Making Finance Work for Women Summit organised by Women's World Banking to be Held in Mumbai

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 24 May 2023

The Making Finance Work for Women Summit will be held in Mumbai, India on May 24–25, 2023. Women's World Banking, a global pioneer in promoting financial inclusion for low-income women worldwide, will be hosting the event.

For the first time since 2019, over 300 leaders from the financial services, investor, philanthropy, policy, and technology communities will come together at the Making Finance Work for Women Summit to discuss creative ways to economically empower all women through financial inclusion.

According to Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and chief executive officer of Women's World Banking, "we continue to face an unprecedented number of events that have a detrimental impact on the global economy, frequently with particular harm to women. From climate change to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Around the world, almost a billion women still do not have access to the formal financial services that would enable them to remain resilient in the face of these difficulties. One method Women's World Banking uses to reduce the gender gap in financial services is the Making Finance Work for Women Summit. We'll present tried-and-true options that financial service providers and decision-makers everywhere may use.”

Participants in this year's Making Finance Work for Women Summit will have the chance to hear from influential people like Rajesh Bansal, CEO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, Stephanie Copus Campbell, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, and Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Australia's Ambassador for Gender Equality.

Panel discussions will cover a variety of topics, including gender lens investing, the role of the 'S' in ESG, and finance for displaced women. This will give attendees a chance to learn more about why having financial power is essential for economic resilience and what they can do to free women from financial shackles.

“In India, where Women's World Banking's history began more than 40 years ago and where we now carry out some of our most significant activities”, Mary said, "We are fortunate to have so many thought leaders gathered with us." "With India serving as the G20's Presidency this year, we could think of no better place to develop cutting-edge avenues for women's financial inclusion."

The Making Finance Work for Women Summit programming this year includes the return of the Fintech Innovation Challenge, which Women's World Banking is thrilled about. A global competition called the Fintech Innovation Challenge aims to highlight innovative approaches to assisting low-income women.

The Challenge will come to a close on the last day of the Summit, when the four finalists—GajiGesa, IndiaP2P, MeraBills, and Paycode—chosen from 98 applications submitted by applicants from 34 nations—will present their ideas to a panel of judges made up of professionals in the financial services, technology, innovation, and regulatory agencies. The winner will be given a priority pitch time at the Elevandi-powered Inclusive FinTech Forum in Rwanda. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) are the Challenge's sponsors.

"Fintechs have a distinct edge in solving the gender inclusion gap in digital financial services. The applicant pool for this year was brimming with creative businesses with intriguing business models for tackling the largest barriers to women's financial inclusion, according to Mary. The potential to advance the economic security and prosperity of women is immense for all four companies our finalists, three of whom are headed by female founders.

Women's World Banking is dedicated to advancing women's economic empowerment and financial inclusion. Over thirteen million women in emerging nations now have greater access to and/or use of financial services and products thanks to the worldwide organisation. Women's World Banking contributed 88 million dollars to inclusive financial institutions in the past year alone, benefiting over 6 million women.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the Leading Sponsor for the Making Finance Work for Women Summit, and Ernst & Young (EY US) is the Scaling Sponsor. The summit is organised by Women's World Banking. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, European Investment Bank, MetLife Foundation, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and United Nations Capital Development Fund have all contributed extra support to make the event possible. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and the Visa Foundation are Women's World Banking's primary funders.

About Women's World Banking

For the benefit of women, their families, and their communities, Women's World Banking develops and invests in financial products, institutions, and policy settings in developing countries. Women's World Banking creates impact through its scalable, market-driven solutions, gender lens private equity fund, leadership and diversity programmes, and global network of 61 financial services providers in 34 countries servicing more than 136 million women clients.