DigiLab Finance

Events

Mar
29
SME FINANCE FORUM
Communities of Practice
Women Entrepreneurs Finance Community of Practice - Gender Intelligent Design in Financial Services
Add to Calendar 2023-03-28 20:00:00 2023-03-28 20:00:00 Women Entrepreneurs Finance Community of Practice - Gender Intelligent Design in Financial Services Background The objective of the Women Entrepreneurs Financing Community of Practice (CoP) is to effectively share knowledge and best practices, tools, and innovative products to facilitate increased services to W-SMEs. To discuss and agree on how best to build a sustainable community of practice, we organized the first meeting on December 16th, 2020. Its purpose was to discuss and agree on priority areas of focus and how to best structure the CoP to serve members on how best to build a sustainable community to effectively share lessons learned on increasing financial services to W-SMEs.   Topic The SME Finance Forum’s MSME Finance Gap estimates a $1.53 trillion finance gap for Women-MSMEs (W-MSMEs). To close the gender finance gap, it is important that banks, fintechs and other financial service providers (FSPs) embed the unique needs and constraints of women MSMEs and consumers in the design and delivery of financial services. Historically, FSPs have offered “gender-neutral” products and services to both men and women. Demand-side constraints, combined with limited gender-disaggregated data, leave FSPs without good insights on W-MSMEs unique wants and needs for financial services. Hence, most financial products are designed “gender neutral” without women in mind. However, if product design does not intentionally consider women’s realities, it is built for men—as demonstrated by the persistent gender gap in financial and digital inclusion.  A “gender-intelligent” approach aims to overcome women’s specific constraints through data-driven design based on market research to create distinct customer value. FSPs must take a gender-intelligent design approach, drawing on quantitative and qualitative research and focusing on creating value for women. To close the gender finance gap and reap benefits for both W-MSME and their institutions, FSPs must take a gender-intelligent design approach. During the next session our partners from Women’s World Banking and FinEquity will share evidence and examples of why designing financial services for women is critical. They will share practical insights, resources and tools on segmentation approaches, user research, design principles and methodologies. Reinforcing evidence that focusing on women can bring benefits to this largely untapped market, that flows back to the FSPs that serve them, and economies as a whole.   Objectives Demonstrate the potential for gender-aware design Share experiences and lessons on gender-intelligent design and models Showcase approaches, resources, and tools for gender-intelligent design Deep Dive into research and market segmentation methodologies Data – Gender disaggregated data, alternative data, filling data gaps   Discuss challenges, mitigation techniques and possible solutions Facilitate CoP participants’ contribution in sharing unique experience and solutions    Moderator Jose Felix Etchegoyen - Senior Operations Officer - IFC   José has over 25 years of experience in international banking and emerging markets, focused on unbanked or underserved populations. Currently at IFC, he leads advisory services, product development and strategy for the Banking on Women business line. He also leads mentoring and training activities on best practices in Banking on Women. He supported several financial inclusion and women economic empowerment projects globally with focus on underserved populations (MSME, Women, Immigrants, etc.). He leads projects across two continents focusing on SME, gender finance and digital financial services. He supports banks in the structuring and launching of value propositions focus on sales approach, credit underwriting processes and non-financial services for middle market, SME, and micro segments. Jose leads IFCs Data and Gender Global Practice Groups to ensure the adherence to best practices across MSME banking, gender finance, data and analytics. Prior to joining IFC, he served as Director of Financial Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services in Washington D.C. and Principal Banking Solutions Specialist at SAS Institute in Miami, Florida. He also worked in leading FIs in the USA. and Latin America such as Citibank and Banco Santander. José holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Business Strategy and Finance from the Kellogg School of Management (Evanston, USA).    Volunteers Marina Dimova - Global Director, Financial Industry & Network Advocacy - WWB  Marina as the Global Director of Financial Industry & Network Advocacy leads the efforts to support Network Members and financial services providers across the industry to adopt best practices, share knowhow and take tangible actions to advance women’s financial inclusion. Women’s World Banking’s vision is to build a strong peer-learning community, which not only supports Network Members along their respective journeys to women’s financial inclusion, but also is a strong voice and champion for women’s financial inclusion for the financial industry. Marina also leads Women’s World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge and engagements and partnerships with the fintech industry. In her previous role as Managing Director, Design and Innovation, she focused on identifying and designing innovative financial solutions for women and girls. Marina is a designer with over 18 years of experience developing, implementing and scaling innovative solutions to social problems. Previously, Marina was a Vice President at ideas42 and Associate Research Director at Ikatu International. She has also worked on agricultural value chains and private sector development at the World Bank, and in finance and healthcare consulting.Marina holds an MPA in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School, and a B.A. in Economics and Government from Franklin & Marshall College. Catherine Mclennan Highet - Consultant - FinEquity Catherine  is the Digitally Enabled Financial Inclusion Thematic Lead at FinEquity. Prior to this role, Catherine worked with the GSMA Connected Women program and FHI 360, focusing on digital inclusion activities, including DFS, digital identity, and gender equality. She has also consulted for several digital development partners in the public and private sectors including IREX, Mozilla, and GIZ.      Registration Registration is open for members on Member's portal.   By registering for this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.   Read about the work of our CoPs.   If you are not a member and interested in participating,  please send an email to Minerva Kotei   SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Apr
05
SME FINANCE FORUM
Marketplace
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - April Session
Add to Calendar 2023-04-04 20:00:00 2023-04-04 20:00:00 SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - April Session The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.  April Marketplace Session This monthly marketplace session, scheduled on Wednesday, April 5th from 8 am to 9 am EDT, will feature Leading Small Business Lenders and Finance Facilitators who will present their MSMEs Product and Services. Following the presentations, participants can reach out directly to the presenters to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities!  Companies Pitching  Asaas Asaas is a fintech company that offers solutions to automate the financial back-office of companies in Brazil, focusing on Accounts Receivables, Payables and Credit. In 2021, the Company received its Payments Institution license from the Brazilian Central Bank, and in 2022 received its Credit license. Asaas was founded in Joinville, Brazil in 2014.   FintechOS End-to-end provider of SaaS-based front, middle and back office financial technology. FintechOS serves 40+ institutions - banks and insurers - in 20 markets and has offices in London, Amsterdam and Bucharest. Finnovating Finnovating is the first B2B FinTech platform that connects 50,000+ FinTech, InsurTech, and PropTech with corporations and investors globally by promoting sustainable development and financial inclusion. Through its proprietary AI algorithms Finnovating is accelerating the open innovation and the collaboration between financial institutions and the best FinTech solutions to reinvent the way of doing finance in every corner of the world.   Slovene Enterprise Fund The Slovene Enterprise Fund (hereinafter the Fund or SEF) is a public financial fund for the financial support of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and scale-ups, which reduces gaps in access to finance and substantive support through effective financial and substantive incentives and allows the co-financing of various business services (vouchers) for SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups focusing on priority sectors of the future. Presenters  Rodrigo García de la Cruz - CEO  - Finnovating  Rodrigo is probably the largest Fintech worldwide connector as he is cofounder of the IberoAmerican FinTech Alliance, European Digital Finance Association and the Spanish FinTech  and InsurTech Association. On the other hand, he is the Founder of Finnovating, the first global Platform that connects 50,000+ fintech from 150+ countries with corporations and  investors. He is Robotic engineer, economist with studies in the LSE, and former director of entities such as Citibank, Barclays or Santander Bank. He has also launched the first FinTech fund in the south of Europe in 2015.   Piero Contezini - President and Co Founder - Asaas  Piero holds a B. Sc.in Financial Management and is a self-taught software developer and entrepreneur. He started his professional career at 16 years old in the field of information security consulting. Before creating Asaas in 2014, Piero co-founded 3 other companies, including ContaAzul, the largest ERP for small companies in Brazil. Today, Piero is the Executive Chairman of Asaas.       João Vitor Possamai - Chief Financial Officer - Asaas  João Vitor is the CFO at Asaas. Prior to joining the Company in 2021, João was a Principal at CPP Investments covering Latin America, where he participated in 7 transactions totalling US$ 3bn in equity investment. Previously, João also worked in Investment Banking at HSBC in São Paulo and Macquarie in NYC. João holds a B. Sc. in Finance and Accounting from NYU.        Anja Kupčič - Senior Adviser for International Cooperation - Slovene Enterprise Fund   Anja holds a bachelor degree in European studies and a master degree in Strategic and project management at the Faculty of Economic and Business. She has started her professional career in Slovene Enterprise Fund, as an Adviser for the field of vouchers, public calls of small amounts. Currently she is working as an Senior Adviser for International Copperation for Slovene Enterprise Fund. During her work she has gain a broad understanding of entrepreneurship and SME support policy as well as national strategic programs in relations with other international actors, such as European Comission, European Investment Bank, etc. She is actively participating in  the preparation and implementation of support programs for the internationalization of SMEs. She is the project coordinator for two international development projects where Slovene Enterprise Fund is coolaborating with United Nations Industrial Development Organization. She is an internationally oriented and proactive person who is constantly searching for opportunities for professional development, especially in the fields of international and economic cooperation.   How does the Marketplace operate? To participate in the marketplace, each institution must have: An institutional profile (company profile and products/services offering) A personal profile (individuals representing the companies) Individuals on the Marketplace can explore products and services available (investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. ) and reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership. To learn how to set up a company profile, a listing and an individual profile, please read the User Manual in this link. Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.    SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Apr
12
SME FINANCE FORUM
Communities of Practice
Development Finance Institutions Community of Practice
Add to Calendar 2023-04-11 20:00:00 2023-04-11 20:00:00 Development Finance Institutions Community of Practice The second meeting exclusively for the DFIs in our member community. Two members will be presenting on the subject of impact measurement in SME Finance, followed by a roundtable discussion among our DFI members on how to better coordinate international and domestic DFIs work in this complex and demanding task. Domestic and international development finance institutions (DFIs) are specialized banks created by government(s) to promote economic growth, poverty alleviation, SME development, job creation, gender equality, etc., both in developing and developed economies. DFIs adopt the same rules, policies and use the same instruments as commercial banks, such as loans, credit lines, equity, and guarantees. Due to their different focus and development mandate, they tend to take more risks and adopt a longer-term perspective on their financial performance and profitability than commercial banks. Because of the differences mentioned, DFIs face specific challenges, many of which need to be encountered by commercial financial institutions. DFIs represent an important component of the membership of the SME Finance Forum. While many of the activities of the SME Finance Forum are relevant and valuable for the DFI members, a community of practice of development finance institutions is deemed necessary so to enable them to share their learning and experiences with one another as well as to explore ways they could collaborate and explore a partnership. Speakers will be announced soon    Registration Registration is open for members on Member's portal.   By registering for this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.   If you are not a member and interested in participating,  please send an email to Marcus Blakesley Chenevix-Trench Registration is open for members on the Member's portal. SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
May
03
SME FINANCE FORUM
Marketplace
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - May Session
Add to Calendar 2023-05-02 20:00:00 2023-05-02 20:00:00 SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - May Session The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.  April Marketplace Session This monthly marketplace session, scheduled on Wednesday, May 3rd from 8 am to 9 am EDT, will feature Leading Small Business Lenders and Finance Facilitators who will present their MSMEs Product and Services. Following the presentations, participants can reach out directly to the presenters to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities!  Companies Pitching Arara   Rise and Motive Partner Rise has a simple vision: to power a better future for SME lending. How? By helping financial institutions improve their SME credit decisioning with alternative data. Rise is a product powered by Motive Create, the innovation arm of private equity firm Motive Partners.   Strands With the mission of improving the bank-client relationship, we are the worldwide leading FinTech that develops solutions for financial institutions to increase customer engagement and generate new revenues through digital channels. Our solutions combine machine learning, open banking, open finance, and artificial intelligence to create highly personalized solutions to attract, retain and engage retail and SME customers for them to reach a new concept of financial wellness.   Presenters Charlie Robertson has 8 years of experience in the fintech industry as a Product Owner. Has spent the majority of that time solving problems in the SME market with emerging innovative technologies. The product he currently leads is called Rise.     How does the Marketplace operate? To participate in the marketplace, each institution must have: An institutional profile (company profile and products/services offering) A personal profile (individuals representing the companies) Individuals on the Marketplace can explore products and services available (investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. ) and reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership. To learn how to set up a company profile, a listing and an individual profile, please read the User Manual in this link. Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.    SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
May
10
SME FINANCE FORUM
Communities of Practice
AgriFinance Community of Practice
Add to Calendar 2023-05-09 20:00:00 2023-05-09 20:00:00 AgriFinance Community of Practice Registration is open on the Member's portal   The SME Finance Forum has created a Community of Practice on Agrifinance, a group of AgriFinance experts and practitioners from member and non-member institutions, to discuss experiences and document good practices and innovations in the field. One main objective of this CoP is to promote learning and sharing of good practice examples that help members improve their offerings and better serve the Agri-SMEs. Target audience: SME Finance Forum members, IFC clients, and their guests. By way of background, the SME Finance Forum convenes the AgriFinance CoP meetings every quarter. These meetings are open only to members of the SME Finance Forum. The attendees are senior executives and practitioners from banks, fintech companies, DFIs, NBFIs, and credit guarantees, who operate in over 190 countries. Usually, the meetings have between 40-100 attendees. The invitation could be extended to non-members on a case-by-case basis. Panelists: Will be announced soon Registration is open for members on Member's portal.   By registering for this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.   Read about the work of our CoPs   ---------------------------------------------------------------   If you are not a member and interested in participating,  please send an email to Khrystyna Kushnir   SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Jun
08
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
2023 ACCIS Conference: Powering data-driven financial decisions
Varignana, Italy
Add to Calendar 2023-06-07 20:00:00 2023-06-07 20:00:00 2023 ACCIS Conference: Powering data-driven financial decisions Our member ACCIS announced the date and theme of its 2023 annual conference! The 2023 Conference theme is Powering data-driven financial decisions. Companies must have best-of-class information-driven tools to target and acquire customers, while managing risks and maintaining healthy margins. Businesses and consumers have to make purchasing and financial decisions in a changing, sophisticated economic and legal environment, where options multiply, as do the risks associated to them. The agenda will explore how technology, data and analytics can support financial decision-making in new, purposeful ways. We will also discuss the role and importance of the credit data ecosystem in reducing irresponsible lending, while promoting financial inclusion and helping prevent fraud. CRIF, as strategic event partner, and FICO have confirmed their support of our event. If your organisation is interested in becoming a conference sponsor, please check out the sponsorship section of the website The organising committee is currently working on the conference programme, and we will contact you in the New Year when a more detailed programme is available. In the meantime, we welcome any suggestions regarding potential speakers. Registration will open in 2023 - https://registration.accisconference.eu/ Varignana, Italy SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Jun
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Marketplace
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - June Session
Add to Calendar 2023-06-20 20:00:00 2023-06-20 20:00:00 SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - June Session The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.  April Marketplace Session This monthly marketplace session, scheduled on Wednesday, June 21st from 8 am to 9 am EDT, will feature Leading Small Business Lenders and Finance Facilitators who will present their MSMEs Product and Services. Following the presentations, participants can reach out directly to the presenters to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities!  Companies Pitching Will be Announced Soon  How does the Marketplace operate? To participate in the marketplace, each institution must have: An institutional profile (company profile and products/services offering) A personal profile (individuals representing the companies) Individuals on the Marketplace can explore products and services available (investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. ) and reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership. To learn how to set up a company profile, a listing and an individual profile, please read the User Manual in this link. Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.    SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Jul
19
SME FINANCE FORUM
Marketplace
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - July Session
Add to Calendar 2023-07-18 20:00:00 2023-07-18 20:00:00 SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - July Session The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.  April Marketplace Session This monthly marketplace session, scheduled on Wednesday, June 21st from 8 am to 9 am EDT, will feature Leading Small Business Lenders and Finance Facilitators who will present their MSMEs Product and Services. Following the presentations, participants can reach out directly to the presenters to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities!  Companies Pitching Will be Announced Soon  How does the Marketplace operate? To participate in the marketplace, each institution must have: An institutional profile (company profile and products/services offering) A personal profile (individuals representing the companies) Individuals on the Marketplace can explore products and services available (investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. ) and reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership. To learn how to set up a company profile, a listing and an individual profile, please read the User Manual in this link. Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org   SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Jul
24
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Applications are now being accepted for Women's World Banking’s 2023 Leadership and Diversity Program for Regulators
Add to Calendar 2023-07-23 20:00:00 2023-07-23 20:00:00 Applications are now being accepted for Women's World Banking’s 2023 Leadership and Diversity Program for Regulators Women's World Banking’s 2023 Leadership and Diversity Program for Regulators. Application deadline: 31 January 2023   This is the only program for financial regulators at the intersection of leadership development and women’s financial inclusion. This year, part of the program will be face-to-face over four days of intensive, in-person learning at Oxford University's Saïd Business School in the UK from 24-27 July. As economies across the globe face recession, our challenge to reach the 742 million women still outside the formal financial sector, who are the most vulnerable and the hardest to reach, becomes even more essential. This multi-week blended program, taught by Women’s World Banking and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, equips senior officials from central banks and other regulatory agencies in emerging markets with the skills to identify, design and implement a policy initiative to advance women’s financial inclusion, coupled with the skills to create an enabling environment to advance women leaders within their institutions.  Download the Brochure This is an opportunity for participants from across the globe to connect, network, and put the skills they learn into practice. The program cost per pair: is USD 8,000 (Senior Official + High-Potential Woman Leader) There is sponsorship available, but spots are limited! Please send your application as soon as possible. More Information SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public
Oct
04
SME FINANCE FORUM
Marketplace
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - October Session
Add to Calendar 2023-10-03 20:00:00 2023-10-03 20:00:00 SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - October Session The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.  April Marketplace Session This monthly marketplace session, scheduled on Wednesday, June 21st from 8 am to 9 am EDT, will feature Leading Small Business Lenders and Finance Facilitators who will present their MSMEs Product and Services. Following the presentations, participants can reach out directly to the presenters to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities!  Companies Pitching Will be Announced Soon  How does the Marketplace operate? To participate in the marketplace, each institution must have: An institutional profile (company profile and products/services offering) A personal profile (individuals representing the companies) Individuals on the Marketplace can explore products and services available (investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. ) and reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership. To learn how to set up a company profile, a listing and an individual profile, please read the User Manual in this link. Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org   SME FINANCE FORUM ronyg@panapps.co America/New_York public