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ILF for GIF: Ecosystem Enabling Pillar

Financial Inclusion for Migrant Women:

A Gender-Focused Approach

The Ecosystem Enabling pillar of the ILF for GIF focuses on addressing the unique financial needs of migrant women, throughout their migration journey – from departure, through settlement, to potential return. Migrant women often encounter significant barriers in accessing formal financial systems, including stringent identification requirements, high transaction fees, language barriers, socio-cultural biases, or limited access to technology, among others.

By partnering with Ecosystem Enablers such as accelerators, incubators, and venture builders, the ILF for GIF aims to create scalable, sector-wide impact. Our partnerships are designed to test, refine and scale promising solutions to not only meet migrant women’s needs, but also to generate valuable insights for the broader ecosystem. Meet our three ecosystem partners and explore our migration/gender/financial inclusion resources below.

Our ecosystem enablers

Seedstars & the ILF for GIF

The “Financial Innovations for Women Affected by ​Migration” (FIWAM) program, launched in partnership with the ILF ​for GIF, supported growth-stage FinTechs providing ​financial solutions for women migrants. This program ​enhanced the growth of FinTech startups, built a strong ​pipeline of impact-driven ventures, and strengthened ​market relationships, ultimately aiming to increase ​financial inclusion for women migrants. Read more about the FIWAM program and its success in our blogpost.

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Village Capital & the ILF for GIF

Partnering with ILF for GIF, Village Capital’s “Financial Solutions for Migrants” accelerator supported impact-driven startups increasing financial inclusion for migrants, especially women. The program focused on refining product-market fit, maturing impact measurement and management systems, and improving the investability of scalable startups, ultimately driving positive financial and social returns. Read more about the accelerator here.

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Women’s World Banking & the ILF for GIF

Partnering with Women’s World Banking (WWB), the ILF for GIF launched a three-year project in 2022 to leverage remittances for promoting women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. This project focuses on low-income migrants and their families in Southeast Asia and Africa, digitizing remittance processes and integrating financial and digital literacy components, to improve access and usage of formal financial services.

Watch the video

Resource hub: financial inclusion for migrant women

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Bridging Borders Learnings Infographics - ILF-for-GIF-Cover

External publications

Financial Solutions for Migrants by Village Capital

Financial Solutions for Migrants is an accelerator for impact-driven startups developing bold solutions that have the potential to increase the financial inclusion of migrants, including refugees, and especially targeting women. This program is funded by the Impact-Linked Fund for Gender Inclusive Fintechs (ILF for GIF) and managed by the Impact-Linked Finance Fund. Applications are now closed. READ MORE

Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) by Seedstars

Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) is a Growth Program funded by the Impact-Linked Fund for Gender Inclusive Fintechs (ILF for GIF) and managed by the Impact-Linked Finance Fund. The goal is to provide Impact-Linked Finance and expert support for growth-stage fintechs interested in having a direct or indirect impact on financial inclusion for migrants, and especially women migrants. READ MORE

Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) Growth Program successfully concludes in Malta

MALTA, April 25, 2024 — The Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) Growth Program, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the Austrian Development Agency through the Impact-Linked Fund for Gender Inclusive Fintech (ILF for GIF), has successfully concluded with a three-day global event held in St Julian’s, Malta from April 23-25, 2024. The event brought together 20 fintech companies from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, who participated in the 6 month program aimed at promoting financial inclusion for women, specifically those affected by migration. READ MORE

32 Startups Selected for the Financial Solutions for Migrants Accelerator Program

Washington, DC. (April 13, 2023) — Village Capital has announced 32 startups operating in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have been selected to join the Financial Solutions for Migrants program, an accelerator for impact-driven startups developing digital financial inclusion solutions for migrants. The program which is funded by the Impact-Linked Fund for Gender Inclusive Fintech (ILF for GIF), managed by the Impact-Linked Finance Fund and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the Austrian Development Agency, the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation, will work with the startups to further develop and refine their products and solutions to fit the needs of different migrant communities including migrant women and refugees. The program will provide a combination of intensive in-person and virtual investment readiness training, and connect the 32 startups to Village Capital’s wider investor and mentor community. READ MORE

Inspiring blog resources

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Aug

The FIWAM Growth Program

August 9, 2024 by inILF for GIF,blog
Resources: The FIWAM Growth Program - Championing Financial Solutions for Women Migrants / Would you like...
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