AVLThis product testing guide by Accion Venture Lab is made for early-stage fintech companies who want to test, evaluate, and implement new ideas. Companies can use this guide to navigate the decisions around testing, iterating, and improving their products. Included in the guide is how to build a test-friendly culture in your organization, an experiment
AVLAVL’s new investment officer for Latin America shares insights into the trends shaping the fintech and financial inclusion in the region. These trends have also informed AVL’s investments in the region. “Brazil and Mexico have consolidated as the leading entrepreneurial ecosystems in the region and will continue to attract the largest volume of venture capital
FIBRMeet Monica Saccarelli CEO of savings platform Grão & one of few female fintech founders in Brazil. Grão is an app that allows Brazilians to transfer money from their bank accounts into a savings account in real time and with no minimum requirement, helping them save. Read about how she leads a team of men,
FIBRBFA Global’s Catalyst Fund launched its official presence in Nigeria last year. At the launch, key ecosystem players shared what is needed for Nigeria’s inclusive fintech sector to flourish. Currently, Nigeria remains a challenging operating environment for fintech startups but there are signs of improvement – rising mobile penetration rates, growing investment and regulatory reforms
FiDA Partnership China Blog SeriesThis blog is authored by Ashley Lewis, Investment Officer, West Africa and South Africa, Accion Venture Lab with support from Tunde Kehinde, co-founder of Accion Venture Lab portfolio company Lidya.
Maha KhanImagine you have just completed a job and are owed money. Your client offers you a delayed payment option where instead of receiving $14,000 today, you will receive $20,000 in six months. Which option do you take?
Maha KhanThis case study explores one company’s experience developing psychometric tests as an alternative method for credit scoring and a microfinance institution's experience implementing it.
Jessica OsbornThis blog was co-authored by Jessica Osborn and Annabel Schiff, both Senior Manager, Partners for the FiDA Partnership
Jessica OsbornIn May, the FiDA Partnership took 26 leaders from Africa’s digital finance industry to China to learn about their unprecedented FinTech boom. The week was immersive and intense, designed to allow participants to escape the boardroom and experience Chinese digital life firsthand on the streets of Beijing, in the mom-and-pop stores of Hangzhou, and the on factory floors of Guangdong. In this blog, we reflect on the key lessons.
Maha KhanRichard is a smallholder maize farmer in Western Kenya. He used to borrow money from his family or friends to buy essential inputs to grow maize—seed, fertilizer, and equipment—because he couldn’t access a formal loan from a bank. Most banks consider him a high risk client because of his low-income and lack of credit history. Recently though, Richard obtained a $50 loan for his farming business. By processing and analyzing satellite imagery on his farmland and cropping cycle, in combination with other alternative data, a lending organization was able to assess his creditworthiness.