Shannon Dwyer

Priya Punatar

Latin America and The Caribbean

Kenya

Sub-Saharan Africa

North America

United States

India

South Asia

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Mexico

Nigeria

Access Usage Gap

Challenges and Crises

Credit

Delivery Channels

Digital Financial Services

Education Finance

Enabling Environment

Financial Service Providers

Financial Technology

Fintechs

Human Centered Design

Underserved Groups

Youth

Consumer Protection

Financial Inclusion Strategy

Insurance

Insurance Companies

Responsible Digital Finance

Women

Entrepreneurs of MSMEs

MSME/SME Finance

Payments

Impact Investing

Partnerships

Responsible Investing

Social Impact Metrics

Trends

Advisory Services

Customer Centricity

Financial Capability

Financial Health

Personal Financial Management

Product Pricing

Resilience

Podcast

Article

S&amp;P Global Foundation

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In Latin America, a lack of access to high-quality education contributes to significant inequality. Host </span><a href="https://www.accion.org/bio/amee-parbhoo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amee Parbhoo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> talks with </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/luzborchardt/?originalSubdomain=ar" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Luz Borchardt</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Co-Founder and VP of Marketing for </span><a href="https://www.soyhenry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Henry</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, to discuss how Henry is creating opportunity by expanding access to high-quality technical education through virtual software development courses with no upfront fee. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Luz has always been passionate about building a better world. After starting her career in tech, she recognized there were many tech jobs available, but not enough local talent in Latin America to fill these roles. To confront this talent shortage, she founded Henry, a remote coding school with a unique and affordable tuition model. Luz discusses the barriers that prevent students from entering the tech industry, how access to high-quality education creates a more equal world in Latin America, how Henry is able to provide education with no upfront fees by utilizing market-inclusive income share agreements (ISAs), and overall, how this improves the long-term earning potential of Henry’s students. Lastly, Luz gives advice to women founders who want to begin their entrepreneurial journey in tech spaces. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">To learn more about Venture Lab, visit our </span><a href="https://www.accion.org/how-we-work/invest/accion-venture-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">website</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and follow us on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/accionvlab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span>

<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/P1Yt3TPY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen here</a>.

&nbsp;

<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-25951" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Accion-Quote-Card-Borchardt-final-1024x576.png" alt="Accion Quote Card - Borchardt (final)" width="1024" height="576" />

&nbsp;

Creating a More Equal World through Technology Training (Luz Borchardt, Henry)

The majority of Kenyans have mobile money accounts; their activity demonstrates digital financial services’ potential. Accion helps Kenyan innovators harness emerging technologies to create new financial services.

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In Africa, there are many insurance providers, but less than 3% of people have an insurance safety net. Lami is bridging this gap. </span><a href="https://www.accion.org/bio/amee-parbhoo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amee Parbhoo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> talks with </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jihan-abass-09b609125/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jihan Abass</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Founder and CEO of </span><a href="https://www.lami.world/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lami</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a Kenya-based insurance platform that enables businesses to develop and sell insurance tailored to improve the lives of their customers. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Jihan shares how she moved from her career in fine arts to entrepreneurship in insurance, and how lack of infrastructure to facilitate easy distribution of insurance products inspired her to start Lami. She explains how Lami works to fix the broken insurance system, how they work with platform partners to help customers trust and understand insurance products, her vision for insurance technology and digitization, and why working with platform partners helps them better serve the insurance market. Lastly, Jihan and Amee discuss the need for quality mentorship to help bridge the gap for women founders going into fintech.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">To learn more about Venture Lab, visit our </span><a href="https://www.accion.org/how-we-work/invest/accion-venture-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">website</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and follow us on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/accionvlab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span>

<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/Gl4-deK7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen here</a>.

&nbsp;

<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-25928" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Accion-Quote-Card-Jihan-updated-1024x576.png" alt="Accion Quote Card - Jihan" width="1024" height="576" />

Improving Lives with Digital Insurance (Jihan Abass, Lami)

Food trucks are the most diverse and fast-growing segment of the restaurant industry today. But technology gaps often restrict food truck owners in their operations. Host <a href="https://www.accion.org/bio/amee-parbhoo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Amee Parbhoo</a> talks with Sofie Abdulrazaaq, CEO and Co-Founder of <a href="https://www.goodfynd.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">Goodfynd</a>, a vertical payments company that targets the underserved sector of food trucks in the US.
<p class="x_MsoNormal">Sofie's background as a first-generation American, experience in technology and bank law, and overall love of food trucks inspired her passion to help make food truck owners more visible and profitable. Sofie explains the pain points experienced by food truck owners, how Goodfynd bridges the technology gap through end-to-end payment solutions and an online marketplace, the importance of mobile-based platforms that tap into payment and operations systems on-the-go, and how Goodfynd envisions its future in the restaurant software industry. Lastly, Sofie shares how Goodfynd attracts and retains the best talent in a competitive market, how investors should treat women, particularly women of color, founders, and gives advice for founders on choosing the right investors.</p>
<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/2Bwbx4CK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen here</a>.

&nbsp;

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25895 size-large" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Image-from-iOS-1024x575.png" alt="Sufie quote" width="1024" height="575" />

Boosting Visibility and Profit for Food Trucks (Sofie Abdulrazaaq, Goodfynd)

India is a global leader in financial inclusion. For over a decade, Accion has worked with and learned from India’s innovators, investors, and policymakers to expand economic opportunity for its people and businesses.

Educational institutions in India often lack the money management tools to digitize and streamline their banking and finance functions so that they can focus on providing high-quality education in their communities. This is where the idea for Anthem was born. Host <a href="https://www.accion.org/bio/amee-parbhoo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="3">Amee Parbhoo</a> talks with Pavee Ramanisankar, co-founder and COO of <a href="https://www.getanthem.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="4">Anthem</a>, an education-focused fintech company that provides a digital money management platform and financial services to educational institutions and students in India.

Pavee’s experience working in educational institutions showed her that the lack of formal financial services for stakeholders in education wore on the education ecosystem. Pavee shares how Anthem allows educational institutions to digitize finances, administration, and operation through an affordable SaaS platform. Then Pavee explains the impact of COVID-19 on education and Anthem’s customers, how the pandemic opened the door for digitization, and how Anthem uses SaaS data to go beyond identifying problems but offering solutions that work. Lastly, Pavee shares about the differences in culture of a fintech company versus an educational institution, and gives advice to women entrepreneurs emerging into the fintech world.

<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/Nza5zmqI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen here</a>.

&nbsp;

<img class="size-large wp-image-25862 aligncenter" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Accion-Quote-Card-Pavee-alternative-quote-3-1024x576.png" alt="Accion Quote Card - Pavee" width="1024" height="576" />

Building Fintech for the Education Ecosystem (Pavee Ramanisankar, Anthem)

Finding affordable, convenient, and seamless access to working capital is challenging for small businesses in Brazil. One company is closing this gap. Host <a href="https://www.accion.org/bio/amee-parbhoo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">Amee Parbhoo</a> talks with Suzy Ferriera, Founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.dinie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">Dinie</a>, which enables digital platforms to offer instant and convenient financing solutions to the country’s small businesses.

Suzy shares how her upbringing in Brazil influenced her perspective on entrepreneurship and sparked new ideas on how to use capital to make a big impact on the world. Then, Suzy explains how Dinie solely focuses on the customer, repositioning the bargaining power from banks to small businesses, what advantages exist for customers through embedded finance, the need for effective B2B partnerships, and how extreme transparency and boldness influence Dinie’s day-to-day practices. Lastly, Suzy shares her advice for making venture capital more inclusive of women fintech founders.

<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/OQtR6awD" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen here</a>.

&nbsp;

<img class="wp-image-25846 size-large aligncenter" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Accion-Quote-Card-Ferreira-1024x576.png" alt="Suzy Ferreira quote" width="1024" height="576" />

Embedded finance for Small Businesses (Suzy Ferriera, Dinie)

Fintech has the power to build a more inclusive world. Fintech for the People is about the innovators who are developing fintech solutions that reach the people who’ve been left behind. In each episode, we’ll hear from innovators who are creating financial solutions that bring every person the financial tools they need to grow their business, support their family, and build their community. Together, we’ll learn how fintech looks different in spaces and places where basic financial services are a luxury — and how solutions to address these challenges require a different level of creativity, empathy, and execution.

For season 1, we’ll be showcasing five of our newest portfolio companies, all of which are successfully tackling some of financial services’ most pressing challenges. They also happen to be led by women, a group that has seen a huge gap in funding and opportunity.

Fintech for the People is an Accion podcast hosted by Amee Parbhoo, Managing Partner of Accion Venture Lab — an early-stage investor in inclusive fintech startups. Learn more about Accion Venture Lab here. Episodes will be released in seasons, on a weekly schedule.

You can listen to our introduction below or find Fintech for the People on your preferred podcasting app.

Introducing Fintech for the People

In the past 18 months, women have been disproportionately impacted by the many challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, including limited access to venture funding. The already significant disparity in global venture capital flowing to women-founded companies became starker during the pandemic, dropping from 13 percent of total venture dollars in 2019 down to 11 percent in 2020, according to <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/global-vc-funding-to-female-founders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Crunchbase’s latest data</a>. While many different factors impact these numbers, we believe the solution is clear: we need to fund and support more women founders.

Helping to close these gaps is a strategic priority for our team at Accion Venture Lab. As a women-led fund with a majority women team, we’re focusing our efforts on both the leadership and workforce level of our <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_to_begin_considering_a_gender_lens_investing_strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gender lens investing strategy</a>. As one of the first externally facing initiatives of this strategy, Accion Venture Lab hosted four workshops targeting early-stage women fintech founders across Latin America, Africa, and India. Our goals for these workshops were fourfold:
<ol>
 	<li>Connect the founders to high-quality venture investors in our network.</li>
 	<li>Foster community between the founders by creating a space for peer learning.</li>
 	<li>Provide direct feedback and guidance to founders to help them more effectively communicate about their company and adjust their diligence process for our remote reality.</li>
 	<li>Identify how we and the broader VC industry can better support women founders by hearing firsthand from founders about the barriers they face.</li>
</ol>
Many women founders who participated reinforced one core discovery of research into the funding gap: there is no shortage of capable women building and leading early-stage companies. We’re pleased to highlight them below and cover some of the ways we, as investors, can begin to break down the systemic barriers perpetuating the funding gap. To accomplish this, we must take intentional steps to diversify our investment opportunities and prioritize funding and supporting women founders.
<h2>Four ways to diversify your pipeline and fund more women founders</h2>
Through our work with early-stage startups, we’ve learned about the persistent barriers that women founders face. As we heard about these challenges directly from the founders participating in our workshops, we were reminded of the work that still needs to be done, and how investors like us must reflect on the ways that our own practices can be improved to create more equitable opportunities for women founders. These conversations reinforced the need to:
<ol>
 	<li><strong><em>Expand your sourcing network (and diversify your team) to identify more women founders</em></strong> – When investors rely on their established networks and relationships to search for new talent, their pipeline and portfolio will continue to look as they always have. To change the status quo, ensure you’re hiring diverse talent — at all levels — to broaden your funds’ network and drive more equitable screening processes. By intentionally building relationships with the ever-growing list of awesome women-focused funds, accelerators, and entrepreneurship hubs, you can expand your pipeline.</li>
 	<li><strong><em>Clearly state your investment focus and criteria</em></strong> – The venture ecosystem can be difficult to learn and navigate, especially for first-time founders. Many founders we spoke to felt they lost valuable time networking with and pitching to investors who weren’t a fit for their company. A simple fix such as clearly stating your investment focus, stage, and traction requirements on your website can go a long way toward helping newcomers navigate the investment ecosystem. More transparency may even incentivize founders who could be a great fit but are outside of your network to reach out.</li>
 	<li><strong><em>Check your own conscious and unconscious biases</em></strong> – Many of us have read articles that prove investors ask men and women founders <a href="https://www.inc.com/kimberly-weisul/how-women-can-do-better-at-pitch-competitions-question-answer.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">different questions</a> or <a href="https://www.docsend.com/blog/the-early-stage-funding-divide-between-all-men-and-all-women-founding-teams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">engage differently</a> with their pitch decks, but how many of us have stopped to consider and identify these patterns in our own methods? Pay attention to what you’re asking different founders and consider standardizing your diligence questions and processes. Write down key questions before a pitch call to give yourself a chance to catch potential biases before they impact your decision-making and lead to a missed opportunity.<strong><em> </em></strong></li>
 	<li><strong><em>Commit to keeping these founders in the ecosystem</em></strong> – Women founders have <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-acquisition/women-less-likely-to-have-strong-networks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smaller networks</a> to tap into for investor introductions than their male counterparts. And, as discussed above, they face biases when they finally schedule those meetings. If a company is not a fit for your fund, take the extra minute to forward the deck along to investors who may be interested. By facilitating warm introductions to potential investors, we can help more women succeed in their fundraising efforts.</li>
</ol>
As we strive to create a more inclusive investment environment, these simple shifts can help our industry open more well-deserved opportunities for women in fintech, including the many women founders we’ve met from all over the world.
<h2>Meet the founders</h2>
In our efforts to reach more women, we’ve engaged 38 women founders from 11 countries across 18 hours of workshops so far. We facilitated 114 one-on-one investor pitches and connected with dozens of other investors, accelerators, and founders to identify and invite promising founders to join the sessions.

We’re pleased to highlight them here:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-24651" src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/women-founders-map.png" alt="women fintech founders map" width="1000" height="563" />
<table width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="50%">
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>1. Brazil</strong></span></h4>
Rafaela Cavalcanti, <a href="https://cloq.app/">CloQ</a>
Andrea Burattini, <a href="https://www.dinie.com/">Dinie</a>
Suzy Ferreira, <a href="https://www.dinie.com/">Dinie</a>
Rebecca Fischer, <a href="https://divibank.co/pt/">Divibank</a>
Tatiana Pomar, <a href="https://hisofi.com/">hiSofi</a> <em>*also operating in Uruguay</em>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>2. Colombia </strong></span></h4>
Victoria Blanco Alegría, <a href="https://abacolatam.com/#/">ábaco</a>
Sandra Rubio, <a href="https://www.imix.com.co/">Imix</a>
Mercedes Bidart, <a href="https://quipumarket.com/">Quipu Market</a>
Viviana Siless, <a href="https://quipumarket.com/">Quipu Market</a>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3. Ghana</strong></span></h4>
Meghan McCormick, <a href="https://www.oze.guru/">OZÉ</a>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>4. India</strong></span></h4>
Shweta Aprameya, <a href="https://arthdigital.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ARTH</a>
Niharika Bhargava, <a href="https://confirmu.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ConfirmU</a>
Shivani Sharma, <a href="https://credochain.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Credochain</a>
Maria Mateo, <a href="https://ibisa.network/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IBISA</a>
Annette Houtekamer, <a href="https://ibisa.network/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IBISA</a>
Sucharita Reddy, <a href="https://www.meracashier.com/">Mera Cashier</a>
Archana Elapavuluri, <a href="https://pickright.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pickright Technologies</a>
Mayurika Agrawal, <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/company/pinkcapital" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pink Capital</a>
Aruna Sampige, <a href="https://shecommerz.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SheCommerz</a>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;
<h4></h4>
</td>
<td width="50%">
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>5. Kenya</strong></span></h4>
Annabel Angwenyi, <a href="https://kaziapp.co.ke/">Kazi</a>
Radhika Bhachu, <a href="https://ndovu.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ndovu</a>
Emilie Blauwhoff, <a href="https://www.kibandatopup.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kibanda TopUp</a>
Delila Kidanu, <a href="https://www.withkoa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Koa Technology</a>
Cynthia Wandia, <a href="https://kwara.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kwara</a>
Judith Imamai, <a href="https://salohub.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SaloHub</a>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>6. Mexico</strong></span></h4>
Emma Sánchez Andrade Smith, <a href="https://jefa.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jefa</a>
Gabriela Piccone, <a href="https://slightpay.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SlightPay</a>
Karen Martínez, <a href="https://slightpay.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SlightPay</a>
Eva Sander, <a href="https://zenda.la/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Zenda.la</a>
Jessica Eting, <a href="http://flourishsavings.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flourish Savings</a><em>*also operating in Brazil and the US</em>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>7. Morocco</strong></span></h4>
Sophia Alj, <a href="https://chari.ma/">Chari.co</a>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>8. Nigeria</strong></span></h4>
Keturah Ovio, <a href="http://limestart.co/">Limestart</a>
Ruth Iselema, <a href="https://bitmama.io/">Bitmama</a>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>9. Peru</strong></span></h4>
Cynthia Villar, <a href="http://mibolsillo.pe/en/">MiBolsillo</a>
<h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>10. South Africa</strong></span></h4>
Nicky Swartz, <a href="https://www.spoonmoney.com/">Spoon Money</a>
Lorna McLaren, <a href="https://www.spoonmoney.com/">Spoon Money</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The diversity and inclusivity of the venture ecosystem will not change unless we put in the effort to make it happen. It’s about time we invest in women founders with our time, our resources, and most importantly, our capital. <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_to_begin_considering_a_gender_lens_investing_strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">There is no one-size-fits-all approach to gender lens investing</a>, and we believe efforts must be made across multiple levels — from the founder level to fund leadership — to create change. Accion Venture Lab is thankful for the support of the S&amp;P Global Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation in our work to reach more women fintech founders. We’d also like to thank each of the participating investors who dedicated their time to meeting and coaching these impressive founders:
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.aavishkaar.in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aavishkar</a>, <a href="https://acuityvc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Acuity Ventures</a>, <a href="https://www.addem-capital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Addem Capital</a>, <a href="https://adobecapital.org/en/home-en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adobe Capital</a>, <a href="http://www.thealitheia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alitheia Capital</a>, <a href="https://www.allvp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ALLVP</a>, <a href="https://www.angelventures.vc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Angel Ventures</a>, <a href="https://ashaimpact.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Asha Impact</a>, <a href="https://bfaglobal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BFA Global</a>, <a href="https://blume.vc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Blume Ventures</a>, <a href="https://en.brixtonventures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brixton Ventures Lab</a>, <a href="https://capitallab.com.br/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Capital Lab Ventures</a>, <a href="https://thechrysaliscapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chrysalis Capital</a>, <a href="https://endiya.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Endiya Partners</a>, <a href="https://flourishventures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flourish Ventures</a>, <a href="https://future.africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Future Africa</a>, <a href="https://www.globalfounderscapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Founders Capital</a>, <a href="https://greenhouse.capital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GreenHouse Capital</a>, <a href="https://jaguarvc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jaguar Ventures</a>, <a href="https://kae-capital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kae Capital</a>, <a href="https://www.lightrock.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lightrock</a>, <a href="https://magmapartners.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Magma Partners</a>, <a href="https://www.microtraction.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Microtraction</a>, <a href="https://nxtp.vc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NXTP Ventures</a>, <a href="https://primevp.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Venture Partners</a>, <a href="https://www.qedinvestors.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">QED Investors</a>, <a href="https://quona.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Quona Capital</a>, <a href="https://www.startupbootcamp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Startup Bootcamp</a>, <a href="http://www.unicornivc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Unicorn India Ventures</a>, <a href="https://www.vestedworld.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">VestedWorld</a>, <a href="https://en.voxcapital.com.br/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vox Capital</a></p>
<em>Are you an early-stage fintech founder reaching previously underserved people and small businesses? </em><a href="mailto:accionventurelab@accion.org"><em>We’d love to hear from you</em></a><em>. And </em><a href="https://twitter.com/AccionVLab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>keep an eye out</em></a><em> for more women founder workshops coming to new geographies in 2021!</em>

How to diversify your investment opportunities and fund more women founders

Most of Mexico’s people lack access to a formal bank account. Accion has worked in Mexico for decades to create a thriving and competitive financial sector that embraces innovation and protects its clients.

Though Nigeria’s government has set ambitious goals for financial inclusion, the majority of its people lack a formal bank account. Accion has worked in the country since 2007 to expand access to financial services.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around the world are in a precarious financial position. After over a year of struggling through COVID-19's economic crisis, many small business owners still can’t make ends meet. They’re facing decreased sales, overwhelming debt, and depleted savings. <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/cautious-optimism-msmes-are-rebounding-from-the-impacts-of-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Though we’re seeing signs of an upward trajectory</a> after the initial economic devastation caused by the pandemic — businesses have opened, profit levels are starting to stabilize, and hiring has started up again — many MSMEs remain in a fragile place. These microentrepreneurs need support to keep their businesses running in today’s more digital world.

[caption id="attachment_23942" align="alignright" width="316"]<img class="wp-image-23942 " src="https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ovante-blog-certification-e1618420801242.png" alt="Ovante certification of completion" width="316" height="448" /> <em>After completing each of the Ovante action plans, the user receives a certificate of completion to share with their networks on WhatsApp or Facebook.</em>[/caption]

To provide MSMEs with the tools they need to rebuild their resiliency in the face of this crisis and future challenges, Accion has launched a COVID-19 recovery toolkit on our <a href="https://ovante.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">edtech platform Ovante</a>.  With funding made flexible by our donor, <a href="https://www.metlife.com/sustainability/MetLife-sustainability/MetLife-Foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MetLife Foundation</a>, as well as sponsorship from <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/en/foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">S&amp;P Global Foundation</a> and <a href="https://fedexcares.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FedEx</a>, the toolkit is available at no cost.  We designed the recovery toolkit to help small entrepreneurs manage their businesses through tough times by offering guidance on improving their finances and getting their businesses online fast. Small business owners can access the COVID-19 recovery toolkit on <a href="https://ovante.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ovante.org</a> in three languages: English, Spanish, and Hindi. Each action plan in the toolkit takes between 8 to 15 minutes to complete and is designed to be highly interactive, actionable, and fun. We encourage financial service providers to share this toolkit with their clients to help microentrepreneurs around the world build better financial behaviors and strengthen their managerial and digital capabilities.

The toolkit addresses three primary questions we hear from small business owners as they aim to recover from the COVID-19 crisis: <em>How can I feel more confident about my finances? How can I adapt my business to survive and thrive? How can I bring my business online?</em>
<h2><strong>How can I feel more confident about my finances?</strong></h2>
For many microentrepreneurs, making ends meet during a crisis feels impossible. Accion surveyed microentrepreneurs in Chile, Mexico, India, and Nigeria in October 2020 — six months into the pandemic — and learned that microentrepreneurs in these regions were still struggling to cover their essential expenses. Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed told us that they have not been able to pay their bills on time, and 50 percent said they have had to borrow money to cover their expenses. The toolkit provides action plans to help microentrepreneurs gain confidence in their finances by learning to:
<ul>
 	<li><strong>Get out of debt</strong>: Microentrepreneurs are encouraged to list their debts from smallest to largest and receive recommendations on which debt to pay off first based on whether they are secured or unsecured and the consequences for late payment.</li>
 	<li><strong>Create a spending plan</strong>: Users prioritize their expenses and create a plan to reduce spending. They are then prompted to develop a budget based on their income and receive strategies to stick to their newly created spending plan.</li>
 	<li><strong>Utilize digital banking:</strong> Microentrepreneurs learn the benefits of digital financial services for their business, including cash flow smoothing, keeping a digital record of records and bills, securely sending payments, and quick access to financing. They also learn step-by-step how to set up a secure digital account.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>How can I adapt my business to survive and thrive?</strong></h2>
Fifteen percent of microenterprises in the services industry we surveyed had completely closed due to COVID-19. Furthermore, the pandemic has had a <a href="https://www.accion.org/5-ways-to-help-women-entrepreneurs-adapt-during-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">disproportionate impact on women</a>. Women reported experiencing greater financial stress, feeling more tired, and being in an overall worse mental state than men. To cope with these challenges, over 30 percent of respondents in Mexico said they are seeking another source of income. In Chile, Nigeria, and India, over 40 percent said they want to find a way to grow and expand their current business but are not clear on how to do so. The toolkit helps them navigate these difficulties by providing instruction on how to:
<ul>
 	<li><strong>Stay profitable during a crisis:</strong> A guided activity leads microentrepreneurs to determine their current profits and consider what direct and indirect costs can be reduced to increase profitability. They also learn how to price their goods depending on whether they are an essential or non-essential business.</li>
 	<li><strong>Apply for digital credit:</strong> Users learn when it is appropriate to seek digital credit and receive step-by-step instructions on obtaining a digital loan. At the end of this module, users will have greater confidence in their ability to safeguard themselves against the threat of fraud.</li>
 	<li><strong>Adapt your business: </strong>Microentrepreneurs are asked to answer a series of questions to assess their urgency for change. Based on their responses, users can explore potential opportunities for adapting their business, like selling a new product or service, taking other low-demand items off their shelves, or <a href="https://www.accion.org/how-the-pandemic-is-spurring-microentrepreneurs-to-go-digital" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">finding a new way to serve their customers</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>How can I bring my business online? </strong></h2>
As the modern economy becomes more and more synonymous with the digital economy, MSMEs that can sell online and operate digitally are more likely to weather this crisis and thrive in the long run. With fewer customers physically walking in the door, many business owners feel the urgency to shift their business online but are not sure where to start. Our survey showed that 33 percent of MSMEs across the four countries opened a new social media account for their business in the first 6 months of the pandemic. And 30 percent of respondents told us that they feel they must urgently begin selling products over the internet. The <a href="https://ovante.org/adapt-my-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVID-19 recovery toolkit</a> explains the value of bringing businesses online and shows entrepreneurs how to:
<ul>
 	<li><strong>Get started online: </strong>Users learn about online platforms that can help them better promote and operate their businesses, like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Google. They evaluate which of these platforms makes the most sense to advertise their business and learn easy ways to start building their online presence.</li>
 	<li><strong>Accept digital payments:</strong> This lesson helps MSMEs consider the advantages of accepting online payments, determine which platform is right for their business, and learn tips and tricks for getting started immediately.</li>
 	<li><strong>Promote your business online:</strong> Users are prompted to define why they need to advertise online, decide who their target customers are, and learn best practices for social media advertising. They learn how online promotions can expand their customer base and grow their profits.</li>
 	<li><strong>Offer online delivery:</strong> In times of crisis, it is challenging to stay connected with clients when they are no longer visiting the business. Users will learn about delivery services and how to best select a delivery service for their business.</li>
</ul>
Once MSMEs complete these action plans, they will gain the tools, capacity, and confidence needed to leverage the internet to stay in business by selling their products or services online, accepting digital payments, or promoting their business on social media. To date, 90 percent of MSMEs that completed all modules started using the internet for their business needs, and 69 percent opened social media accounts for their business. Using simple examples and user-friendly tools, Ovante enables microentrepreneurs to put their acquired knowledge into practice and take steps towards greater financial health.

We encourage financial service providers to support their customers’ recovery from the pandemic and build their resilience to future crises by sharing the free <a href="https://ovante.org/adapt-my-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ovante COVID-19 recovery toolkit action plans</a> with their clients.

A guide to pandemic recovery for microentrepreneurs

S&P Global Foundation

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