Explore the latest global and regional insights from Women’s World Banking’s work in policy, leadership, women’s entrepreneurship, gender lens investing, and more.
By Dr. Sonja Kelly, Global Vice President, Research & Advocacy, Women’s World Banking The early release of the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap 2024 headlines, the World Bank Global Digital Summit, and the preparations for Brazil’s G20 focus on digital identity and data governance converged this past week, with important insights
Women’s World Banking is deeply concerned that the Turkish government is withdrawing from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the “Istanbul Convention”). The Convention was designed to protect women from the types of abuses that are the manifestation of unequal societies,
By Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President & CEO of Women’s World Banking Covid-19 has laid bare the fault lines of inequality around the world, revealing stark discrepancies in the manner and extent to which people experience the effects of a global pandemic. In the United States this is brought into sharp relief
Elisabeth Ballreich, Principal Investment Officer & Operations Manager at Women’s World Banking, is featured in this Lëtzebuerger Journal interview during European Microfinance Week.
Our President and CEO, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, shares her thoughts on the future of impact investing in this Forbes interview.
An important editorial on widening women’s access to financial services by Taimur Baig, Chief Economist of DBS Bank and member of Women’s World Banking’s Southeast Advisory Council, has been published in a special IMF edition of The Jakarta Post.
At her food stall in the largest open-air market in Lagos, Nigeria, Amaka Charles regularly checks her cell phone for her bank account balance.
Women’s World Banking and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) to collaborate in delivering a Leadership and Diversity for Regulators Program.
13 high-profile leaders have gathered at the Southeast Asia Advisory Council this week to advocate for women in financial inclusion throughout the region.
She Counts aims to help unbanked women micro-entrepreneurs access mobile savings accounts and business training services.
Women’s World Banking launched the Southeast Asia Advisory Council in May, supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
FSD Africa’s Paul Musoke chats with CNC about how Women’s World Banking’s partnership with Diamond Bank demonstrates how to serve the informal sector.
Diamond Bank CEO Uzoma Dozie chats with CNBC Africa on the bank’s partnership with Women’s World Banking and FSDAfrica.
Danida, the term used for Denmark’s development cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has announced a seven partner consortia to receive a total of DKK 60 million (approximately USD 10.04 million) for partnership projects. The partnerships will contribute to local economic growth, job and income opportunities with a focus on women and girls.
Our partner NMB Bank Plc. is highlighted in this study on good practice sin developing inclusive and sustainable products and services for the youth segment.
Cathleen Tobin on why considering women’s financial inclusion is critical in the development of digital and crypto currencies.
Women in Tanzania who never thought to save in a bank are opening accounts with NMB Bank Plc because their daughters are taking the lead.
View or download the Research Presentations shared at the Making Finance Work for Women Summit.
Watch highlights of our recently concluded Making Finance Work for Women Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
At the Making Finance Work for Women Summit today in Dar es Salaam, Visa announced the newly-incorporated Visa Foundation, established as part of Visa’ larger social impact strategy to support the growth of micro and small enterprises around the world, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.
VICE President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to grace the Women’s World Banking that will feature leading international experts driving the innovations in women’s financial inclusion.
Kate Hooper, Executive Vice President, Market Research and Solution Development at Women’s World Banking discussed what India can do to close thegender gap with senior leaders of Credit Suisse India.
A recap of the panel on women leading the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian on new evidence from the Business and Sustainable Development Commission that companies with gender diverse leadership perform better.
Women’s World Banking hosted a workshop in Nigeria for our partners on advancing women’s financial inclusion through digital financial services.
Women’s World Banking hosted a digital financial services workshop in Nigeria to facilitate peer learning among financial institutions leveraging digital technology to serve low-income women.
Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian’s comments were cited in this article on India.com about India’s biometric identification system, Aadhar.
Women’s World Banking was recommended as a partner for the U.S. government in its efforts to promote women’s economic empowerment.
Africa.com highlights our Africa Advisory Council meeting which focused on women’s financial inclusion, held during WEF Africa.
Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian wrote a piece on The Guardian on how empowering women is non-negotiable when it comes to promoting sustainable global growth.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian on how giving low-income women access to finance can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
An interview with our President and CEO, Mary Ellen Iskenderian.
On gender-lens investing and how Women’s World Banking’s Capital Partners Fund is demonstrating the business case for investing in women-focused companies.
On International Women’s Day, the Secretariat of the National Council for Financial Inclusion of Indonesia (Secretariat) and global nonprofit Women’s World Banking announce a partnership to promote women’s financial inclusion in Indonesia. The project, made possible with funding from the Department of Foreign and Trade of Australia (DFAT), will support Indonesia’s goal to reach 75 percent financial inclusion by 2019.
Our microinsurance director on meeting and hearing the stories of the incredible women our partners serve.
Our Chief Product Development Officer wrote a piece on serving rural women sustainably with financial services for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
Gilles Renouil, Director, Product Development (Microinsurance) wrote an article on Women’s World Banking’s approach to managing fraud in microinsurance.
Read the recap of the webinar hosted by The World Bank’s Agrifin Facility, featuring our Chief Product Development Officer Anna Gincherman.
The GSMA today announced the nominees for the Global Mobile Awards 2017. Women’s World Banking is honored to be nominated with our partner Diamond Bank in the “Best Mobile Product, Application or Service for Women in Emerging Markets” category for the BETA Savings account.
Our CEO’s letter to the editor about the impact of India’s demonetisation on women was featured in the online edition of The Economist.
In its flagship report Better Business, Better World, the Commission recognizes that while the last few decades have lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, they have also led to unequal growth, increasing job insecurity, ever more debt and ever greater environmental risks.
Our research on leadership and diversity in financial services is highlighted.
Our Savings Manager Ryan Newton co-authored a post with UNCDF YouthStart’s Ata Cisse on what we learned from our youth savings project in Ethiopia.
On Women’s World Banking’s Gender Performance Initiative, its development and how financial institutions can use this data to improve their service to women.
Our research, monitoring and evaluation specialist is quoted in this piece on what is keeping Southeast Asian women from rising to the top.
A co-authored an op-ed on the implications of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s Denarau Action Plan on financial inclusion for women around the world.
Our BETA Savings project with Diamond Bank (Nigeria) is highlighted in this CFR Women Around the World blog.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian was interviewed as part of Thomson Reuters’ special multi-media feature, “Leaders of Sustainable Development.”
The inaugural 2016 BFGEI recognizes 26 financial services firms with strong commitments to gender equality, including dedicated social disclosure policies and practices.
Women’s World Banking Capital Partners investee shattered records in India’s financial stockmarket during its IPO. The role our focus on gender played in this story.
Our project w/ Diamond Bank in Nigeria is highlighted in this Tech Tank piece.
Our product development director and our BETA Savings project in Nigeria is cited in this article about the economic impact of empowering women.
Our latest project with Diamond Bank in Nigeria, Y’ello, is highlighted.
Our research on the financial needs of low-income women are cited in this article about fintech and the financial inclusion of women.
Our work on the paper “Digital Financial Solutions to Advance Women’s Economic Participation” was highlighted.
Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was interviewed by ONEArmenia, a for-purpose platform based in Yerevan and New York City
Our leadership and gender diversity work is cited in an article about how to invest in women, in honor of International Women’s Day 2016.
Our guest post for the Microfinance Gateway in honor of International Women’s Day: a lookback and look ahead for women’s financial inclusion.
Ursula Dalinghaus of IMTFI on what she learned during our Making Finance Work for Women Summit in Berlin in November 2015.
Comments from our Chief Knowledge and Communications officer on the importance of including financial education in financial services for low-income markets.
Martha Oluwatobi is the proud owner of a market stall in Lagos, Nigeria. She sells minerals used for health benefits by expectant mothers who routinely buy small amounts of clay-like ingredients a few times a week.
The Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION featured our story collection of pioneering women leaders in financial inclusion, a collaboration with Ujjivan.
Comments from our Chief Knowledge and Communications officer on the most important things to watch in 2016 for financial inclusion.
Good Return and Women’s World Banking marked the commencement of their strategic partnership at the Asia Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit in Manila (27-29 Oct).
Women’s World Banking President and CEO co-authored a blog on one of the biggest barriers facing financial access for low-income women: ID’s.
Australia’s Minister for Women welcomed participants at a reception in honor of our CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was interviewed on Australian radio show, RN Drive by Patricia Karvelas.
The Gender Performance Indicators workshop we hosted at the recent Asia Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit was highlighted by our strategic partner, Good Return.
Our work consulting on Bloomberg’s Financial Services Gender-Equality Index was highlighted.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian contributed to the latest edition of Innovations: Technology | Governance | Globalization Vol. 10 Issue 12.
The article, “What Happens When a Bank Bets on Women” from Chief Knowledge and Communications Officer Karen Miller appears in this publication.
The International Day of Rural Women was established by the General Assembley in 2007, and this year was celebrated on the October 15. Over the past few years, MI-BOSPO has marked this day by organizing trade fairs with our clients and members of the Women’s in Business Network.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian participated in a Guardian and Opportunity International-hosted roundtable on women’s economic exclusion and how to help them overcome it.
Women’s World Banking is cited for its work developing digital financial services tailored to the needs of low-income women.
The comments of our Chief Knowledge and Communications Officer, Karen Miller, were highlighted in this piece on craftswomen and their global economic impact.
Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation is a semi-finalist in this year’s award recognizing excellence in serving clients in post-disaster/ conflict areas and fragile states.
Women’s World Banking’s Leadership and Diversity for Innovation Program, supported by Credit Suisse, was highlighted in the Economic Times.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian guestblogged for CFR.org’s Women Around the World blog in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
We blogged for Huffington Post Impact on the progress made on women’s financial inclusion since 1995, the year of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for action.
A profile of our Leadership and Diversity for Innovation program which helps financial institutions serving low-income women develop useful, sustainable products to increase women’s financial inclusion.
Women’s World Banking participated in the Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s (AFI) meeting “Bridging the Gap: Financial Inclusion Policy Solutions for Women in Africa.”
Norah Prida Bay, CEO of Kitty 10, highlighted our BETA Savings product with Diamond Bank in Nigeria in an article highlighting the gender gap in access to credit.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian participated in a panel to answer “is microfinance – as a tool to empower women – really working?”
Chief Product Development Officer Anna Gincherman blogs on the importance of client research in building meaningful microinsurance products that meet women’s needs.
How our Philippine network member Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation has been helping low-income women entrepreneurs in its community through small loans.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was cited in this Ernst & Young report on the barriers to women’s financial inclusion.
Julia Graham of the Microinsurance Network interviewed two members of our microinsurance team about the marketing and client education component of our work in Morocco.
Tilman Ehrbeck mentions the roundtable we held this past April on digital savings products for low-income women entitled, “Going Digital: The key to women’s financial inclusion?”
Eva Gantz of Stellar highlighted our Bank On Her blogpost featured in the Huffington Post last month.
Women’s World Banking and Visa created a program there called “BETA friends” that helped women set up mobile savings accounts that required no minimum deposit, no monthly fees and awarded weekly cash prizes to promote the program and sent weekly text messages reminding clients to save on schedule.
Women’s World Banking worked with Diamond Bank to conduct extensive research on the Nigerian youth market to design savings accounts that fit their specific needs.
Knowledge and Communications Manager Maura Hart shares stories of five women and the success they achieved through access to basic financial services.
Savings Specialist Ryan Newton blogs about the five key lessons about designing sustainable youth savings programs, based on an evaluation of Banco ADOPEM’s (Dominican Republic) youth savings program, developed together with Women’s World Banking.
Georgetown student Mike Fox reflects on Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian’s visit to the school to discuss the importance of leveraging diverse, cross-sector experience to achieve meaningful outcomes.
Women’s World Banking, with support from UNCDF, worked with NBS Bank in Malawi to research, understand and design a digital financial product to increase access to financial services to low-income communities, particularly women, in rural areas.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian is cited on the role of technology regarding the persistent gender gap in financial inclusion globally.
Produced by Diamond Bank (2015)
Kashf Foundation has been awarded with client protection certification by Smart Campaign for meeting excellent standards of customer care which are globally recognized.
Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was interviewed for an article in The Guardian about closing the persistent gender gap in access to finance.
Women’s World Banking contributed an article on how to best serve women-led small-to-medium enterprises for Wall Street Journal/ MetLife Foundation initiative Multipliers of Prosperity.
KfW shares it’s support of Women’s World Banking.
The Young & Rubicam’s Sustainability Marketing Practice, INSPIRE highlighted our article on the UN Women WEInspire blog which discussed our social soap-opera approach to financial education.
Women’s World Banking shared the stage with Visa’s Doug Sabo at te U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s International Women’s Day Forum.
Women’s World Banking’s Susan Gao wrote a piece for the Better Than Cash Alliance blog about our recent agency banking training in Tanzania
Senior Associate for Knowledge and Communications Gayle Gatchalian wrote about our research into the healthcare needs of Egyptians and Ugandans for The Huffington Post ImpactX blog, through the support of the Cisco Foundation.
Cathleen Tobin is cited in this article about financial inclusion in Nigeria.
Director of Product Development Cathleen Tobin discusses how Diamond Bank leveraged technology to reach the low-income market.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania joins Women’s World Banking to announce the Leadership and Diversity for Innovation Program, which will launch in April 2015.
The Microfinance CEO Working Group welcomes two new members: : Lauren Hendricks (CARE’s Access Africa program) and Shameran Abed (BRAC).
Our Pafupi mobile savings project in Malawi with NBS Bank and supported by UNCDF was highlighted on OECD Insights.
Women’s World Banking co-authored a piece on the market opportunity of financing women-led SMEs with the SME Finance Forum and the World Economic Forum.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian, current president of Women’s World Banking, was in London at the conference Trust Women, organized in November by Thomson Reuters, speaking on women and finance, showing how they are excluded from this sector virtually worldwide.
A dozen African government, finance and business leaders, including Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, agreed surprisingly, earlier this week in Nairobi, that a partnership between women and mobile phones could be the next big thing for Africa’s growth story.
Nearly one billion women around the world do not have access to a bank account. Many of the barriers that these women face will sound familiar — lack of decision-making power within their families, lack of education, lack of formal employment.
BANKS are overlooking a major source of savings which could help them meet growing demand for credit – women, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said.
New technology has “brought the bank” to millions of low-income women in a revolution that could help drive economic growth, according to an authority on women’s finance.
Speaking during the Africa Advisory Council press briefing at a Nairobi hotel, Iskenderian noted that only 20 percent of women in Africa have bank accounts and this continues to hinder their progress.
Mobile phone technology can help to bring financial services to the 80 percent of African women who do not have a bank account and bolster the growth of the world’s poorest continent.
On October 28, 2014, Women’s World Banking and UNIFIM A.C. host a roundtable to bring better loan opportunities to low-income Mexican microentrepreneurs.
A partnership between Women’s World Banking and BSR’s HERfinance program will increase workers’ financial skills and awareness and create new financial products and services tailored to the working poor.
We guest posted on the Better than Cash Alliance blog about the agency banking learning tour we organized in Kenya for financial institutions we are working with.
International Banker Magazine features our youth savings work with SEWA Bank in India.
Kenya Women’s Microfinance Bank Declared Best Microfinance Bank at 2014 Banking Awards
Savings Specialist Ryan Newton blogged about our youth savings project in India with SEWA Bank for the Huffington Post/ Cisco ImpactX blog.
Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian weighs in on Bloomberg”s latest look at the glass ceiling facing women around the world. Excerpt: Disparities exist at both ends of the economic scale around the world. In 2012, a Gallup poll for the World Bank showed that only 47 percent of
The Huffington Post”s ImpactX page featured a piece by Sarah Buitoni, a Specialist for our Leadership and Diversity programs, about the launch of Women”s World Banking”s Leadership Community.
Our president and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian spoke with Devex Impact about how access to financial services has tremendous potential to improve prosperity and security — especially for women — if done correctly.
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2014, our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was featured on Huffington Post’s ImpactX page reflecting on ‘invisible’ women who need access to finance.
Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian blogged for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Corporate Citizenship Center blog as part of their International Women’s Day 2014 celebration. Here’s an excerpt of the post entitled “The Key to Successfully Banking the Poor: Start with Women”: “That would make us feel
KWFT Celebrates 32 Years of Banking on Women
The Chair of Kenya Women’s Finance Trust (KWFT) and Women’s World Banking Board Chair, Dr. Jennifer Riria was nominated in the Masters category for the Ernst and Young Awards.
Dexex Impact interviewed Women’s World Banking’s President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian as part of the #SheBuilds campaign. In this interview, she talks about why financial inclusion is so important to women.
Dexex Impact interviewed Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian as part of their #SheBuilds campaign.
Leslie Brokaw blogs about the features critical to making Women’s World Banking’s knowledge community for our leadership alumni a success
Isobel Coleman blogged about a recent panel conversation she moderated between Mary Ellen Iskenderian (Women’s World Banking) and Steve Hollingsworth (Freedom from Hunger) on the role of savings in financial inclusion.
Women’s World Banking’s work in Nigeria promoting financial inclusion for low-income women was featured in a recent article.
Antonique Koning, a microfinance specialist at CGAP, blogged about our work on promoting financial inclusion for low-income women in Nigeria through the use of savings products and innovative outreach and delivery strategies.
Chhavi Ghuliani , Manager of Partnership Development and Research at BSR blogged about participating at “Building Women-Focused Finance: The Global Local Experience,” held in Amman, Jordan in November of 2013.
CFR Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman leads a conversation with Mary Ellen Iskenderian of Women’s World Banking and Steve Hollingworth of Freedom from Hunger about how savings are blazing the next frontier in poverty eradication.
Women’s World Banking’s conference, Building Women-Focused Finance: A Global Experience, was featured on JRTV Channel and Roya News of Jordan.
Our Savings Manager Jennifer McDonald attended Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access’s (EFInA) inaugural Women’s Financial Inclusion Forum in Lagos on November 14. Jennifer presented global best practices for women’s financial inclusion, sharing Women’s World Banking’s experience in developing products that enhance women’s financial inclusion.
Women’s World Banking conference Building Women-Focused Finance: The Global Experience was held under the patronage Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. Queen Rania attended the session entitled “What do women-focused products and services look like?” moderated by President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian.
Social inequality and an unequal playing field can translate into a generation’s worth of lost dreams, and sometimes a lack of finances is the only thing standing between the youth and their dreams.
Research has shown that healthcare costs often exert the most financial pressure on poor families. The poor lack the resources to respond quickly in a health emergency, both with the cost of care and the ability to forfeit work to seek care.
Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian saw down for an interview with Yahoo! Finance’s The Daily Ticker blogger Aaron Tusk during the 2013 TEDxWallStreet event.
Britain will forge a new partnership between east Africa, leading businesses and the London Stock Exchange Group to boost development in the region, Justine Greening announced as she headed DFID’s first business delegation.
Diamond Bank PLC has announced its 2013 Quarter 3 results, reporting a 10% growth in profit before tax when compared to the corresponding period of 2012. The bank posted a profit before tax of N25.6 billion.
TEDxWallStreet: New Ideas Reaching New Markets Behind the scenes with TEDx speaker Mary Ellen Iskenderian of Women’s World Banking TEDx is about inspiring big ideas, and some of the biggest came under the spotlight on The Big Stage of the New York Stock Exchange this week at TEDxWallStreet. “It’s a great
The NYSE Big Stage website featured a summary of Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian’s talk at TEDxWallStreet on Wednesday, October 30, 2012. Microfinance is the ideal that small investments to reach those underserved by financial institutions can solve big problems. But Mary Ellen Iskendrian, CEO of
Women’s World Banking worked with Visa. In Nigeria, just 26% of women and 12% of low-income adults have formal bank accounts, according to a 2012 report from the World Bank.
Women’s World Banking is among MetLife’s first round of grant recipients as part of their new global campaign to bring financial inclusion to low-income communities in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the U.S.
President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was interviewed by South Africa’s Financial Mail about Women’s World Banking’s pilot project with Diamond Bank in Nigeria to encourage underbanked women and small entrepreneurs to enter the banking system.
India network member Ujjivan has just released the results of an independent impact assessment survey.
For the second straight year, Kenya Women Finance Trust DTM has been recognized by Deloitte and ranked as the third “Best Company to Work For 2013” in Kenya. In the words of Mwangi Githaiga, Managing Director, “This award demonstrates the confidence that our employees have in the institution, board and management.”
Chief Product Development Officer Anna Gincherman recently sat on a panel during a breakout session at the Concordia Summit held in New York City. The Summit posted a recap of the breakout session on its website.
Quotes from Women’s World Banking panelist Anne-Marie Slaughter were highlighted.
Bloomberg featured Women’s World Banking’s Annual Benefit at the IAC Building in New York City.
Women’s World Banking board member Anthony Noto was featured in the New York Times for securing the ” the most coveted tech banking assignment this year:” “leading the initial public offering of Twitter.”
HERfinance—which BSR launched in 2012 as a pilot project in India as part of its broader efforts to empower women in the global economy—has already reached nearly 8,000 workers in the readymade garment sector.
Research specialist Anjali Banthia’s response blog to an op-ed about the link between domestic violence and microfinance was cited in a recent Guardian article on the state of the microfinance industry.
Chief Product Development Officer Anna Gincherman was interviewed on Women’s World Banking’s youth savings work around the world.
Chief Strategy Officer Harsha Rodrigues participated in a discussion about how to measure the impact of development organizations’ economic empowerment work for women.
Women’s World Banking would like to thank The Giving Library for sponsoring our organization to be part of their online archive of organizations. Our President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian visited their studios in Houston to produce a video found here.
Women’s World Banking’s work in rural finance in Latin America and mobile technology as an alternative delivery channel was featured on the recently released report by the UN Foundation and ExxonMobil Foundation.
A Colombian newspaper, Vanguardia, featured the upcoming launch of rural credit products by network member Fundación delamujer. Women’s World Banking worked with the institution to develop these products.
Women”s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was on a panel entitled “Different perspectives on reaching poor households” at The MasterCard Foundation Symposium on Financial Inclusion in Turin, Italy this past July.
Women’s World Banking’s online Leadership Community for Center for Microfinance Leadership Alumni was featured in a report in the Fall 2013 Research Edition of the MIT Sloan Management Review Journal.
CARD MRI, the and Freedom from Hunger are longtime partners and worked together to design and implement the Microfinance and Health Protection Initiative.
Women’s World Banking was mentioned in a list of select participants invited to its third annual forum to be held in New York City in September. Chief Development Officer Anna Gincherman will be speaking on the panel entitled “Forging the Path toward an Inclusive Financial Sector.”
Women’s World Banking is proud to announce that three members of the Women’s World Banking network have been ranked in the top 20 list of microfinance institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean: Banco WWB, Banco ADOPEM and Fundación delamujer.
boutMicrofinance, an aggregator and disseminator of current and authoritative information and resources on all aspects of the microfinance industry, featured an interview with Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian in their Fall Newsletter.
India network member Ujjivan raised INR 50 Crores of debt capital through issuance of listed, secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to Oikocredit, an international cooperative and social investor.
Women’s World Banking and Diamond Bank (Nigeria), with the support of Visa, developed a savings product to promote financial inclusion for low-income un(der)banked women in the country.
Head of Pakistan network member Kashf Foundation and member of the Women’s World Banking board Roshaneh Zafar was interviewed by authors of the Ashoka blog on Forbes.com
Dominican Republic network member Banco ADOPEM celebrated its anniversary by holding a sports day for its staff. Awards were also handed out to exceptional employees. Congratulations on remaining a strong institution committed to serving women and celebrating the hard work of its employees! Read the full article on El Dia</em rel=”nofollow”>.
Brazil network member Banco da Familia was mentioned in an article about an agricultural expo in the country: “Expolages 2013 apresenta novidades durante lançamento”
Women’s World Banking is proud to announce that the Portfolio Analytics Toolkitwas featured in the company’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.
Women’s World Banking’s social media engagement with the Center for Financial Inclusion’s recent video explaining financial inclusion was featured in the August edition of the MIX Dispatch, The MIX Market’s monthly newsletter.
Essma ben Hamida and Essia Nciri, two leaders from our Tunisian network member, enda inter-arabe, were featured by The Montreal Gazette on a list of women who were instrumental in transforming the political landscape of Tunisia.
Women’s World Banking’s served as a gender financial inclusion expert in a workshop convened by the Bank of Papua New Guinea, in partnership with the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program.
Dominican Republic network member Banco ADOPEM, with support from the Citi Foundation, trained 3,000 women entrepreneurs through its “Enterprising Women” program.
The Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP) featured Women’s World Banking’s participation at the recent financial inclusion and women”s empowerment workshop in Papua New Guinea. Senior Associate for Research Anjali Banthia was in attendance to present our research of the financial needs of low-income women in the Pacific.
Program funder Credit Suisse featured Mucho Corazon, our social communications project in Mexico.
Julián Acuña, business banking manager at Santander Banefe, discusses the bank’s new product, Santander Select.
We are pleased to share that our 2012 Annual Report was featured on the non-profit information website, CSR International.
Our recently released case study on our financial education work in India, “Can Financial Education Be the Engine for Savings Growth?” was featured on on a list of the latest financial inclusion studies and toolkits by the Microfinance Gateway.
The Post Nigeria featured the launch of BETA Savings, a project Women’s World Banking developed with Diamond Bank to provide easy savings accounts to low-income women in Nigeria.
Samit Ghosh, head of India network member Ujjivan and Women’s World Banking board member, shared his experiences of the Financial Inclusion Symposium last July 19-20, 2013 at Turin.
This elevated the bank to become a Hall of Fame awardee for the said category. Looking back, CARD Bank, Inc. was established on September 1, 1997 and envisioned to build a sustainable financial institution owned, managed and controlled by the landless rural women by providing continued access to financial services to an expanding client base by organizing and empowering landless rural women.
Women’s World Banking board member and head of network member Ujjivan Samit Ghosh was quoted in an article in Business Standard about difficulties of transformation in the Indian microfinance industry.
WATCH THE VIDEO: On July 17, 2013, Women’s World Banking President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian sat down with Esther Ugbodaga to discuss financial exclusion in the African content, the importance of financially empowering women and Women’s World Banking’s work in Nigeria.
Tunisia live interviewed the co-founder and secretary-general of Tunisia network member enda inter-arabe.
Indian Cooperative featured the introduction of financial literacy in SEWA Bank’s services.
Congratulations to SWWB Board Member Samit Ghosh for being elected as the new president of the Microfinance Institutions Network!
In the three decades he worked for CitiGroup and Bank Muscat, Samit Ghosh picked up every nuance of the banking business.
President and CEO of Women’s World Banking Mary Ellen Iskenderian spoke with Susan Yackee of Voice of American’s Middle East Monitor Podcast on Women’s World Banking’s recent research engagement in Cairo, Egypt on the lives of low-income women entrepreneurs after the Revolution.
The HERfinance curriculum—which BSR developed based on globally recognized best practices in financial literacy training—has been reviewed by experts such as Microfinance Opportunities, Better Work, and Women’s World Banking.
We are proud to share with you that two of the first MFIs to be certified by the Smart Campaign are members of the Women’s World Banking network. Please join me in congratulating MI-BOSPO (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Ujjivan Financial Services (India) on receiving the Client Protection Certification.
CEO and President of Women’s World Banking visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk about microfinance before attending Women’s World Banking’s upcoming conference in Auckland.
A global microfinance institution, specialising in providing women in less developed countries with insurance, has expressed its desire to work with Australian brokers in a bid to access affordable policies for its members.
The head of Women’s World Banking, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, visited Australia this week to meet with staff, including AusAID’s Director General, Peter Baxter.
Ela Bhatt receives Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace; “her work reflects Indira’s ideals”
Congratulations to Sudha Suresh, Chief Financial Officer of network member Ujjivan Financial Services, for being recognized as by the Indian CFO Institute’s 2013 Roll of Honour Awards.
Women’s World Banking is proud to announce that two women leaders in its global network have recently been recipients of awards from their regions.
A pesar de los avances obtenidos por las mujeres en términos de integración en los distintos sectores productivos de la sociedad, aún no han logrado igualdad en los puestos de dirección de las distintas empresas y entidades del país.
Women’s World Banking supporter Cordaid recently featured the Gender Performance Manual, the indicators uncovered from the work of our Gender Performance Initiative, on their website.
In July, CGAP highlighted the exceptional leadership of Shafiqual Choudhury of ASA, our network member in Bangladesh. He played a leading role in averting a microfinance crisis threatening the country, similar to ones that affected Nicaragua, Morocco and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We congratulate network member Ujjivan Financial Services for making the Great Place to Work and Economic Times’ “India’s Best Companies to Work for 2013”!
When a financial institution reaches out to us and tells us they are starting to see the value of serving low-income women but don’t know how to begin, we are of course pleased that institutions are starting to recognize what Women’s World Banking has known for more than 30 years.
Equity Bank was awarded “the Best Bank in East Africa” in 2013 and was a nominee for “African Bank of the Year” at the 7th African Banker Awards which took place during the Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank.
We are proud to announce that our founder Michaela Walsh is being honored by the Women’s Bond Club as the 2013 recipient of the distinguished Isabel Benham Award. Through its Isabel Benham Award, the Women’s Bond Club recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions in improving the lives of women.
Current President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian was the recipient of the award in 2009.
Think Business Banking Awards, Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT-DTM) also won a special award for “Deposit Taking Micro Finance Institutions in Kenya.”
Equity Bank (Kenya) won three awards in the 8th edition of Think Business Banking Awards 2013.
Our savings work with Banco ADOPEM, our network member in the Dominican Republica, was featured in a local media outlet, Informate Diario, for promoting a savings culture to low-income communities in outlying areas.
Ujjivan was invited for the Pacific Regional Forum held at Auckland, New Zealand from February 28 to March 1, 2013 to share best practices in building an organizational culture that values human capital and creative ways of building capacity in a resource-constrained environment.
Project funder Credit Suisse featured Mucho Corazon, our social communications projects in Mexico in partnership with PCI Media Impact, on their corporate responsibility page.
In January, Women’s World Banking joined its partners in the Microfinance CEO Working Group to announce its support for the Smart Campaign Client Protection Certification Program – a groundbreaking new effort that seeks to ensure that microfinance institutions keep clients at the center of their work.
Women’s World Banking’s Leadership Program held in October 2012 was featured in the Dutch banking publication Bank | Wereld.
On May 30, 2012, Women’s World Banking (WWB) and network member Interfisa Financiera celebrated the launch of NdeVale, a new loan product targeted at Paraguay’s rural women population. NdeVale was developed so that it can be issued to all clients who have a income-generating activity, with minimal documentation requirements and flexible collateral and duration. Through market research, we knew that collateral was a concern for women as assets, particularly property, are traditionally owned by men.
‘It all started at the world conference of the international women’s year in Mexico City in 1975. There I met with Esther Afua Ocloo from Ghana. She shared her stories about the position of market women in the capital city Accra and their need for economic empowerment.’
“Can you imagine if the only product that your bank offered you was a loan?
On April 7th and 8th, WWB hosted the 9th annual Women’s World Banking and the Capital Markets Conference. This conference is the leading industry event of its kind, bringing together expert practitioners from the mainstream financial sector and the microfinance industry, and providing a forum for knowledge exchange.
