Inclusive Fintech 50, Global Competition to Elevate Early-Stage Fintechs Driving Financial Inclusion, Announces Winners

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2019 /3BL Media/ - MetLife Foundation and Visa Inc., with global nonprofit Accion and World Bank Group member IFC, announced the winners of the Inclusive Fintech 50, a competition launched in February to help early-stage fintech companies attract capital and resources to benefit the world’s 3 billion financially underserved people. 

The 50 winners – which were selected from nearly 400 eligible applicants – demonstrate the power of financial technology to expand access, usage, and quality of financial services in advanced and emerging markets. Approximately 30 percent of the winners provide credit products to underserved segments including MSMEs, and approximately 25 percent offer infrastructure solutions like biometrics software that enable financial institutions to expand access to previously excluded groups. Fintechs offering insurance, payments & remittances services, and savings & personal financial management tools each made up approximately 15 percent of the winners.

“Existing research indicates that investment capital has largely overlooked early-stage and inclusive fintechs in several markets,” said Marianne Mwaniki, Head of Social Impact at Visa, Inc. “This group of winners makes clear that there are high-potential startups with viable products and business models – and they’re ready for investment.”

Nearly 70 percent of the winners are pre-Series A, yet these startups already exhibit strong product-market fit and traction, as demonstrated by their combined 8 million customers. In terms of geographic distribution, nearly one-third operate in more than one region, and another third operate exclusively in Sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty percent of the selected fintechs operate exclusively in South Asia, and 8 percent each in North America and East Asia & the Pacific. The remainder comes from Latin America & the Caribbean and MENA. A forthcoming white paper will provide insights into the applicants, winners, and lessons learned.  

“Inclusive Fintech 50 demonstrates that there are lesser-known fintechs able to reach underserved populations with appropriate financial products,” said Sarah Willis, Director of Financial Health & Inclusion at MetLife Foundation. “We want to support startups that are addressing the holistic needs of these target segments with the ultimate goal of improving their financial health.”

The winners are listed below by operating regions. Full profiles can be found at www.inclusivefintech50.com/winners.

East Asia & the Pacific

• AwanTunai (credit)
• Frollo (savings & personal financial management)
• JULO (credit)
• TaniFund (credit)

Latin America & the Caribbean

• Celcoin (payments & remittances)

Middle East & North Africa

• Dinarak (payments & remittances)
• Dopay (payments & remittances)

North America

• Distilled Identity (infrastructure)
• Edquity (savings & personal financial management)
• Resolve (savings & personal financial management)
• Self Lender (savings & personal financial management)

South Asia

• BASIX Sub-K (infrastructure)
• CreditVidya (credit)
• GramCover (insurance)
• Happy (credit)
• Jai Kisan (credit)
• SmartCoin (credit)
• Tez Financial Services (savings & personal financial management)
• Three Wheels United (credit)
• Toffee Insurance (insurance)

Sub-Saharan Africa

• ACRE Africa (insurance)
• Apollo Agriculture (credit)
• awamo (infrastructure)
• E-Settlement (infrastructure)
• Hello Paisa (payments & remittances)
• Inclusivity Solutions (insurance)
• Kwara (infrastructure)
• MaTontine (infrastructure)
• Numida (infrastructure)
• OZÉ (infrastructure)
• PEG Africa (credit)
• People’s Pension Trust (savings & personal financial management)
• Pezesha (credit)
• Pula (insurance)
• Riby (infrastructure)
• Tulaa (credit)

Multiple Regions

• 4Told Fintech (credit)
• AID:Tech (payments & remittances)
• Blockbonds (savings & personal financial management)
• Click2Sure (insurance)
• CreditEnable (credit)
• Everest (infrastructure)
• hiveonline (infrastructure)
• Mosabi (credit)
• Musoni Systems (infrastructure)
• MyCash Online (payments & remittances)
• Peppermint (payments & remittances)
• Stonestep (insurance)
• Teknospire (infrastructure)
• Thunes (payments & remittances)

Inclusive Fintech 50 is implemented by MIX, the global data resource for socially responsible investors and businesses committed to financial inclusion.

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For media inquiries: 

Nikhil Gehani, MIX 
ngehani@themix.org 
+1 248 388 1630 

Katie Mounts, Accion
kmounts@accion.org
+1 202 280 5859

About MetLife Foundation 

At MetLife Foundation, we believe financial health belongs to everyone. We bring together bold solutions, deep financial expertise and meaningful grants to build financial health for people and communities that are underserved and aspire for more. We partner with organizations around the world to create financial health solutions and build stronger communities, engaging MetLife employees to help drive impact. To date, our financial health work has reached more than 6 million low-income individuals in 42 countries. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit  metlife.org.  

About Visa, Inc. 

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information visit About Visa and @VisaNews.

About Accion 

Accion Venture Lab is a seed-stage investment initiative focused on fintech for the underserved. Venture Lab invests capital in and provides support to innovative fintech startups that improve access, quality, and affordability of financial services for the underserved at scale. Since launching in 2012, Venture Lab has invested in 40 early-stage startups that operate in over 30 countries worldwide. Venture Lab is a part of Accion, a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. Accion catalyzes financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of – or poorly served by – the financial sector. For more than 50 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 110 partners in 50 countries. For further information, visit www.accion.org/venturelab.  

About IFC 

IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org 

About MIX 

MIX is the leading global data resource for socially responsible investors and businesses focused on inclusive finance. MIX’s data platform covers thousands of mission-focused financial service providers in more than 100 developing markets. MIX collects, analyzes, and maintains data on financial services providers. That data is shared both as a public good for the advancement of the industry and on a fee-paid basis for subscribers interested in more detailed market intelligence. MIX helps socially responsible investors who move 10 billion USD annually to monitor their portfolios and increase their investments in underserved sectors and geographies, including agricultural finance and inclusive fintech. Founded in 2002, MIX has data analysts in every region of the world. Learn more at  http://www.themix.org.