="http://www.accion.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">accion.org</a>.

Buhle Goslar and Rose Goslinga to Receive Accion’s Edward W. Claugus Award for Leadership and Innovation in Financial Inclusion

The fundraise of $1 million will be utilized to help lenders extend working capital to underserved micro-organisations based on their transactional data by leveraging AI

<strong><em>Washington, DC, October 27, 2021:</em></strong> Cashinvoice, one of India’s fastest-growing supply chain financing (SCF) platform, announced today that it has raised Pre-Series A funding of $1 million from Accion Venture Lab. The company provides customized supply chain financing (SCF) solutions to the buyers and suppliers of mid and large corporates through its digital marketplace for invoice discounting. The platform integrates with corporates to access validated invoices, dynamically price discounts on the invoices based on its risk assessment algorithms and enables lenders on the platform to digitally process loans against invoices. Since launch in September 2019, the company has disbursed over 10 lakh invoices amounting to over INR 4,000 crores and has over 3,500 MSMEs on the platform. The pre-series A funding by Accion Venture Lab comes at a strategic period as the platform gears up to facilitate over INR 10,000 crores worth of financing for MSMEs in the year ahead.

<strong>Arun Poojari, co-founder and CEO of Cashinvoice</strong>, said: “We are thrilled to be associated with Accion Venture Lab. Accion is well respected across the globe for its impact investing led practices and objectives. This new funding round will help us develop our key services of early payments to suppliers, purchase order financing, buyer financing and retailer financing. We are glad to be a part of this revolutionary moment where new age fintechs like ours are redefining the rules of lending by using alternate transactional data to efficiently originate, assess and monitor borrowers, thus bridging the trust deficit between SMEs and lenders.”

“Millions of MSMEs across India are struggling to recover from the effects of the pandemic, and they need customized financing options in order to adapt and build resilience,” said <strong>Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion</strong>. “By applying innovative new credit-assessment strategies to expand access to financing for MSMEs, Cashinvoice is creating an inclusive financial system and ensuring that microentrepreneurs can continue serving their communities.”

<strong>Amee Parbhoo, Managing Director of Accion Venture Lab</strong>, said, “We see great potential in Cashinvoice, as they are a unified platform for all SCF needs, backed with cutting-edge advanced technology. Unlocking working capital within supply chains is the need of the hour, as it not only helps with effective cash flow management in corporates, but also caters to the large number of underserved micro-enterprises who need formal sources of lending.”

Cashinvoice’s model incentivizes buyers by giving them discounts to pay their suppliers early thereby unlocking capital which is trapped in the form of credit period within supply chains. Thus, the model creates a win-win scenario by addressing the working capital needs of MSME suppliers and reducing procurement cost for buyers. The company aims to bridge the USD 400 billion credit gap within the MSME segment through cost effective and hassle-free access to supply chain financing.

<strong>Shrinivas Kasar, co-founder and COO of Cashinvoice</strong>, said, “Despite India’s GDP being majorly dependent on the health of the MSME ecosystem, the current gap in financial inclusivity for micro-organizations. Technology has always been the core at Cashinvoice, where we have developed AI tools to analyze trade ledger data along with alternate data points in order to evaluate a borrower’s credit worthiness, even if they lack a formal credit history.”

&nbsp;
<h4><strong>About Cashinvoice</strong></h4>
Cashinvoice is a digital supply chain finance marketplace that offers dynamic invoice discounting to some of India’s leading corporates. The supply chain financing platform enables comprehensive payable and receivable

management solutions that digitize the way businesses pay and get paid. Launched in 2018, Cashinvoice optimises working cash flows efficiently through digitalisation of invoices and leveraging supply chain finance to incentivize payables and receivables. For more information, visit <a href="https://cashinvoice.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://cashinvoice.in/</a>

&nbsp;
<h4><strong>About Accion Venture Lab</strong></h4>
Accion’s seed-stage investment initiative Accion Venture Lab provides capital and extensive support to innovative fintech startups that improve the reach, quality, and affordability of financial services for the underserved and have the potential to scale. Backed by commercial and impact investors since the launch of its third-party fund in 2019, Accion Venture Lab has invested in more than 55 early-stage startups that operate in 30 countries worldwide. Accion Venture Lab is a part of Accion, a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. Accion catalyzes financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of – or poorly served by – the financial sector. For 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 170 partners in 55 countries. For further information, visit <a href="https://www.accion.org/venturelab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.accion.org/venturelab</a>.

Cashinvoice sets a new MSME financing disbursal target of Rs. 10,000 cr after raising funds from Accion Venture Lab

News

Konfio, an Accion Venture Lab and Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, managed by Quona Capital, portfolio company, announced that it has raised US $235 million in Series E funding. The round, led by Lightrock, Tarsadia Capital, and QED Investors, which also featured participation from Softbank, brought Konfio’s valuation to US $1.3 billion. In <a title="https://impactalpha.com/softbank-funding-helps-make-konfio-and-andela-emerging-market-impact-unicorns/" href="https://impactalpha.com/softbank-funding-helps-make-konfio-and-andela-emerging-market-impact-unicorns/">this ImpactAlpha article</a>, Accion Venture Lab and Quona Capital are mentioned as early backers of Konfio.

Softbank funding helps make Konfio and Andela emerging market impact unicorns

Michael Schlein

Accion’s Michael Schlein spoke on a panel at the Concordia Summit alongside Beth Hurvitz, Visa’s SVP Global Head of Social Impact; James Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest; and Yahoo Finance anchor Julie Hyman. The panel, “Digital Equity to Ensure a Sustainable Economic Recovery,” covered the importance of digital financial services in supporting small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read a summary of the panel <a title="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/key-to-economic-equity-is-digital-equity-among-businesses-121524852.html" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/key-to-economic-equity-is-digital-equity-among-businesses-121524852.html">here</a>, and watch the full session <a title="https://finance.yahoo.com/video/concordia-2021-annual-summit-promoting-204653393.html" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/video/concordia-2021-annual-summit-promoting-204653393.html">here</a>.

Key to economic equity is 'digital equity' among businesses

Accion Venture Lab portfolio company CredRight announced that it has raised US $2.7 million in funding from 9Unicorns, Spearhead Capital, and Venture Catalysts. Existing investors Accion Venture Lab and YourNest also participated in the round.

<a href="https://www.vccircle.com/sme-focused-credright-raises-2-7-mn-from-9unicorns-venture-catalyst-others">Read more about Accion Venture Lab’s follow-on investment in VCCircle.</a>

[Funding alert] Fintech startup CredRight raises $2.7M from 9Unicorns, Spearhead Capital, Venture Catalysts, and existing investors

Paolo Limcaoco

Accion Venture Lab’s Paolo Limcaoco was quoted in this piece on how the investment climate in Southeast Asia, and how the pandemic has changed Venture Lab’s due diligence process. Read the full article, which includes insights from several active investors in Southeast Asia, <a title="https://e27.co/gearing-up-for-the-new-normal-what-do-vcs-want-and-how-can-startups-ace-their-funding-applications-20210921/" href="https://e27.co/gearing-up-for-the-new-normal-what-do-vcs-want-and-how-can-startups-ace-their-funding-applications-20210921/">here</a>.

Gearing up for the new normal: What do VCs want and how can startups ace their funding applications

The CEOs of Accion Venture Lab portfolio company Lami and Accion Venture Lab Company Builder participant Bankly were featured on <a title="https://qz.com/africa/2062305/meet-the-female-entrepreneurs-leading-innovation-in-africa/" href="https://qz.com/africa/2062305/meet-the-female-entrepreneurs-leading-innovation-in-africa/">Quartz’s “Africa Innovators 2021” list</a>. The list highlights 27 female startup founders who are innovating to address social challenges on the continent.

Quartz Africa Innovators 2021 List: Female Innovators Lead the Way

Accion Venture Lab portfolio company Self announced that it has raised US $50 million in Series E funding. Altos Ventures led the round, which also included participation from Meritech Capital and Conductive Ventures.

<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/16/self-financial-raises-50m-to-help-the-subprime-consumer-build-credit-and-savings-at-the-same-time/">Read more about Self’s Series E round in TechCrunch.</a>

Self Financial raises $50M to help the subprime consumer build credit and savings at the same time

Accion Venture Lab portfolio company Capiter announced that it has raised US $33 million in a Series A round led by Quona Capital and MSA Capital. Accion Venture Lab also participated in the round. Capiter will use the new funding to expand its platform across the Middle East and North Africa.

<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/13/egyptian-startup-capiter-raises-33m-to-expand-b2b-e-commerce-platform-across-mena/">Read more about Accion Venture Lab’s investment in Capiter in TechCrunch.</a>

Egyptian startup Capiter raises $33M to expand B2B e-commerce platform across MENA

Following El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, Accion’s Michael Schlein shared his skepticism that cryptocurrency can benefit financial inclusion:

“If I told you I’m now going to pay your salary in bitcoin, you’d have a lot of questions,” said Michael Schlein, chief executive of Accion, a non-profit that invests in tech for financial inclusion. “The notion of poor people keeping savings in crypto is absurd. It’s wildly volatile and you’re talking about the most vulnerable people in the world.”

Read the full article <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b4925984-821c-45ef-91db-dadc1e30d1e2?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/website/Channel_muckrack//B2B">here</a>.

El Salvador’s bet on bitcoin adds to investors’ political jitters

Amee Parbhoo

This interview with Accion Venture Lab’s Amee Parbhoo shares her views on investment trends and opportunities in emerging markets, such as embedded finance:

“I think the buzzword for fintech over the last year has been <em>embedded finance</em>. It’s so much broader than just a trend. The way we think about embedded finance is it really touches the ways financial services are provided to customers. And it cuts across trends in lending, insurance, savings, and investments. It creates opportunities for companies that are not financial institutions to provide financial offerings. But it also provides a customer who doesn’t have access through traditional means a way to more seamlessly access financial services. So we’re excited about companies like Kenya’s Lami, an embedded insurance provider in which we recently <a href="https://www.accion.org/lami-technologies-closes-1-8-million-seed-funding-to-accelerate-growth-of-digital-insurance-in-africa">invested</a> and Field Intelligence, a healthcare supply chain platform we <a href="https://www.accion.org/investors-back-field-intelligence-on-transforming-healthcare-supply-chain">backed</a> in Nigeria and Kenya.”

Read the full interview <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/3-minutes-with-amee-parhboo/">here</a>.

3 minutes with Amee Parbhoo

Mayada  El-Zoghbi

The Center for Financial Inclusion’s Mayada El-Zoghbi<b> </b>is quoted multiple times in this piece on remittances, their importance in emerging economies, and how technology companies are making them more accessible for low-income populations. You can read the full piece <a title="https://www.ft.com/content/1f11b38b-54d6-451c-ba4b-48843efa329d?desktop=true&amp;segmentId=d8d3e364-5197-20eb-17cf-2437841d178a#myft:notification:instant-email:content" href="https://www.ft.com/content/1f11b38b-54d6-451c-ba4b-48843efa329d?desktop=true&amp;segmentId=d8d3e364-5197-20eb-17cf-2437841d178a#myft:notification:instant-email:content">here</a>.

Lex in depth — remittance fintechs herald a payments revolution

A century after the Tulsa Race Massacre, Accion Opportunity Fund’s Luz Urrutia shares how the public and private sectors can better support Black-owned businesses in the US, which have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2021/08/04/100-years-after-tulsa-finance-industry-must-commit-to-building-new-black-wall-streets/?sh=47814a5c39d1">Read her column in Forbes.</a>

100 Years After Tulsa, Finance Industry Must Commit To Building New Black Wall Streets

Latest news

We honored two pioneering leaders with the 2021 Claugus Award

Event

Even as many nations start on a path to recovery from the pandemic, sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is expected to have the slowest growth rate among the world regions. This unequal recovery process makes life even more challenging for low-income people and small business owners. Extraordinary leaders are rising to meet the challenge by helping vulnerable people access the financial resources they need to stay in business and build resilient futures.

Please join Michael Schlein, Accion President and CEO, and Diana Taylor, Accion Board Chair, <a href="https://accion.zoom.us/webinar/register/3816360562958/WN_2YTCrfxTQ4uBMzF2r1yqDQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for a virtual event to honor two innovative leaders</a> with the 2021 Claugus Award.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-24983" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Event-Graphic-with-Headshots-2x-Claugus-2021@2x-300x157.png" alt="2021 Claugus Awards visual with headshots" width="741" height="388" />

&nbsp;

Please join us in honoring our 2021 Claugus Award winners:
<h2><span class="speaker-name">Buhle Goslar</span></h2>
<span class="speaker-title">Buhle Goslar is the CEO of the Africa Region and Pakistan</span> at <span class="speaker-org">JUMO. </span><span class="speaker-comment">She is a technology operating executive with deep expertise in inclusive finance. Over the past two decades, her work has covered an array of markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia, in sectors spanning; financial services, technology, retail, and tourism. Buhle is a certified retail banker, experienced board director, and an avid researcher. Her research interests include; regulation of inclusive data-driven financial services, gender-responsive financial product design, online entrepreneurship in Africa, financial justice, customer protection, and empowerment. Buhle holds a BCom Marketing Degree from UNISA and an Executive MBA from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. She has also completed post-graduate management programmes in Inclusive Finance, Digital Finance, and Social Impact at Harvard Business School, TUFTS Fletcher School of Law &amp; Diplomacy, and Oxford Saïd Business School, respectively.</span>
<h2><span class="speaker-name">Rose Goslinga</span></h2>
<div><span class="speaker-comment">Rose Goslinga is the CEO of Pula, a company that is radically restructuring agricultural insurance. Pula uses technology to scale climate insurance to smallholder farmers in emerging markets and works in 12 markets across Africa and Asia. Since its founding in 2015, the company has provided crop and livestock insurance cover to 4.5 million smallholder farmers through partnerships with governments, input providers, and credit lenders. Rose Goslinga holds an MSc in Political Economy of Development from the University of London where she graduated with first-class honours and a BSc in Business and Economics. Rose has worked in Agriculture and insurance for the last 8 years. She has extensive experience in agriculture and agriculture insurance; deep knowledge of and ability to work with the public sector, non-profit/social enterprises, and commercial sectors. She is an energetic social entrepreneur that thrives in fast-paced environments where innovation is key.</span></div>
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