Accion

"Small businesses have long been ignored by the major players in Ethiopia’s financial services sector. Many micro and small businesses run non-digital, manual operations that give financial institutions little visibility, making it riskier and more expensive for providers to offer their services. Digital tools and solutions can address many of these challenges, however, small businesses will still require a lot of handholding and capacity-building to use these tools." Our Raliat Sunmonu spoke to Capitalethiopia about working with Dashen Bank, in partnership with Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, to bring financial solutions to small business owners in Ethiopia.

At 2X Global's member-exclusive global event this week, experts are sharing practical insights on why and how to introduce investment strategies that include and economically empower women. On Thursday, our Liza Guzmán will join 2X Global's Edna Karanja and Pro Mujer's Tomás González Bergez in a gender lens investing deep dive to explore how to leverage technology and access new markets to reach women and women-led businesses. ?? Session B: 20 March, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm CET / 9:00 am - 12:00 pm EST Contact [email protected] to learn more. #GenderLensInvesting #InvestmentOpportunities

In Brazil, millions of small-scale restaurants source their produce from smallholder farmers who grow 77% of the country’s food. But high dependence on informal supply chains and lack of formal records make access to financial services difficult for these small business owners. Accion, with support from Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, has partnered with Frubana to help 200,000 micro and small business owners in the food service industry access credit to invest in their businesses and build financial resilience. Together, we will leverage alternative data sources, such as restaurant images and customer interactions, to overcome the limitations of conventional credit scoring models and make credit accessible to previously unserved segments of the food service industry in Brazil. #DigitalTransformation #FinancialResilience #SmallBusiness

Happening today: Don't miss this conversation on addressing digital adoption barriers for women in rural India. Join the webinar: https://lnkd.in/e3ZaQ-sB

Inclusive fintech is constantly evolving, with innovations emerging each year. From tools for climate resilience to AI in fintech, Accion Venture Lab explores 6 trends that highlight the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Tomorrow, join us to discuss how we can help women in rural India to embrace digital tools by addressing adoption barriers: https://lnkd.in/e3ZaQ-sB We'll explore how microfinance institutions can better serve low-income women, strategies for ensuring digital repayments adoption, and tactics to overcome challenges, with insights from: ??Romit Sen, Senior Vice President, HSBC India ??Dr. Saibal Paul Paul, Deputy Director, Sa-Dhan Association ??Karunesh Nigam, MD & CEO, Swabhimaan Microfinance ??Rajat Arora,?Principal Investment Officer & Head of Asia Women's World Banking Asset Management ??Vinay Singh, Consultant, Microfinance? ??Avishkar Ghogre, Senior Lead Credit POD, National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) ??Archana Kejriwal, Senior Manager, Accion Advisory (moderator)

Attending Fintech Americas Miami 2025? On March 18, our Jose Wolff will take the stage to share Accion’s work to achieve financial inclusion in this digital era. Register to join and hear more from leaders in banking, fintech, and insurance innovation: https://lnkd.in/dYTc69Pm.

Inspired by his upbringing near Lake Victoria, Clinton Obura launched his company Samaking to improve Kenya's fish value chain by connecting fish farmers to retail and B2B customers. As a business owner, Clinton needs simple, effective tools to manage his growing customer base and convert inquiries into customers. He found SUKHIBA, an AI-powered conversational commerce and CRM platform built on WhatsApp. With SUKHIBA's frictionless solutions, driven entrepreneurs like Clinton can take their businesses to the next level. See how SUKHIBA, an Accion Venture Lab portfolio company, supports entrepreneurs: https://lnkd.in/e9MHyszm #AI #entrepreneurs #techinAfrica Jasiel Martin-Odoom

Many women-led businesses continue to be inadequately served by financial providers because traditional approaches fail to capture their unique behaviors and needs. That’s why, with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, Accion Advisory is working with Mexican digital platform provider techreo to strengthen its gender focus and increase women entrepreneurs’ access to financial services. Techreo enables microfinance partners to offer credit, savings, payments, and other financial products and services, including financial education content, to their customers through its mobile app. To grow its partner network and reach more women, we are supporting Techreo’s efforts to: ?? Leverage advanced data analytics models to better understand and tailor products for women entrepreneurs.? ?? Expand internationally, developing strategies through a gender lens.? ?? Build end-customer financial and digital capacity to encourage users, especially women, to build confidence and learn financial, digital, and managerial skills.?? We are also helping Techreo enhance internal policies, apply best practices, and implement a comprehensive change management strategy to ensure the lasting success of these initiatives. By adopting a women-centric approach and taking a long-term view from the outset, we can work toward a truly inclusive financial system. #WomenEntrepreneurs #WomensEmpowerment?The Coca-Cola Company Maria Belen Garrett Paz, Daniela de la Ossa Donado, Adriana Madrid, Liza Guzmán, Leonardo Tibaquira Morales, Isabella Méndez, Luis Merchan, Andres Calderon, Diego Gaviria, Laura Glenny

Next Tuesday, join us for a webinar to hear how we can address digital adoption barriers for rural women in India. We'll explore how microfinance institutions can better serve low-income women, strategies for ensuring digital repayments adoption, tactics to overcome challenges, with insights from: ?? Avishkar Ghogre, Senior Lead Credit POD, National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) ?? Karunesh Nigam, MD & CEO, Swabhimaan Microfinance ?? Romit Sen, Senior Vice President, HSBC ?? Dr. Saibal Paul, Deputy Director, Sa-Dhan Association ?? Archana Kejriwal, Senior Manager, Accion Advisory (moderator) Register here: https://lnkd.in/e3ZaQ-sB