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

Enabling Environment

Policy, Regulation and Government Initiatives

News

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

Financial Inclusion Strategy

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

In the March 14 <a href="https://www.raconteur.net/finance/financial-inclusion-banked">piece</a>, Rhyne’s insights are part of a broad survey of the global financial inclusion landscape -- from barriers to financial inclusion in the developing world, to its benefits and the tools that are helping to integrate marginalized populations into the “financial mainstream.”
“In the developing world there is an issue of absolute low incomes,” Rhyne said in the feature, which appeared in the <a href="https://www.raconteur.net/future-money-2019">Future of Money</a>, a 20-page insert published in <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk">The Times (UK)</a> in association with <a href="https://europe.money2020.com/">Money 20/20</a>. “In regards to how much in deposits people would be providing, how large a credit they might want, these are below the threshold of feasibility for banks using traditional branch-based, teller-based models. So you couldn’t put a branch out in a rural area and expect it to be profitable.”
Rhyne uses the example of hyperinflation in Latin America to illustrate why potential customers don't have bank accounts, and concludes the article by noting that digital payments “are going to be essential” over the next decade.

<a href="https://www.raconteur.net/">Raconteur</a> is a publisher of “special-interest content and research” whose special reports are inserted into the printed version of The Times (UK). Read the full article <a href="https://www.raconteur.net/finance/financial-inclusion-banked">here</a>.

Raconteur Features Elisabeth Rhyne in “Challenges in Banking the Unbanked”

Credit

Digital Financial Services

Fintechs

Mobile Banking

Saving

Extensive coverage of the "You Deserve to Know" (#YouDeserveToKnow) campaign in the national Ghanian media features quotes from <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/bio/alexandra-rizzi">Alex Rizzi</a>, Director of the Smart Campaign.

"This series aims to equip clients with the knowledge they deserve to know to make the best financial decisions for themselves,” Rizzi stated in a <a href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/lifestyle/events/consumer-protection-global-consumer-advocate-launches-you-deserve-to-know-campaign/72tlsjv">Pulse</a> article. Coverage of the campaign also appeared in <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/financial-literacy-campaign-launched.html">Graphic Online</a> and <a href="https://citinewsroom.com/2019/02/26/global-consumer-advocate-launches-youdeservetoknow-campaign/">Citi Newsroom</a>.

The campaign focuses on improving the financial enabling environment by educating the public in two topic areas, transparency and fraud.

Listeners in Ghana can tune in to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/adom106.3/">Adom 106.3 FM</a> on Thursdays, 5:30 pm local time, to hear the programs. The episodes include drama and expert interviews on the topics. <a href="https://radio.modernghana.com/station/adom1063fm">Live streaming</a> of Adom 106.3 FM is also available.

The "You Deserve to Know" campaign is in collaboration with <a href="http://www.fiforumafrica.org/">Financial Inclusion Forum Africa</a>.

This Smart Campaign video below provides an introduction.

Smart Campaign's "You Deserve to Know" Radio Campaign Featured in Ghanaian Media

Ghana

Transparency

In this 20-minute episode, Traynor and Anton-Diaz discuss the sobering findings of "Digital Finance and Data Security," and what happens when the systems that are focused on expanding financial inclusion are poorly designed and executed. They also talk through what new companies need to take into account as they break into the market.

Listen and read Hathaway's accompanying post on the <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/good-intentions-bad-security-podcast-episode-delves-into-cfi-research-on-data-security-in-digital-finance">CFI Blog</a>.  Below, download the CFI research that inspired this episode.

Podcast Focuses on CFI Data Security Report

2019 brought more global attention to Africa’s tech scene than perhaps any previous year.
A high-profile IPO, visits by both Jacks (Ma and Dorsey) and big Chinese startup investment energized that.

The last 12 months served as a grande finale to 10 years that saw triple-digit increases in startup formation and VC on the continent.

Here’s an overview of the 2019 market events that captured attention and capped off a decade of rapid growth in African tech.

Read more at <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/30/2019-africa-roundup-jumia-ipos-china-goes-digital-nigeria-becomes-fintech-capital/">TechCrunch</a>.

2019 Africa Roundup: Jumia IPOs, China goes digital, Nigeria becomes fintech capital

Fintech remains one of the hottest tech verticals in Africa. This year saw African fintech startups based on the continent raise over $53-million in 25 deals (in disclosed deals).

Fintech deals accounted for about 18% of the almost $290-million netted in 88 disclosed deals reported by Ventureburn in 2019.

The biggest chunk this year went to the mobility and logistics vertical and distribution platforms, which together netted about 41% of disclosed deal value in 2019 (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/12/deals-african-startups-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).

When it comes to fintech, Sub-Sahara Africa is the favoured region for some of the world’s top startups looking to tackle financial inclusion, if the names of those listed as part of the <a href="https://www.inclusivefintech50.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inclusive Fintech 50</a> initiative is anything to go by (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/06/inclusive-fintech-50-list/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).

Read more at <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/12/10-ways-africas-fintech-sector-boomed-in-2019/">Ventureburn</a>.

10 ways Africa’s fintech sector boomed in 2019

<div>Drawn from our comprehensive coverage of India’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, we present around a 100 quotes from investors on sector opportunities for Indian startups (see Part I of the compilation here). How are data and deep tech creating new opportunities? What will it take to boost India’s design and production capacity in hardware? What looming gaps can digital health entrepreneurs fill?</div>
<div></div>
<div>
<div>"There is strong potential for inclusive fintech startups to reach historically underserved communities while generating returns." - Vikas Raj, Accion Venture Lab

Read more at <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/12/quotes-2019-investors-india-fintech-health-edu-agri">YourStory</a>.</div>
</div>

[Year in Review 2019] Top quotes by investors on startup opportunities in fintech, health, education, deep tech

Gurugram, India-based insurance technology (Insurtech) firm <a href="https://toffeeinsurance.com/">Toffee Insurance</a> revealed on December 17 that it had secured $5.5 million via a Series A investment round led by IVM Intersurer, Omidyar Network, Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab and Kalaari Capital.

Toffee says it will use the capital raised to further expand its product offering, enhance merchant and customer experience, improve technology infrastructure and distribution efficiency.

Read more at <a href="https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/12/155437-insurtech-gurugram-india-based-insurance-technology-firm-toffee-insurance-secures-5-5-million-via-series-a-round/">Crowdfund Insider</a>.

Insurtech: Gurugram, India-based Insurance Technology Firm Toffee Insurance Secures $5.5 Million via Series A Round

While Africa’s venture capital (VC) sector remains small, there might be something to smile about for tech startups that operate on the continent.

More than 20 new VC funds that aim to invest in African tech startups were launched this year. The total capital that will be available to startups from these funds runs into hundreds of millions of dollars.

The new funds range from a €1-billion Africa fund launched by the German government in June, to <a href="https://www.omidyar.com/">Omidyar Network</a>‘s new $300-million evergreen venture fund that will back impact fintech startups.

The full list of funds aimed at African startups from all regions (see below this for region-specific funds), includes:
<ul>
 	<li>A new $23-million fund launched in September by <a href="https://www.accion.org/how-we-work/invest/accion-venture-lab">Accion Venture Lab</a>, the seed investment initiative of US-based non-profit <a href="https://www.accion.org/">Accion</a>, aimed at fintech startups that focus on financial inclusion (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/09/accion-venture-lab-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>A $40-million fund launched in August by Australia-based global impact firm <a href="http://www.thepalladiumgroup.com/">Palladium</a> to invest in agribusiness value chains and off-grid clean energy ventures in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/08/palladium-impact-fund-focus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>A €1-billion Africa fund launched by the German government in June. The fund will support African startups and small businesses, as well as German and European companies. It’s not yet clear when the fund will make its first investments or which startup verticals it will target (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/06/german-government-launches-e1bn-africa-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>Berlin-based company builder <a href="http://www.ampionventures.com/">Ampion Ventures</a>announced in March that it’s looking to provide African tech startups with “up to six-digit” funding (in dollars) (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/03/ampion-ventures-african-startups-funding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>In March, philanthropic investment firm <a href="https://www.omidyar.com/">Omidyar Network</a> announced it had has spun out its financial inclusion initiative unit to launch <a href="http://flourishventures.com/">Flourish</a>, a $300-million evergreen venture fund that will back impact fintech startups (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/03/flourish-omidyar-fintech-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>French impact investment group Investisseurs &amp; Partenaires (<a href="http://www.ietp.com/en">I&amp;P</a>) says its new fund is on track to raise between €80-million and €90-million after it made a second closing of €25-million in February (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/02/ip-ipae-2-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>Ingressive Capital, a $5-million venture fund focused on early-stage African startups, announced in February that it is looking to invest tickets sizes of up to $100 000 in tech startups from Sub-Saharan Africa, with a possibility of making $250 000 in follow-on investments (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/02/ingressive-capital-saharan-african-tech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a>).</li>
 	<li>In January, Silicon Valley based venture capital (VC) fund <a href="https://partechpartners.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">Partech</a> announced that it had completed a raise for its Africa Fund, with the fund closing at €125-million, more than double the size of its first closing a year ago at €57-million ($70-million). It claims it has raised the largest VC fund dedicated to tech startups in Africa (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/02/partech-raises-125m-africa-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a> as well as this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/12/partech-africa-fund-2019-deals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one</a> on the deals it made in 2019).</li>
 	<li>Emerging markets startup competition <a href="https://www.seedstarsworld.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Seedstars</a>in April announced that it would launch a $100-million fund to invest in African startups in collaboration with Paris based <a href="https://www.firstgrowthventures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">First Growth Ventures</a>. The fund will make early-stage minority investments from $250 000 to $5-million in the most promising and innovative ventures across sectors and countries. While the fund was expected to make its first investments by the end of this 2019, no announcement had been made as of time of publication (see this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/04/seedstars-100m-africa-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a> and this <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/05/heres-what-you-should-know-about-seedstars-100-million-fund-for-african-startups-qa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Q&amp;A</a>).</li>
</ul>
Read more at <a href="https://ventureburn.com/2019/12/african-startups-new-funds-2019/">Ventureburn</a>.

African tech startups can tap millions of dollars from new funds launched in 2019 [List]

Insurance Technology (insur-tech) firm Toffee Insurance has raised $5.5 million Series A funding led by IVM Intersurer along with Omidyar Network, Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab and Kalaari Capital.

This is Toffee Insurance’s second consecutive raise from four of the five key investors after their initial funding round of $1.5 million in 2018.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Rohan Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Toffee Insurance said the first round of funds was proof of concept.

Read more at <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/toffee-insurance-raises-series-a-funding-of-5-5-million-4741911.html">Money Control</a>.

Toffee Insurance raises Series A funding of $5.5 million

Digital platform Toffee Insurance on Wednesday said it has raised $5.5 million (Rs 39 crore) in its Series A round of funding led by IVM Intersurer, a vehicle of South African investment firm Yellowwoods.

Existing investors Omidyar Network, Accion Venture Lab and Kalaari Capital also participated in the funding round, said Toffee Insurance in a statement.

Venture capital firm Flourish Ventures, which was established this year and is funded by Omidyar Network founder Pierre Omidyar, also pooled in capital, it added.

Toffee Insurance, which is operated by Gurugram-based Toffcover Insurance Marketing Pvt. Ltd, aims to use the funds to make insurance more accessible and strengthen its product technology, customer experience and lateral distribution.

Read more at <a href="https://www.vccircle.com/south-african-investor-yellowwoods-leads-series-a-funding-in-toffee-insurance">VCCircle</a>.

South African investor Yellowwoods leads Series A funding in Toffee Insurance

Toffee Insurance, a digital first insurtech startup, has secured series A funding of $ 5.5 million. This funding round was led by IVM Intersurer with Omidyar Network, Flourish Ventures, Accion Ventures Lab and Kalaari Capital.

This is Toffee Insurance’s second consecutive raise from four of the five key investors after their initial funding round of $1.5 million last year. Rohan Kumar, CEO &amp; Co-Founder, Toffee Insurance said: “Our goal is to unbundle products and repackage them in a consumer-friendly way, focussing on the benefits of insurance to make it almost like a commoditised way to sell insurance rather than a financial product.”

Read more at <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/toffee-insurance-secures-55-m-series-a-funding/article30341657.ece">Hindu Business Line</a>.

Toffee Insurance secures $5.5 m Series A funding

Insurtech startup Toffee Insurance has raised $5.5 million in a Series A round led by South African investor IVM Intersure along with particpation of existing investors Omidyar Network, Accion Venture Lab and Kalaari Capital. VC firm Flourish Ventures also participated in the round. This is the startup's second institutional fundraise after a seed funding round of $1.5 million raised in 2018. Taking a tech products approach to grow the reach of insurance, Toffee Insurance creates single-event insurance products in new categories using AI to secure "the next half-billion first-time internet users."

Read more at <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/toffee-insurance-raises-5-5-million-in-series-a/articleshow/72859952.cms">The Times of India</a>.

Toffee Insurance raises $5.5 million in Series A

Online insurance platform Toffee Insurance secured $5.5 million in its Series A round that was led by IVM Intersurer and saw participation by Omidyar Network, Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, and Kalaari Capital.

Read more at <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/12/startup-toffee-insurance-raises-1-5-million-ivm-intersurer">YourStory</a>.

[Funding alert] Toffee Insurance raises $5.5M from IVM Intersurer, others

Gurugram-based insurtech startup Toffee Insurance, on Wednesday (December 17), announced that it has raised $5.5 Mn in a Series A funding round led by IVM Intersurer, Omidyar Network, Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab and Kalaari Capital.
The company will be utilising the funds to expand its product portfolio, improve merchant and customer experience, enhance technology and increase distribution efficiency.
Founded in 2017, Toffee Insurance was started by Nishant Jain and Rohan Kumar. The company aims to make insurance accessible and affordable by creating relevant products in the insurance value chain. Previously, the company has <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/toffee-insurance-raises-1-5-mn-in-seed-funding-from-kalaari-omidyar-and-accion/">raised $1.5 Mn (INR 10 Cr) </a>in a seed funding round led by Kalaari Capital, Omidyar Network and Accion Venture Lab.
Read more at <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/insurtech-startup-toffee-insurance-raises-5-5-mn-series-a-round/">Inc42</a>.

Toffee Insurance Raises $5.5 Mn Series A Round

Toffee Insurance, which is an online insurance platform, has now secured $5.5 million in the funding round of Series A led by the IVM Intersurer and saw the participation from the Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Labs, Kalaari Capital and Omidyar Network.

In the month of May last year, it had also secured $1.5 million in its seed funding round led by the Omidyar Network, Accion Venture Labs, Kalaari Capital.

Read more at <a href="https://techstory.in/toffee-insurance-secured-5-5m-from-ivm-intersurer/">TechStory</a>.

Toffee Insurance secured $5.5M from IVM Intersurer

<a href="https://www.lopinion.fr/edition/economie/finance-durable-a-l-garde-transition-ecologique-sociale-tribune-libre-188776" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Microfinance</a>is not, as many believe, the first attempt to provide access to financial services and products to the most disadvantaged populations excluded from the banking system. As often, modernity has its roots in history; in this case the Mont-de-piété, the tontine or the cooperatives. But when Professor Muhammad Yunus carried out his first experiments in the 1980s in the city of Jobra in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, he had no idea that this local credit would boom worldwide. He who wanted to "free the dreams of men and help the poorest of the poor to achieve dignity" would be the father of the first microfinance institution: the Grameen Bank. Its objective was to compensate for the inability of the banking system to support the poor. Forty years later, the experience has become global and the banks have succumbed to the craze.

Major financial innovation, <a href="https://www.lopinion.fr/edition/politique/catherine-barbaroux-marginale-secante-chez-macron-114470" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">microcredit</a> takes the opposite of traditional banking logic. Loans, dedicated to a professional activity, are granted without requiring any guarantee in return. This daring bet pays off: we see that the poor repay better than traditional bank customers. The risk inherent in the model is often kept under control thanks to the mechanism of joint responsibility which consists in making the beneficiaries of the same group united.

Read more at <a href="https://www.lopinion.fr/edition/economie/microfinance-pourquoi-champ-possibles-s-elargit-tribune-d-alain-levy-203658">l'Opinion</a>.

"Microfinance: why the field of possibilities widens".

Female investors in early-stage tech are underrepresented in Latin America as they are <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/04/announcing-the-2017-update-to-the-crunchbase-women-in-venture-report/">globally</a>. Among entrepreneurs, only <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/portion-vc-backed-startups-founded-women-stays-stubbornly-stagnant/">17%</a> of venture-backed startups globally have a female co-founder, and they capture disproportionately less VC funding.

In an effort to raise the visibility of female investors in early-stage technology in Latin America, LAVCA has published an updated list of the <a href="https://lavca.org/vc/women-investing-latin-american-vc-decision-makers/">Top Women Investing in Latin American Tech</a>, as well as a second annual list of Emerging Women Investors in Latin American Tech.

The latest list includes 89 junior-level female investment professionals at VCs investing in Latin American startups. The group has grown by 89% over last year’s inaugural list*.

All nominees were vetted for inclusion by LAVCA research. View LAVCA’s list of Top Women Investing In Latin American Tech, with 88 senior investment professionals and notable angels, <a href="https://lavca.org/vc/women-investing-latin-american-vc-decision-makers/">here</a>.

*The Top and Emerging Women lists are not exhaustive. Y-O-Y increases reflect a growth of the number of women in qualifying roles, as well as LAVCA’s increasing knowledge of and access to these investors, and improved outreach over time.

Read more at <a href="https://lavca.org/2019/12/03/emerging-women-investing-in-latin-american-tech/">LAVCA</a>.

Emerging women investors in Latin American tech

Female investors in early-stage tech are underrepresented in Latin America as they are <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/04/announcing-the-2017-update-to-the-crunchbase-women-in-venture-report/">globally</a>. And among entrepreneurs, only <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/portion-vc-backed-startups-founded-women-stays-stubbornly-stagnant/">17%</a> of venture-backed startups globally have a female co-founder, and globally, they capture only <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/q2-2019-diversity-report-underwhelming-funding-for-female-founders-we-ask-vcs-why/">about 3%</a> of the VC funding.

In an effort to raise the visibility of female investors in early-stage tech in Latin America, LAVCA has published an updated list of the Top Women Investing in Latin American Tech, as well as our second annual list of  <a href="https://lavca.org/2018/10/24/emerging-women-investing-in-latin-american-tech/">Emerging Women Investors in Latin American Tech</a>.

The 88 investors represented on the Top Women list and the 89 investors represented on the Emerging Women list in 2019 represents a 7% and 89% increase, respectively, over 2018*.

In November 2016, LAVCA created the inaugural, peer-nominated list, with 37 investors represented. The second edition, published in November 2017, added eight new investors. In 2018, LAVCA’s research team reviewed and verified the investment teams of every known Latin American venture capital fund, producing a list of 82 senior-level investment professionals and 47 emerging investment professionals shaping the tech ecosystem in the region; in 2019, those numbers jumped to 88 and 89, respectively.

*The Top and Emerging Women lists are not exhaustive. Y-O-Y increases reflect a growth of the number of women in qualifying roles, as well as LAVCA’s increasing knowledge of and access to these investors, and improved outreach over time.
<h3 class="inline">Criteria:</h3>
The Top Women list includes  88 senior-level female investment professionals who are deploying capital in early-stage tech deals, as well as notable female angels investing over US$50k across multiple deals in the region. All investors were vetted for inclusion by LAVCA research, and have been active investors in the past four years.

LAVCA has also published a second annual list of <a href="https://lavca.org/2018/10/24/emerging-women-investing-in-latin-american-tech/">Emerging Women Investors in Latin American Tech</a>, with 89 junior and mid-level investment professionals on VC investment teams in the region.

Read more at <a href="https://lavca.org/vc/women-investing-latin-american-vc-decision-makers/">LAVCA</a>.

Top women investing in Latin American tech

Facebook India recently concluded the second round of it's artificial intelligence accelerator program. The program which was in partnership with Telangana government's T-Hub saw three finalists who will further receive mentorship from Facebook on go-to-market strategies.

Read more at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/facebook-india-innovation-accelerator-program-with-t-hub-finalists/articleshow/72239041.cms">Business Insider India</a>.

Facebook India to mentor makers of mosquito-killing drone, emotion health app and a digi financer

There's a key new player in the global financial services space. I'll call them the Platform Fintechs – or the “PlatFins.” Super platform technology companies (most famously Facebook, Google, Tencent, Alibaba, and their ilk) are playing an increasingly central role in the financial lives of consumers everywhere, including those that have been kept out of the financial system. The question of the role PlatFins will play in inclusive finance is a critical one for us at Accion Venture Lab — and also for the fintech startups that have already been working to make digital financial services available for all.
PlatFins initiate relationships with consumers for many reasons — they can start with ride-hailing like Go-Jek in Indonesia, food delivery like Rappi in Brazil and Postmates in the US, or even B2B sales like Alibaba in China and IndiaMart in India. But all of them end up as an app (or several) on hundreds of millions of consumers' phones, connecting the supply and demand of core services . Over time, these companies provide other services — Go-Jek offers auto-care, Alibaba provides chat and e-commerce (and just about everything else). Ultimately, many of these platforms become PlatFins, incorporating a slew of financial services that are highly relevant to the consumers they have started to know so well.

Most of these companies start by solving a hard problem that isn’t financial services — like moving things around cities with poor infrastructure. They begin to incorporate financial services in their offerings early on because they need to — fluid and digital payments are critical to the ability of the platform itself to operate optimally. Part of what makes Uber so popular is that you don’t need to pull out cash to pay. The same goes for an e-commerce transaction on Amazon. These companies are solving payments because they need to. They are then coming to the natural conclusion that they can do more.

Read more at <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/vikasraj/2019/11/20/platform-fintechs-are-cominghow-should-startups-respond/#3b45718a2b0f">Forbes</a>.

Platform Fintechs Are Coming - How Should Startups Respond?

European Microfinance Week is always a whirlwind of activity and insights, and this year has been no exception. As a media partner at the event, NextBillion covered some of the key sessions ­– here we highlight three of them, one from each day of the event.

Let’s start with Friday’s must-see plenary, which was streamed live – we’ve embedded the recorded video below. With the provocative topic of “Responsible Client Choices in Finance: Whose Responsibility Is It?” the panel included five of the most insightful (and often opinionated) voices in microfinance. (Disclaimer: The participants adopted opposing viewpoints for the purposes of a debate – they may or may not actually agree with the positions they’re arguing): 
<ul>
 	<li>Daniel Rozas, European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), Moderator</li>
 	<li>Mayada El-Zoghbi, CFI at Accion</li>
 	<li>Roshaneh Zafar, Kashf Foundation</li>
 	<li>Gerhard Coetzee, CGAP</li>
 	<li>Timothy Ogden, Financial Access Initiative</li>
</ul>
Watch the video below – or if you prefer, check out our <a href="https://twitter.com/NextBillionFH" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twitter feed, where we live-tweeted from the event</a>. And scroll down for insights from two other key sessions at the conference, highlights from Wednesday and Thursday.

Read more at <a href="https://nextbillion.net/three-key-sessions-from-european-microfinance-week-2019/">NextBillion</a>.