Female-Focused FinTechs: A Challenge And An Opportunity

It’s no news that the finance industry has always been painted to be more male-dominated, ,portraying women through an infantilized gaze – while men are perceived to have more leader-like qualities, adorned in representations of handling finances independently and mindfully. Despite data to prove that women possess equal leadership qualities and maintain active investment portfolios, representing women in the same light as their male counterparts is somehow lost in execution.

By picking up on the differences that account for each individual’s personalized financial journey, consumer-focused FinTechs are changing the game for financial vulnerability pertaining especially to the underserved communities.

Several players from the ecosystem are approaching gender imbalance through female-focused offerings that identify gender as a horizontal category that runs through all aspects of society and therefore, the economy. By designing solutions that serve as the vehicle for women’s empowerment in adopting financial services to eventually gain financial freedom, FinTechs display their potential in bridging the persisting gender gap.

Investing and Financial Planning

Today, plenty of women are familiar with the concept of investing in order to drive their savings ambitions. However, it has been found that globally only ,33% of women see themselves as investors. FinTech solutions have the potential to bring a change in this aspect with their digital solutions that can be accessed by a wider audience. Your Juno, an app closing the gender gap in financial literacy by offering bite-sized, engaging, and expert financial education for single women and non-binary people, is one of the many initiatives that is doing just that. India-based Basis works on a similar note, being a financial services destination for women that is powered by education and communities. US’ Ellevest is another well-known firm that is helping women build their wealth by creating and managing a personalized investment portfolio for them.

Banking

Nigeria’s FinTech startup for creating financial resources for women ,Herconomy; US-based ,Sequin debit card that builds credit for women; and São Paolo’s gender-equity oriented ,ElasBank account for few of the names that are banking on women to enable them to access credit – an area that many women are denied the right to, and where many face systematic barriers of lower credit limits and credit card rejections instead. By providing a set of banking services related to accounts and loans with lower interest rates, financial institutions and providers act as catalysts in achieving financial sustainability.

Financing for SMEs and Micro-entrepreneurs

The need to set up more women-owned SMEs in emerging markets is critical to boosting the economic growth, which makes it crucial to ensure that interruptions in the form of lack of credit information, limitation to legal capacity and property rights, as well as lack of access to human capital and collateral are attended to as soon as possible. ,HerVest is a Nigeria-based FinTech platform that is addressing the gender gap in agriculture by enabling small-holder female farmers to participate in key financial services such as impact investment and flexible, goal-based savings. Indonesia-based ,Amartha is another fintech that is connecting micro and SME business partners with potential online lenders in a bid to modernize micro-financing for the informal sector. Other names that are helping women micropreneurs in assisting their socio-economic mobility include California-based non-profit organization ,Kiva, Kenya’s microfinance company ,Cherehani, Spain’s crowdlending platform ,Microwd, and Nigeria-based social enterprise for rural women in Africa, ,Mamamoni.

Insurance

Australia’s travel insurance brand ,Travel with Jane and US-based InsurTech company ,Jenny Life are addressing an important need for women from all walks of life – the ability to apply for insurance that will aid in building their financial backup for a secure future. While Jenny Life delivers fully-customized, budget-friendly life insurance that removes the unnecessary unfair practices from buying a life insurance, Travel with Jane is turning the tide by offering affordable and flexible protection, with 10 optional extras that are tailored keeping all sorts of travelers in mind.

Attuning Attitudes: Narrowing In On Narrow Boxes

Bursting the bubble surrounding culture begins with acknowledging the critical work that women put in daily in advancing the financial abundance of the society as a whole. Once this has been established after surpassing the many micro-aggressive behaviors that are passed around in the blink of an eye, the next step involves narrowing in on the many platforms and literacy efforts that can draw women out of socially-narrow boxes. By leveraging their drive to make a difference for humanity in their quest for financial resilience, women can serve to be role models not only for other aspiring women in the space but also for the many marginalized people that feel insecure about their abilities in managing their own funds.

With many platforms across geographies and industries gearing up to address the disconnect between diverse socio-economic concerns, such as racial equity and gender imbalance, it is equally important to keep in mind to not take progress for granted – for it is only consistent practices that target deep-rooted beliefs that will paint the real vision of a bias-free world we all truly desire for.