Village Capital, a venture capital firm that finds, trains, and invests in early-stage ventures solving major global problems in agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, and health has partnered with the Impact-Linked Finance Fund (ILFF) to launch their latest report highlighting tech solutions promoting financial inclusion for migrants.
Named Catalyzing Financial Inclusion: Gender-Inclusive Fintech Solutions for Migrants, the report takes a closer look at the need for and availability of financial products and services of migrant populations throughout their journey, with a closer look at the core challenges facing migrant populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, and how these impact women migrants on a greater level.
“Entrepreneurs are answering the call to solve some of the world’s toughest problems,” shared Alicia Sornson, Manager, Programs and Partnerships – MENA, Village Capital. “We see innovative solutions in the financial inclusion space that are helping to close the gap of access to financial services for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. As we gathered insights on the obstacles migrants face, we also identified women migrants as a vulnerable group that tends to be more excluded in financial services – revealing a need to create more equitable systems.”
With insights gathered from over 70 in-depth research interviews with entrepreneurs, NGOs, financial institutions, investors, and other key stakeholders, the report reveals how the financial sector –including both traditional financial institutions and fintech solutions– plays an active role in addressing existing barriers.
“Migrants, and especially migrant women, have not been fully recognized by the private sector as a distinct customer group. Fintech and social enterprises can play a critical role in this regard: They provide market-based solutions to underserved communities, such as financial products for migrant women and their families. Through technologies, they can make sure that products are accessible, affordable, fast and transparent.” – Patricia Barandun, Head of Thematic Section Migration and Forced Displacement, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The report comes at a time when the world faces the highest levels of forced migration ever recorded. A global trends report released by UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency reveals that the number of people forcibly displaced globally exceeds 100 million. While many solutions are actively working to improve the ability of migrants to access formal financial services, a lot more needs to be done.
The report Catalyzing Financial Inclusion: Gender-Inclusive Fintech Solutions for Migrants has been made possible through the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) as part of the initiative “Impact-Linked Fund for Gender-Inclusive Fintech.