While the world’s largest companies dominate headlines and their founders achieve celebrity status, global entrepreneurship looks much different by the numbers. According to the IFC, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up some 90 percent of businesses, 70 percent of employment, and half of GDP around the world. Micro, small, and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) are essential to the global economy and individuals’ financial stability, yet owners often lack financing, resources, or knowledge of how to access what’s available to them.
Consider Brenda, the owner of Masajes Relajantes, a small spa in a modest neighborhood in Mexico City, located next door to her niece’s beauty salon. In a room just large enough for a massage table and some essential oils, Brenda gives massages that her clients consistently praise — but she charges only 450 Mexican pesos (about $24 USD) per session, less than half the market rate. While she is in the business of relaxation, fear of losing clients and the stress of running her business on tight margins weigh on her.
Despite her intelligence, passion, and experience, she does not feel knowledgeable about financial best practices, social media advertising, or products and services that could help her stabilize and grow. Brenda needs someone to walk her through the basics of business management, help her organize her operations, and show her how to attract and retain clients without undervaluing her work. She is wary of being scammed and cannot afford the interest and fees on a loan from a traditional financial institution. Moreover, existing offerings often overlook small, women-led firms due to their size, perceived risk, or cultural norms.
Enhancing learning and unlocking opportunities for entrepreneurs
Brenda’s story is not unique. It reflects the reality of many microentrepreneurs across Mexico who work tirelessly, day after day, yet struggle to move beyond subsistence. They lack the tools and confidence to grow their business sustainably.
This is where digital tools like Ovante can make a real difference. Ovante is a digital educational program that strengthens the financial, business, and digital capabilities of microentrepreneurs like Brenda. This May, Ovante launched a new WhatsApp-based chatbot that provides easy-to-understand videos, tips, tools, and other resources to teach key financial concepts, enabling better management of business accounts and informed decision-making. Users learn about Ovante via digital marketing channels, and, with just a click, can start talking with the chatbot’s avatar, Sofia, about topics that help them grow their business, make informed financial decisions, and build their financial confidence.
Microentrepreneurs can explore topics such as money management, indebtedness and over-indebtedness, financial health, and building a digital footprint. For Brenda, information about building her digital footprint and managing her finances is most helpful as she seeks to attract more clientele and price her products and services correctly. With support from FedEx, Accion launched Ovante’s learning platform as well as the new WhatsApp-based chatbot free of charge to help entrepreneurs like Brenda gain skills and confidence in running their businesses. Brenda takes advantage of these learning opportunities in the evenings and on weekends, as long as work and family obligations allow. As the customer base grows, Sofia will help Ovante scale user support while improving the quality, speed, and personalization of the content users receive.
In just a few months since its launch, the Ovante chatbot has proven to be a powerful tool to support entrepreneurs in Mexico. To date, it has recorded over 17,000 chats with more than 12,500 microentrepreneurs chatting with Sofia, reflecting a high level of reach and trust in a segment that is often underserved in terms of training and support. Each conversation averages 18 messages, with sessions lasting approximately 30 minutes – a clear sign that users are not only connecting, but staying engaged, exploring, and going deeper into the content made available to them.
Beyond the numbers, the quality of the interactions is also evident. The chatbot has achieved an average rating of 4.4 out of five, with nearly 40 percent of conversations extending beyond the industry average of seven interactions, showing richer exchanges and stronger learning opportunities. Moreover, Ovante’s chatbot is reaching Accion’s target audience: 70 percent of users are women microentrepreneurs seeking to strengthen their financial and managerial skills, build their confidence and grow their businesses. These results are not only encouraging, they also confirm that digital innovation can create real opportunities for those who need them most.
Over the past five years, we have launched Ovante in Mexico, Colombia, and India, engaging over 150,000 customers with its content. Two-thirds of these customers were women. Over the next three years, Accion hopes to triple engagement with Ovante via its chatbot. Meeting this target will require continuous innovation and outreach, so Brenda and others have been providing feedback on the Ovante chatbot.
With accessible, step-by-step assistance to build financial capacity and entrepreneurial skills, Ovante can help women like Brenda build confidence, understand their worth, and take control of their financial future. By investing in inclusive financial education and practical digital tools, we can help microentrepreneurs build their financial and digital capabilities and position them for greater success.
