Accion Venture Lab

We're very grateful to the global inclusive fintech community for joining us at the 2024 Fintech for Inclusion Global Summit in London. Hosted by Accion Venture Lab in partnership with Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, #FIGS2024 brought together over 270 founders, investors, and practitioners in inclusive fintech who are making an impactful change on a global level. The attendees joined engaging workshops, fireside chats, and panel discussions with remarkable speakers like: ?? TS Anil of Monzo Bank ?? Jorn Lambert of Mastercard ?? Jane Atherton of Temasek ?? Upasana Taku of MobiKwik ?? Ashish Aggarwal of PayPal Ventures ?? Jonathan Whittle of Quona Capital ?? Udayan Goyal of Apis Partners ?? Pim Engels of FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank ?? Tage Kene-Okafor In addition, over 200 1:1 meetings were facilitated throughout the day via our official event app, powered by Brella. Finally, we're grateful for the significant support of our presenting and content partners: Citi, CGAP, Community Investment Management, RPCK Rastegar Panchal, AXA, Carta. We'll see you in 2026 for the next Summit! #fintech #financialinclusion #FIGS2024

Our 2024 CEO Forum at Christ Church, Oxford has come to a close. We at Accion Venture Lab are honored to be part of our CEOs' journeys. Their daily highs and lows in building a more inclusive world, their willingness to share their challenges, and their effort to help one another succeed continue to inspire us. We couldn't be more proud to work with each of them. Thank you to our CEOs who attended, as well as our experts who contributed to such rich content over the past two days: ?? Islam Shawky, CEO of Paymob, on how to scale effectively. ?? Deepak Kothari, COO of ftcash, on identifying the most effective cost drivers to tackle. ?? TS Anil, CEO of Monzo Bank, for an inspiring session on leading a team through challenging times ?? Darren McKay (Financial Technology Partners / FT Partners), Phillip Riese (RIESE & OTHERS), and Udayan Goyal (Apis Partners) for sharing an investor's perspective on strategic pathways forward ?? Gustaf Agartson, CEO of Bima, on building teams that last and Annika Brundyn of NVIDIA for a fun and pragmatic look at getting started with #GenerativeAI Today, we host over 275 practitioners, investors, and founders at our Fintech for Inclusion Global Summit. See you! #FIGS24

Fintech community in #London: TOMORROW IS THE DAY! Join over 250 fellow founders, investors, and builders in the inclusive fintech community in London for the Accion Venture Lab Fintech for Inclusion Summit, brought to you alongside our partners Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, Citi, RPCK Rastegar Panchal, Carta, Community Investment Management, AXA, and CGAP. ? Ticket sales ends tonight ? - the link to register is in the first comment -- see you tomorrow!

In the recent blog, Jasiel Martin-Odoom, our Investment Officer, shares why we invested in SUKHIBA, an AI-powered conversational commerce platform using WhatsApp to enhance inventory access for SME wholesalers/retailers and streamline operations for manufacturers, distributors, and e-commerce brands in Africa. SUKHIBA team: ?? bridges the gap between brands, manufacturers, distributors, and their customers; ?? streamlines payments and enhancing trade credit; ?? meets customers where they are. We also believe SUKHIBA’s strong traction and visionary team will drive them to transform B2B commerce in Africa. We are beyond excited to be on this journey with you! ?? Read more about why we invested in SUKHIBA here ? https://lnkd.in/deQmRKuR

For this year's Fintech for Inclusion Global Summit 2024 we've prepared a compelling midday panel where top investors and industry leaders will discuss key emerging areas in inclusive finance. As the world of finance rapidly evolves, this discussion will spotlight the forces shaping the future, including cutting-edge technologies, shifting capital flows, and evolving regulatory landscapes. Speakers: ?? Ashish Aggarwal, PayPal Ventures ?? Pim Engels, FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank ??Jonathan Whittle, Quona Capital ??Udayan Goyal, Apis Partners Moderator: ?? Tage Kene-Okafor, Technology Journalist Don't miss out on insights that could define the next wave of financial inclusion! #FinancialInclusion #Fintech #Investing

We are proud to announce that AGRIM has raised $17.3M to help farmers get inputs like seeds and harvesting tools more easily. AGRIM is a B2B platform that enables agri-input retailers to procure agri-inputs directly from SME agri-input manufacturers. Agrim works with retailers and manufacturers that have not used an e-commerce platform before, offering a minimalistic user interface allowing retailers to set the pricing. This Series B round, led by Asia Impact, also included participation from existing investors Accion Venture Lab, IndiaQuotient, Kalaari Capital and Omnivore. Congratulations Mukul Garg, Avi Jain, and the entire AGRIM team! ?? Read more about the round in this TechCrunch article- https://lnkd.in/dNMpaxR5 Rahil Rangwala Ishan Mishra Accion ??

"Founders and investors should think about more than scale as they roll out gig economy platforms to the developing world. Doing so won’t just help workers; it will give platforms a better chance at success." If you want to know more about #GlobalGigEconomy and how startups can make it better, check out the latest article written by our Managing Partner, Rahil Rangwala, for the Stanford Social Innovation Review: https://lnkd.in/eVPh4-nZ

We are proud to announce our partners for the Fintech for Inclusion Global Summit 2024, who have been instrumental in bringing this event to life: ?? Flagship Partner: Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth ?? Presenting Partners: FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, Citi ?? Content Partners: CGAP, Community Investment Management, RPCK Rastegar Panchal, AXA, Carta. With the support of our partners, we’re set to explore the innovations and strategies that are driving financial inclusion around the globe. Together, we hope to create meaningful discussions, foster collaborations, and pave the way for a more inclusive financial future. #FintechForInclusion #Partnerships #FinancialInclusion #Innovation #Impact

We are beyond excited to welcome SUKHIBA team to our portfolio! SUKHIBA is an innovative conversational commerce & CRM platform. Focused on emerging markets, SUKHIBA helps medium and large enterprises extend their sales and retention by leveraging WhatsApp.?Over 35,000 SMEs use the platform to purchase products and services through its merchant partners. The team has just closed a $1.55 million seed extension round led by EQ2 Ventures. Other top-tier investors participating in the round include Accion Venture Lab, Musha Ventures, Quona Capital, and existing investors CRE VENTURES LIMITED. "We see that small retailers in emerging markets are reliant on in-person interactions to manage their day-to-day commerce. SUKHIBA's innovative platform can streamline many processes for small and medium enterprises as well as large manufacturers and distributors — from integrating inventory management and payment processing to trade credit, logistics, and customer engagement; all within the familiar interface of WhatsApp, helping improve the client experience and boost productivity." - shared Amee Parbhoo, our Managing Partner. Congratulations Ananth Gudipati, Abhinav Reddy, and the whole SUKHIBA team on this milestone! We're thrilled to be on this journey with you! ?? Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/g-7cVPqE

We're excited to partner with FINNOSUMMIT Mexico 2024 by Finnovista and connect with key players in the fintech ecosystem. Join us on September 25-26 in Mexico City, and use our code ACCIONFS20 for a 20% discount: https://lnkd.in/eS5RTHKz #FINNOSUMMIT