Throughout Financial Inclusion Week 2017, our 62 partner organizations in 21 countries hosted roundtables, conferences, briefings, webinars, online conversations, and internal employee events, engaging more than 2,000 participants.
Financial Inclusion Week 201 - By the Numbers
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New Products, New Partnerships, New Potential
The Financial Inclusion Week Story
The week-long global conversation on financial inclusion explored new initiatives in the financial inclusion space. Specifically, stakeholders focused on how new products and partnerships are unlocking potential for better reaching and serving underserved customers. From a look at innovative housing finance products to how open APIs are facilitating partnerships between financial institutions and fintechs, we saw great enthusiasm around innovation. This innovation spans every industry group and country, often operating on the rails of knowledge sharing and partnership between once disparate parts. Here, we highlight some key insights from conversations on New Products, New Partnerships, New Potential.
New Products
The conversation around products explored the transformation of traditional products as well as new products which may help customers access needs such as housing and energy.
In a blog series on their blog, Mambu, a cloud-banking platform, highlighted the work of a number of clients who have tried to meet the needs of clients by digitizing financial products. In the series, Fuse Lending of the Philippines advised that organizations that are beginning a journey into digital should be comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. Premier Credit highlighted that buy-in from company leadership is essential for an effective switch to digital products and operations. Finally, FIDO Money Lending in Ghana shared that customer focus groups, which they hosted at every step of product development, were key to their journey into digital products.
In a twitter chat, J-PAL and IPA looked at a different type of transformation, new terms for old credit products. J-PAL shared studies in India and Mali where flexibility in loan-repayments schedules based on harvest, did result in benefits for borrowers.
a greater ability to share their needs and voice grievances than is currently available from more traditional call centers.