Accelerating Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion

  Nov 7, 2018 | by The SEEP Network

View Presentation

View Webinar Q&A

View Webinar Summary

Digital technology is key to expanding access to financial services for women. Digital financial services can help improve women’s access to and control over income, savings, and assets. However, across low- and middle-income countries, significant gender gaps persist in terms of women’s access to and use of digital technologies and formal financial services.

This session will explore how development practitioners can work innovatively with banks, mobile operators, technology firms, and regulators to address this gap. Presenters from AWEF, Women’s World Banking, and the African Management Initiative will showcase how a variety of approaches can work effectively in diverse contexts, factors that impact success and ways in which development practitioners/organizations can engage government and private sector partners to accelerate progress on the digital financial inclusion agenda.

This webinar is the third event in a two-year learning series: ”In Practice: Women’s Economic Empowerment in Market Systems,” which will feature a thought-provoking sequence of webinars, e-discussions, and practitioner briefs, followed by an in-person learning event. The learning partnership is brought to you by the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF)together with DAI Europe, MarketShare Associates, the SEEP Network and UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Moderator

Basma Ghanem, Lead Market Analyst, Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund

Basma Ghanem’s current work focuses on the design and implementation of program interventions that aim to promote Women’s Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion using a Market Systems approach. Her post with AWEF came after 6 years of experience in supporting MSME access to financial and non-financial services through work with US Department of State-funded projects and USAID. Prior to her career in economic development, Basma was a banker for 15 years in Cairo, Bahrain and Qatar, with specialization on corporate credit and risk management. Basma holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from the American University in Cairo and a Masters-equivalent certificate in finance and banking in accordance with Chase Manhattan Bank standards.

Speakers

Chloé Gueguen, Consultant in Digital Financial Inclusion, Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund

Chloé Gueguen is a digital finance specialist and a relentless advocate of leveraging ’Fintech’ innovations to create meaningful financial solutions for low-income people, especially poor or disadvantaged women. As a Lead Market Analyst for the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), Chloé co-leads AWEF’s Financial Inclusion (FI) program in Egypt, which involves designing the FI program strategy, identifying opportunities to work with digital finance stakeholders and piloting innovative development approach to accelerate women’s economic empowerment by giving them greater access to – and agency over – financial services in Egypt. Chloé also works as a part-time consultant for the IFC/World Bank Group, where, as part of the « MENA Banking on Women » Program, she advises financial institutions to better cater to the women’s markets in Morocco and Tunisia. Chloé holds a Canadian MBA from Laval University and a French Master degree from Toulouse Business School.

Diana Boncheva Gooley, Strategic Advisory, Digital Financial Services, Women’s World Banking

Diana Boncheva Gooley leads the digital financial services (DFS) initiatives for Women’s World Banking’s financial inclusion work in emerging markets that range from women’s market strategies to solutions development that aim to increase usage and adoption of DFS by women. Previously, Diana headed Strategic Partnerships and Projects at Mondato as a management consultant specializing in digital finance/mobile Fintech. Diana also launched and managed projects such as mobile parking, ticketing, and debt collection for Paythru, a Fintech startup in the UK. She began her career in digital finance as an analyst in mobile money developing some of the first research in the space including evaluation frameworks and market studies. At the same time, she also managed a remittance price comparison portal.

Rebecca Harrison, CEO, African Management Initiative

Rebecca Harrison is the CEO and Co-Founder of AMI and has led the team since inception. She is passionate about democratizing skills development and supporting entrepreneurship in Africa through our practical and affordable learning tools. Under Rebecca’s leadership, AMI has developed a large and growing portfolio of clients across Africa and has raised equity, debt and grant capital from African and international impact investors and foundations. She represents AMI globally at various forums and is global co-chair of the Talent committee at the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).

Explore past webinars in this series:

Linking Women to Markets: A Closer Look at Women’s Market Readiness

Women’s Economic Empowerment: Practical Tools for Gender-responsive Poverty Measurement

This webinar is hosted by the SEEP Network in partnership with the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF),

DAI Europe, MarketShare Associates, and UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).