The annual fintech competition aims to close the gender gap through innovation

A competition focused on leveraging technology to address inequality in financial services is looking for the next game-changing innovation.

Entries are now being accepted for Women’s World Banking 2023 Fintech Innovation Challengea global competition created to highlight and promote technological solutions that close the gender gap through digital financial services.

Now in its fourth year, and billed as the only women-centric fintech competition, the 2023 Innovation Challenge provides a platform for later-stage fintechs working to solve problems related to serving low-income women worldwide.

And according to latest Global Findex report, now is the time for such solutions. The report finds that the number of women adopting digital financial services has increased dramatically since 2017, and the gender gap has narrowed from 9% to 6% in key emerging markets. But 742 million women worldwide are still excluded from the formal financial sector, and women were found to have an inactive bank account 31% more likely than men.

According to Women’s World Banking, low-income women represent a large and untapped market opportunity for digital financial service providers – especially fintechs that are turning to technology to increase access. Digital financial services can provide a channel for low-income women to adopt and use a large suite of formal financial products and services, expanding women’s choices and their financial and resilience.

“To achieve the promise of inclusive growth for the global economy, women need equal access to financial products, services, skills and technology,” said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking. “Fintechs are uniquely positioned to help close the gap over digital financial services because they have the ability to offer products and services differently and can effectively meet the needs of low-income women in ways that traditional financial service providers cannot or will not.”

Studies also show that funding is far more difficult to obtain for female-led fintechs. According to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, head of the US House Committee on Financial Servicesonly 2% of venture capital funding goes to female founders, only 1% to Black founders, and only 1.8% to Latinx founders.

Marina Dimova, global head of the financial industry and network advocate for Women’s World Banking, said the challenge attracts more than 100 applicants around the world each year who develop new approaches and products for underserved women.

The goal is to create a path for entrepreneurs to accelerate innovations that support women’s economic prosperity and empowerment.

“The faster we get these products to market, the faster we can close the gender gap and connect women to the formal financial sector,” Dimova said in an email to Financial planning.

She added that fintech is created because founders see an unmet need or an underserved community, and women entrepreneurs are certainly an underserved community.

“By one estimate, there is a $700 billion revenue opportunity every year for fintechs by designing products and services for women and engaging women as customers. By calling on innovators around the world and inviting them to present their best ideas, we can promote women’s economic inclusion and scale growth,” said Dimova. “This work is essential and ongoing. And we look forward to finding the solutions that will bring us closer to achieving an inclusive economy.

“Women-owned and women-focused fintechs are not a ‘nice to have.’ They are urgent and critical to achieving equality across the board.”

Rachel Freeman, Growth Manager at Winner of the Fintech Innovation Challenge 2020 Tymesaid participating in the Women’s World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge drove her organization to learn more about how to better serve women.

Headquartered in Singapore with offices in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh, Tyme is a digital banking group focused on the financial empowerment of underserved consumers and small businesses through digital banking in emerging markets.

Tyme’s flagship business is TymeBank which has grown to more than 5 million customers in South Africa since its launch in February 2019. The 2 million customers it attracted in its first 17 months of operation made it the world’s fastest growing independent digital bank.

“It gave us global recognition at a crucial time in our expansion into the Asian market and during our recent capital raising,” Freeman said of the competition. “And we received valuable feedback from the judges that helped us refine our proposal.”

Applications to the challenge will be open until September 15. More information can be found at Women’s World Banking websiteand link to apply can be found here.

The top four finalists in the Innovation Challenge will participate in a personal pitch competition in February 2023 in Dubai. They will be tracked for participation in Women’s Economic Empowerment Accelerator driven by Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. They will also receive pitch advice and a UX design consultation.

The grand prize winner will receive access to fintech events in 2023 such as Point Zero, Elevandi Connects and the Singapore Fintech Festival, as well as an invitation to speak at a Women’s World Banking Making Finance Work for Women event.

In addition, all female fintechs that crack the top 12 will be part of the first ever Female Founders Circle. The Circle is described as “an exclusive network of like-minded, female-founded fintechs,” and will be promoted through an integrated communications, marketing and media campaign.

“Anyone who has been a part of a startup or technology company knows that networking with capital and funds is critical to growth,” Dimova said. “We’re building a new one here, just for women.”

The top 12 finalists and Female Founders Circle participants will be announced on October 26, 2022. The top four finalists will be named on January 9, 2023. The grand prize winner will be announced in Dubai on February 16, 2023, following the in-person pitch competition.