FINCA’s 2017 International Women’s Day Event
Is FinTech the key to closing the gender gap?
Panel discussion moderated by Andrée Simon, President & CEO of FINCA Microfinance Holding Company, followed by networking session.
Date: Monday, March 6th | 5:30 – 8:00pm (panel)
Venue: FINCA, 1201 15th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005, NAHB Auditorium
Contact: IWD@FINCA.org
Panelists: Greta Bull, CGAP and World Bank; Susan Lund, McKinsey & Company; Ann Miles, The MasterCard Foundation.
More speakers to be announced.
Event Details
Financial technology (“FinTech”) is revolutionizing the way low-income people in developing countries access financial resources and transact with each other and the world: from enabling mobile payments that reduce expensive trips to a bank branch, to digital savings accounts, to accessing credit, to paying for solar power in affordable daily installments. Women in particular, long disproportionately held back by poverty, have much to gain. Technology has the potential to unlock markets and enable previously “unbanked” groups to access services at an unprecedented scale and velocity.
We know this to be true:
- Gender inequality is a significant barrier to greater prosperity for individuals and communities.
- By increasing women’s participation in the economy, the world’s GDP could grow by $12 trillion by 2025.
- FinTech has the potential to be an “equalizing” medium by introducing financial services to the estimated 2.5 billion people across the globe who lack access to bank accounts and other financial services (according to The Digital Finance Institute).
FINCA is a microfinance and social enterprise pioneer and innovator. We develop and provide sustainable, market-based solutions to enable full participation in the economy for all people and all communities. We are convening our second annual International Women’s Day roundtable discussion to shine a spotlight on what Fintech in emerging markets can mean for women, both as a catalyst for economic inclusion and for gender equality.