EL-Zoghbi discusses how COVID-19’s economic shocks are affecting incomes, and elaborates on the population segments most vulnerable to pandemic-induced shocks.

She also describes why financial inclusion alone is not enough, and how financial inclusion – especially when paired with digitization – can help distribute support from humanitarian and governmental organizations to the base of the pyramid.

Furthermore, El-Zoghbi mentions the Microfinance Coalition’s calls to action aimed at awareness-raising among <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/microfinance-coalition-call-to-action-for-investors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">investors</a>, <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/microfinance-coalition-call-to-action-for-donors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">donors</a> and <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/microfinance-coalition-call-to-action-for-policymakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">policymakers</a>.

Lastly, she predicts that insurance products will see higher demand, and notes that the crisis requires collective action that goes beyond market-oriented solutions.

El-Zoghbi is a member of the Advisory Council of BBVA's <a href="https://www.bbvaedufin.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Center for Financial Education and Capability</a>.

Read the full article <a href="https://www.bbva.com/en/how-to-strengthen-the-finances-of-the-vulnerable-population-against-the-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

&nbsp;

BBVA Interviews Mayada El-Zoghbi on Financial Inclusion in the Pandemic Era

News

The elderly, young people, the homeless and casual workers are just some of the groups that might have a difficult time participating in the economy, the article notes. Some do not have the skills to use digital payments, do not have access to the internet, do not have a credit history or a fixed address:

A dependence on cash can be linked to the digital divide that exists in both rich and poor countries, said Mayada El-Zoghbi, managing director for the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an independent U.S. think tank.

“A move to a cashless society will not benefit all groups equally. The groups that are most likely to be excluded will be women, rural communities, and the elderly,” she said.

Read the full article <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-banks-britain-trfn-idUSKBN23X0XE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

&nbsp;

Reuters Quotes Mayada El-Zoghbi on Going Cashless During the Pandemic

Europe and Central Asia

United Kingdom

Aging and Older Adults

Underserved Groups

On each episode of Peter Renton's long-running show, the Lending and Fintech Podcast, a different leader in fintech and finance is interviewed in depth. On episode 245, Mayada touches on the following topics:
<ul>
 	<li>Her background in inclusive finance</li>
 	<li>The work that she did on the Global Findex database</li>
 	<li>Why she decided to take the job to be the head of CFI</li>
 	<li>The mission of CFI today</li>
 	<li>Why improving financial inclusion is about far more than technology</li>
 	<li>The geographies they focus on and the types of demographics</li>
 	<li>The relationship between CFI and Accion</li>
 	<li>How COVID-19 has impacted the agenda for CFI</li>
 	<li>The silver lining that could come out of this crisis</li>
 	<li>How it will affect the gender gap</li>
 	<li>What more fintech companies should be doing today in this area</li>
 	<li>The priorities that CFI is focused on beyond the current crisis</li>
</ul>
Listen below, or visit this episode's podcast <a href="https://www.lendacademy.com/podcast-245-mayada-el-zoghbi-of-cfi/">page</a>. Lend Academy's podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher.

Lend Academy Podcast features Mayada El-Zoghbi

Challenges and Crises

Enabling Environment

Financial Inclusion Strategy

The <a href="https://www.elespectador.com/economia/colombia-lidera-entorno-para-la-inclusion-financiera-regional-articulo-888988">article</a> (in Spanish) notes that Colombia -- along with Peru, Uruguay and Mexico -- lead the <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/global-microscope-2019/">Global Microscope 2019</a> rankings this year. Supported by CFI and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, an updated Microscope is published every year by the <a href="https://www.eiu.com/n/">Economist Intelligence Unit</a>. It assesses the enabling regulatory environment for financial inclusion in 55 countries worldwide.

<a href="https://events.iadb.org/calendar/event/20252?lang=en">FOROMIC</a> is hosted annually by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

In El Espectador: CFI, Mayada El-Zoghbi Mentioned in Microscope Coverage

Colombia

Latin America and The Caribbean

Policy, Regulation and Government Initiatives

Following the <a href="/id2020-summit-2019">ID2020 Summit</a> in September, Eric Noggle, Senior Research Director, talks to Good ID about the intersection between good digital ID and broader socio-political change. Read more in <a href="https://www.good-id.org/en/articles/everything-connected-making-good-id-matter/">Everything Is Connected: Making Good ID Matter</a>.

Eric Noggle, Senior Research Director, on Making the "Good ID" Movement Matter

Open Society Foundations

IDs for Inclusion

The event, “<a href="https://www.unsgsa.org/resources/news/unsgsa-queen-maxima-world-leaders-participate-unga/">Financial Inclusion for Development: Building on 10 Years of Progress</a>,” included the participation of António Guterres, UN Secretary-General; David Malpass, President of the World Bank; Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation; Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal; and Ajay Banga, President and CEO of Mastercard.

Watch Mayada ask Queen Maxima about measuring financial inclusion's progress within the framework of the SDGs, and how financial inclusion contributes to achieving the SDGs by 2030. Queen Maxima is the <a href="https://www.unsgsa.org/">United Nations Secretary General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development</a>.

More video coverage of the event can be found <a href="http://webtv.un.org/search/financial-inclusion-for-development-building-on-10-years-of-progress/6089500721001/?term=finance%20for%20development&amp;lan=english&amp;sort=date">here</a>.

&nbsp;

CFI Managing Director Asks Queen Maxima About Financial Inclusion's Role in the Sustainable Development Goals

Financial Inclusion Week 2019

Trends

Bansal, the <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/about/what-we-do/the-smart-campaign">Smart Campaign</a>'s Senior Director in South and Southeast Asia, notes that the problem over-indebtedness is more severe in the island country than elsewhere.

She also points out that the government's decision to write off business loans of up to 100,000 rupees falls short.

"One-off measures will not do, says Ms Bansal: Sri Lanka needs properly enforced rules that prevent over-indebtedness and ensure fair treatment of borrowers."

Read the <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/08/15/microfinance-is-driving-many-sri-lankan-borrowers-to-despair">full article</a> (soft paywall).

In The Economist: Hema Bansal on Over-Indebtedness in Sri Lanka

The Smart Campaign

South Asia

Sri Lanka

Consumer Protection

Over-indebtedness

Barres's questions that Libra's developers should consider when innovating for the new cryptocurrency are:
<ul>
 	<li>What would data privacy agreements look like if we wanted them to be understandable, fair and with an option to opt out?</li>
 	<li>How would algorithms that did not discriminate be set up?</li>
 	<li>How might fully transparent, low-cost and high-quality products and services that truly solve problems be brought to bear?</li>
</ul>
Read the <a href="https://www.euromoney.com/article/b1g0hvpnhqmyg0/cryptocurrency-facebook39s-libra-is-this-how-we-get-to-responsible-fintech">full article in Euromoney</a>.

In Euromoney: Smart Campaign's Isabelle Barres Poses Questions About Libra

Appropriate Product Design and Delivery

Responsible Digital Finance

The <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/about/what-we-do/the-smart-campaign/">Smart Campaign</a>'s senior director discussed the motivation behind the survey and forthcoming report with <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/">The New Times</a>, a leading Rwandan news provider.

“We want all stakeholders to understand the actual experiences and concerns of the clients they are serving, protecting or advocating for, because there hasn't been a comprehensive survey underpinning the conduct of this digital financial service before,” <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/people/alexandra-rizzi/">Rizzi</a> said.

Fraud was a "major problem" for about 40 percent of respondents (with 10 percent falling victim themselves), and while nearly 90 percent trust mobile money services, that trust extends to specific services, namely person-to-person (P2P) transfers. There are approximately 11 million mobile money users in Rwanda.

The report will be available for download on this site in the coming weeks. The results were discussed at a workshop of regulators in the Rwandan capital Kigali in March and will be discussed at the <a href="https://sptf.info/annual-meetings/2019-summit-inclusive-digital-future">Inclusive Digital Future Summit</a> in Nairobi in June 2019.

Read the<a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/business/mobile-money-services-enjoy-public-confidence-fraud-remains-threat-survey-reveals"> full article</a> and learn more about the <a href="http://smartcampaign.org/tools-a-resources/1075">Client Voices Project</a>.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In The New Times: Smart Campaign's Alex Rizzi Interviewed About Client Voices Project Survey in Rwanda

Rwanda

Sub-Saharan Africa

Client Treatment

Fraud

This <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-273615244/frt-episode-28-digital-customer-journey">episode</a> of the "FRT" podcast focuses on how digital customer journeys are enabling financial institutions to reach underserved segments in a sustainable manner. IIF’s Conan French host Rhyne and Amin Khairy to discuss the upcoming CFI-IIF paper “Charting the Customer Journey in the Digital Age.”

Rhyne discusses the persistent challenges for digital inclusion and the importance of having a “tech-touch” balance at certain stages of the customer journey.

They also discuss the potential gain in operational efficiencies for financial institutions and the positive impact digitization has on unbanked customers and provide real-life examples of digital customer journeys in various stages: pre-onboarding, onboarding and continued use.

"We're finding that the countries that are making it easy to onboard are those with a good national ID program," Rhyne said. "Having a very clear and simple to use national ID that's easily connected electronically is probably the most important thing."

Rhyne also notes that understanding the unique financial lives of lower income segments is crucial to digitization and different from transitioning banked populations from analog to digital.

Browse more <a href="https://www.iif.com/Innovation/FRT-Podcast">FRT podcast episodes</a>.

&nbsp;

IIF Podcast Features Elisabeth Rhyne Discussing the Digital Customer Journey

Human Centered Design

Delivery Channels

<div class="card__paragraph">

Originally published on <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/accion-plans-latam-fintech-investments-to-support-financial-inclusion-amidst-pandemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BNamericas</a> by <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/profile/urindebro" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ulric Rindebro</a>

Financial inclusion-focused nonprofit Accion will invest in several Latin American <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/tech-investment-seen-as-way-to-combat-financial-crime-and-support-inclusion-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fintechs</a> this year as a way to support micro entrepreneurs battling with the economic fallout of the <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/analysis/pandemic-drives-technological-overhaul-of-latam-economies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVID-19 pandemic</a>.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Accion approved 10 fintech investments last year and it expects to approve between eight and 10 investments in 2021, Esteban Altschul (in photo), the organization’s chief operating officer, told BNamericas.

“The investment pipeline is very strong as the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital tools in the process to improve financial inclusion,” said Altschul, who is also chair of Bolivia’s largest micro credit provider, <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/company-profile/banco-solidario-sa-bancosol" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BancoSol</a>.

Accion’s financial inclusion strategy is focused on making equity investments in fintechs and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to help these firms expand and incorporate more low-income individuals as customers.

As a strategic shareholder, Accion also transfers knowledge and international best practices to its local fintech and MFI partners in Latin America and other regions. Worldwide, it operates in 55 countries through more than 160 partner institutions.

In Latin America, Accion has invested in 24 financial inclusion-focused fintechs to date. These have been made through its seed-stage fintech investment initiative Accion Venture Lab, as well as investments made by funds for which Accion is sponsor and general partner: the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund and Accion Quona Inclusion Fund, both third party funds managed by Quona Capital.

The fintechs that Accion have invested in have been less affected by the pandemic than the MFIs that it supports given their more flexible and agile nature, said Altschul.

Fintechs in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay stepped up their game in 2019 and last year after having lagged behind other emerging market regions in terms of coming up with creative solutions, he said. “We’re catching up quickly and the region’s fintech sector has become very attractive for investors, offering high returns.”

This year Accion is not planning any new equity investments in Latin American MFIs, opting instead to focus on helping these institutions with their digital transformation, said Altschul.

“Digital transformation and fintech is core and central to everything that Accion does today,” he added.
<h3>Pandemic impact</h3>
Latin America is among the regions in the world that have seen the biggest economic fallout of the health crisis.

Accion’s partner MFIs serving micro entrepreneurs have shown a resilience that is both surprising and impressive, according to Altschul.

Around 70-80% of these MFIs have responded “extremely well” and there have been no bankruptcies among the institutions that Accion supports in the region, he said.

However, the pandemic has had a “huge impact” on the region’s micro enterprise sector with an estimated 20% of the customers served by Accion’s partner MFIs having gone out of business, he said.

“Micro entrepreneurs have been the biggest victims of the economic fallout of the pandemic in Latin America,” said Altschul, who is a former principal investment officer at the <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/company-profile/international-finance-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IFC</a>, the private sector arm of the <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/en/company-profile/the-world-bank-group-grupo-del-banco-mundial-world-bank-banco-mundial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Bank</a>.

The recovery of the region’s micro enterprise sector will take longer than initially expected and a strong focus of Accion in the next few years will be to help micro entrepreneurs find new business opportunities, leveraging digital financial products and services, he said.

Accion may postpone the planned exits from several of its investments in MFIs by two or three years as these entities continue to adjust to new ways of operating and support clients hit by the pandemic, Altschul added.

Given the large number of enterprises and individuals who are still excluded from the financial system in Latin America, Altschul said he believes there is more than enough room for MFIs and fintechs to co-exist and there are increasing opportunities for them to work together through partnerships.

</div>

Accion plans LatAm fintech investments to support financial inclusion amidst pandemic

The CDC Group, a development finance institution (DFI) and an impact investor in the UK, has partnered with <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/northern-arc-capital" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Northern Arc Capital </a>for its first-ever pooled bond issuance (PBI) transaction in India. The PBI worth Rs 320 crore will support six leading Indian microfinance institutions.

CDC’s investment in the transaction is supported by a partial guarantee provided by Northern Arc. It is a milestone for CDC as it is the first transaction structured by CDC under a PBI structure, according to a release.

Read more about Accion portfolio company, Northern Arc Capital, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/cdc-group-partners-with-northern-arc-capital-for-first-pooled-bond-issuance-121033100189_1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in Business Standard</a>.

CDC Group partners with Northern Arc Capital for first pooled bond issuance

Asian Development Bank-backed Annapurna Finance has mobilised $30 million in equity from US-based impact investor Nuveen Global Impact as the lender looks to grow its stake amid the bottom of the pyramid borrowers.

The Bhubaneswar-based micro lender had a gross loan portfolio of Rs 4466 crore as of December 2020, making it the country's seventh largest NBFC-MFI.
<div>Read more about Accion portfolio partner, Annapurna Finance, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/annapurna-finance-mobilises-30-mn-in-equity-from-nuveen-global-impact/articleshow/81758220.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in Economic Times</a>.</div>

Annapurna Finance mobilises $30 mn in equity from Nuveen Global Impact

UAE-based fintech startup NOW Money has secured $7 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Anthemis Exponential Ventures, taking its total funding since inception to $8.5 million.
Founded in 2016 by Ian Dillon and Katharine Budd, NOW Money uses mobile banking technology to create accounts, low-cost remittance facility, and other financial services for migrant workers.
Read more about Accion portfolio company, NOW Money, <a href="https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/innovation/startups/fintech-startup-now-money-secures-%247m-to-expand-across-the-gcc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in Forbes Middle East</a>.

UAE-Based Fintech Startup NOW Money Raises $7M To Fuel Growth

<a href="https://nowmoney.me/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NOW Money</a>, a UAE-based digital account service, announced on Monday it raised $7 million through its latest investment round, which was led by Anthemis Exponential Ventures with participation from  Knuru Capital, Wamda, Commercial Bank of Dubai, DIFC FinTech Fund, Accion Venture Lab, Greenhouse Capital, and Hambro Perks Oryx Fund.
Founded in 2016, NOW Money claims it uses “cutting-edge” mobile technology to improve the lives of low-income migrant works in the UAE.
Read more about Accion portfolio company, NOW Money, <a href="https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2021/03/173714-uae-bank-account-service-now-money-raises-7-million-through-latest-investment-round-led-by-anthemis-exponential-ventures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in Crowdfund Insider.</a>

UAE Bank Account Service NOW Money Raises $7 Million Through Latest Investment Round Led By Anthemis Exponential Ventures

Last week, The Information <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/altimeter-to-lead-plaid-deal-after-scrapped-visa-merger">reported</a> that Plaid is nearing a new financing deal that would value the company at between $10 billion to $15 billion. Beyond a high valuation, Plaid sports a key characteristic that positions it well to help early-stage startups: it has gone through regulatory hurdles. Months ago, Plaid announced it would not merge with Visa in what would have been a $5.3 billion acquisition. This event, as well as advice on how private fintech startups can deal with policy issues, will be part of FinRise programming.

While participants don’t get funding, FinRise has collated a number of “capital access partners,” which basically means investors who are committed to meeting with these companies and potentially writing a check. This network includes Accion, Acrew, Amex Ventures, Flourish, Harlem Capital, Kapor, Matrix, Village Capital, Visible Hands and First Round.

<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/24/plaid-accelerator-announces-inaugural-cohort-of-fintech-startups/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more in TechCrunch.</a>

Plaid accelerator announces inaugural cohort of fintech startups

Due Diligence (DD) is an inevitable part of an investment process. In the VC parlance, DD is about the investor and the startup getting to know each other and getting into a comfort level. DD is a long process and often takes weeks or months to complete.

In this episode of e27‘s Fundraising Fundamentals webinar series, Paolo Limcaoco, Investment Officer at Accion Venture Lab (a fintech VC firm), talks about the three aspects of the process.

<a href="https://e27.co/due-diligence-is-like-dating-before-the-long-term-marriage-accion-venture-labs-paolo-limcaoco-20210323/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen on e27's website. </a>

‘Due diligence is like dating before the long-term marriage’: Accion Venture Lab’s Paolo Limcaoco

Non-banking financial company Dvara KGFS on Monday said it has raised 8 million euros ($9.52 million) from social impact funds Invest In Visions (Germany) and Darlehnskasse Münster (Luxembourg).

<a href="https://www.vccircle.com/olympus-capital-triodos-others-invest-pre-ipo-money-in-utkarsh-small-finance-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more in VCCircle.</a>

Stakeboat-backed Dvara KGFS raises money from European impact funds

Nairobi-based ACRE Africa and Pula, Bamako, Mali-based Oko Finance and other African tech companies are facilitating access to crop insurance to help smallholder farmers secure their livelihoods against flood and drought.

<a href="https://impactalpha.com/alt-credit-and-mobile-money-apps-give-african-fintechs-a-closeup-view-of-climate-risks-and-opportunities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more in ImpactAlpha.</a>

Alt-credit and mobile-money apps give African fintechs a closeup view of climate risks – and opportunities

The Myanmar junta's violent response to civil disobedience — and its effect of the economy. It’s a tough time for doing business in Myanmar. The economy was already struggling with the impacts of the pandemic — and has been hit hard by almost daily protests. So how are local companies coping? Lucy Hockings spoke to businesswoman Thiri Thant Mon who's based in Yangon.

DAWN Board member Thiri Thant Mon<a href="https://vimeo.com/522360938" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> speaks to BBC World News. </a>

BBC World News: Myanmar’s violent crackdown and its impact on the economy

In late 2019, Mexico City-based fintech company <a href="https://clip.mx/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Clip</a> announced a multiyear partnership with Visa to scale its Square-like mobile credit-card processing service for small and medium-size businesses. In response to the COVID pandemic and declining in-person transactions, the company (which has raised close to $150 million from SoftBank, General Atlantic, and Google for Startups Accelerator) introduced a remote payment system that lets vendors send invoices by text, email, Facebook Messenger, and Whatsapp, with payment through a secure transaction portal.

Fast Company includes Clip, an Accion Venture lab portfolio company, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90600367/latin-america-most-innovative-companies-2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in this roundup of innovative Latin American companies.</a>

The 10 most innovative Latin American companies of 2021

Chennai-based digital debt platform Northern Arc on Tuesday announced it has received $50 million in debt financing from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).    The first tranche of $25 million was made available in December and the remaining $25 million was disbursed recently.

The funds will be deployed for on-lending to financial institutions, as well as lending directly to retail customers through the co-lending product and to mid-market corporates.

<a href="https://yourstory.com/2021/03/funding-alert-northern-arc-debt-financing-us-international-development-finance-corporation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more in this article from YourStory.</a>

[Funding alert] Northern Arc raises $50M debt from US DFC

Non-banking finance company Northern Arc has raised $50 million in debt (about Rs 370 crore) from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to scale up lending to microfinance firms as well as to financial institutions that serve the agriculture value chain.

<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/northern-arc-raises-50-mn-from-american-development-bank-to-scale-up-lending-to-microfinance-firms/articleshow/81275665.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more in Economic Times' article</a> about Accion portfolio company, Northern Arc.

Northern Arc raises $50 mn from American development bank to scale up lending to microfinance firms

DoorDash is committing $2 million toward the first cohort of the program, which will include 100 restaurateurs in five cities–New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Those restaurateurs will receive a $20,000 grant and access to an eight-week-long educational program developed to teach business tactics–like marketing, managing cash flow and menu creation–to help sustain their business after the crisis ends.

The program was created with help from the Accion Opportunity Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial access to business owners who often lack such services. Over 90% of AOF’s small business clients are women, immigrants and people of color.

<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciakelso/2021/02/23/doordash-establishes-grant-program-for-womenand-bipoc-owned-restaurants-disproportionately-affected-by-covid/?sh=3188bdcb48db" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more in Forbes.</a>

DoorDash Establishes Grant Program For Women- And BIPOC-Owned Restaurants Disproportionately Affected By Covid

There are strong arguments backing the prevalent trend of African fintech startups expanding operations from a product perspective, adding new verticals rather than moving into new geographies.

That is according to Johan Bosini, partner at fintech-focused VC firm <a href="https://quona.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Quona Capital</a>, who was speaking on the <a href="https://soundcloud.com/disruptafricapodcast/dp-18-funding-cowrywise-and-african-fintech-and-the-return-of-a-corporate-backed-accelerator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest episode of Disrupt Podcast</a> in the wake of his company leading a <a href="https://disrupt-africa.com/2021/01/28/nigerian-wealth-management-platform-cowrywise-raises-3m-funding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US$3 million pre-Series A round for Nigerian startup Cowrywise</a>, a digital wealth management and financial planning solution.

Bosini explained to the podcast why Quona Capital had been attracted to the startup in the first place.

“It is a business we’ve known for a while and it’s a category we really like. We think making wealth management available for everyday people in Nigeria is really interesting. We’ve seen this theme across multiple markets,” he said.

<a href="https://disrupt-africa.com/2021/02/23/why-african-fintech-startups-are-expanding-their-product-suites-rather-than-hitting-new-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more in this interview by Disrupt Africa.</a>

Why African fintech startups are expanding their product suites rather than hitting new markets

“Historically, we've talked about homeownership as the number one path to building wealth. Well, I think that small business has been the second way to build wealth,” said Luz Urrutia, CEO of Accion Opportunity Fund, a California-based community development financial institution and community advocacy organization. “We need to focus more resources on rebuilding minority small businesses. Because that is going to help put people back to work and eliminate the systemic racism that we all know is there.”

Luz Urrutia, CEO of <a href="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChcSEwjIw-j-kf_uAhUr9uMHHb_FBo0YABAAGgJ5bQ&amp;ae=2&amp;ohost=www.google.com&amp;cid=CAESP-D2gzTiFG8onureUeY5Wu3B1Jb4SX6E_uSk2hZCQjN9t0tDDGeTUhL8gjDZj29Z6aYaVaDC7vf8iWZusTURMQ&amp;sig=AOD64_30FFuISkBBUmKJt6kx8xZjsH099A&amp;q&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj5v-H-kf_uAhUTGFkFHaSBCpQQ0Qx6BAgDEAE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Accion Opportunity Fund</a>, is quoted in <a href="https://www.americanbanker.com/news/the-second-way" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this article from American Banker.</a>

'The second way' to close the wealth gap

Dvara KGFS announced that it has won 'Technology for Financial Inclusion' award at the Inclusive Finance India Awards 2020.

In a press release, the Chennai-based NBFC said the award was presented to it in recognition for the robust technology offering a suite of financial services and products for the underserved section of the society and their operational excellence over the last year.

<a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/dvara-kgfs-bags-technology-for-financial-inclusion-award/article33696487.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more in The Hindu BusinessLine.</a>

Dvara KGFS bags ‘Technology for Financial Inclusion’ award

<a href="https://www.pula-advisors.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pula</a>, a Kenyan insurtech startup that specialises in digital and agricultural insurance to derisk millions of smallholder farmers across Africa, has closed a Series A investment of $6 million.
The round was led by Pan-African early-stage venture capital firm,<a href="https://tlcomcapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> TLcom Capital</a>, with participation from nonprofit <a href="https://www.womensworldbanking.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Women’s World Banking</a>. The raise comes after Pula closed $1 million in seed investment from Rocher Participations with support from <a href="https://www.accion.org/how-we-work/invest/accion-venture-lab?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3smABhCjARIsAKtrg6LSfujL_lY9bmI5wqMdr1KNUENpuANUuBaesL1WzZVSuz5DfQR6qiUaAs8aEALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Accion Venture Lab</a>, Omidyar Network and several angel investors in 2018.

<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/25/kenyan-insurtech-startup-pula-raises-6m-series-a-led-by-tlcom-capital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Accion portfolio company Pula is featured in TechCrunch.</a>