Alliance Hack

Unlocking the Full Power of the Female Economy

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HR 00
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SEC 00

#2021alliancehack #alliancehack

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About Us

We at the Financial Alliance for Women are the leading peer-learning organization for financial services providers targeting the female economy, a large, fast-growing and underserved market. We acknowledge that fintechs are well-positioned to tap into this market, as showcased in our research launched in October 2020, “How Fintechs Can Profit From the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy.” The Alliance Hack was born to help fintechs embrace this win-win opportunity.

The Alliance Hack — in its second edition — will leverage the Alliance's deep expertise to support fintechs in developing solutions for women business owners to access financial products and accelerate their business growth. It will also connect fintechs with global financial services providers that have similar objectives and allow them to pitch their solution in front of a judging panel of global leaders in the financial sector and champions of the female economy.

The Hackathon offers clinics, as well as business and technical mentoring support to participating fintechs to help them validate their tech solutions and develop sound business models with the potential to meet the real needs of women business owners and transform women's investment capabilities.

And so, we’re inviting start-ups and established fintechs to innovate scalable solutions that can break down systemic barriers and unlock the full power of the female economy. Our hackathon challenges will call for tech-based solutions and proofs of concept (POC) that financial services providers can use to serve the women’s market and that women can use to access financial services and be fully included in the financial system.

The Alliance Hack was launched by the Financial Alliance for Women and hosted in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Wefi and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the APIX platform.

Problem Statements

The Alliance Hack will leverage the Alliance's deep expertise to support fintechs in developing solutions to support women business-owners' access to and use of financial products, to create supportive business development services to accelerate their business growth, as well as connect them with global financial services providers (FSPs) with similar objectives.

(A) Financing women-owned/led informal Very Small Enterprises (VSEs)

(B) Financing women-owned/led formal Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

(C) Building business capability of female entrepreneurs

(D) Transforming mass market women’s Investment Capabilities

(E) Identifying women-owned/led businesses within bank MIS 

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(A1) Financing Women-Owned/Led Informal VSEs in ASIA

Women-owned/led very small enterprises (WVSEs), often semi-formal, comprise a vast unserved and underserved segment in business finance. FSPs lack sufficient information and documents to underwrite loans to them. Women also lack sufficient information and financial know-how to demand the appropriate finance for their businesses.
Create solutions that would improve the WVSE segment’s access to finance. (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

Asia: South Asia—Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka; Singapore.

Women-owned very small enterprises (WVSEs) fall between the upper end of micro and the lower end of SME lending and are often informal (not registered). The gap is roughly $1 trillion when informal women-owned businesses are included. These businesses are vital sources of income for millions of households. Yet they face compounded financing challenges because of incomplete financial statements and paper trails, lack of formal registration, limited business experience, being located in the home, and making sales based on community credit rather than cash.

To cater to these firms, some banks introduced cash-flow-based lending or began accepting co-guarantors in place of property titles (which are often a barrier for women seeking loans). However, these approaches can be expensive, and adoption by banks is not widespread. Supplier credit offers some respite, but that, too, has limitations and is irrelevant for many businesses. Supply chain finance has promise, yet it has not achieved scale.

Banks need faster and more efficient ways of underwriting loans to women-owned VSEs and SMEs, availing of the latest alternative information sources to create credit scoring models and assess multiple income sources, psychometric testing for likely repayment behavior, blockchain to establish collateral ownership, social networks to create co-guarantor mechanisms, and customer data to establish financing demand. Those who design these systems must be careful to safeguard against potential gender bias within data sources, algorithms and human-made lending decisions. Many core banking systems cannot work with alternative data sources.

Banks also need support in acquiring these customers. This includes current customers, because their MIS cannot identify women-owned/led businesses easily and many remain unknown in the consumer portfolio. They also need help with prospect customers—identifying them and reaching out to them in the marketplace.

In some cultural contexts, loan collection processes must also be adapted because the traditional recovery agent model does not work. While some fintechs have solved pieces of the equation, the market is still vastly underserved. This presents a huge B2B partnership opportunity for fintechs and banks, as well as a B2C opportunity for fintechs.

To know more download the “How Fintechs can profit from the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy” report

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(A2) Financing women-owned/led informal VSEs in AFRICA

Women owned/led very small businesses (WVSEs); often semi-formal, are a vast un-served and underserved segment when it comes to accessing finance for their business. FSPs lack sufficient information and documents to underwrite loans. Women also lack sufficient information/financial know-how to demand the appropriate finance for their businesses. Create solutions that would improve women business owners’ in the VSE segment access to finance in Africa (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

Africa: Kenya; Nigeria

Women-owned Very Small Enterprises (WVSEs) fall between the upper end of micro and the lower end of SME lending and are often informal (not registered).  The gap is roughly $1 trillion when informal women-owned businesses are included. These businesses are vital sources of income for millions of households. Yet they face compounded financing challenges because of incomplete financial statements and paper trails, lack of formal registration, limited business experience, being located in the home, and making sales based on community credit rather than cash. 

To cater to these firms, some banks have introduced 'cash-flow'-based lending and or began accepting co-guarantors in place of property titles (which are often a barrier for women seeking loans); however, these approaches can be expensive and adoption by banks is not widespread. Supplier credit offers some respite; but that too has limitations and is irrelevant for many businesses. Supply chain finance has promise; yet it has not been achieved scale. 

Banks need faster and more efficient ways of underwriting loans to women-owned VSEs and SMEs, availing of the latest alternative information sources to create credit scoring models and assess multiple income sources, psychometric testing for likely repayment behavior, blockchain to establish collateral ownership, social networks to create co-guarantor mechanisms, and customer data to establish financing demand. Those who design these systems must be careful to safeguard against potential gender bias within data sources, algorithms, and human-made lending decisions. Many core banking systems cannot work with alternative data sources. Banks also need support in acquiring these customers. This includes current customers, because their MIS cannot identify women owned/led businesses easily and many remain unknown in the consumer portfolio; as well as prospect customers—identifying them and reaching out to them in the marketplace. In some cultural contexts, loan collection processes must also be adapted because the traditional recovery agent model does not work.

While some fintechs have solved pieces of the equation, the market is vastly underserved. This presents a huge B2B partnership opportunity for fintech’s and banks, as well as a B2C opportunity for fintechs.

To know more download the “How Fintechs can profit from the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy” report

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(A3) Financing women-owned/led informal VSEs in LATAM

Women owned/led very small businesses (WVSEs); often semi-formal, are a vast un-served and underserved segment when it comes to accessing finance for their business. FSPs lack sufficient information and documents to underwrite loans. Women also lack sufficient information/financial know-how to demand the appropriate finance for their businesses. 
Create solutions that would improve women business owners’ in the VSE segment access to finance in LATAM. (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

LATAM: Colombia; Brazil

Women-owned Very Small Enterprises (WVSEs) fall between the upper end of micro and the lower end of SME lending and are often informal (not registered).  The gap is roughly $1 trillion when informal women-owned businesses are included. These businesses are vital sources of income for millions of households. Yet they face compounded financing challenges because of incomplete financial statements and paper trails, lack of formal registration, limited business experience, being located in the home, and making sales based on community credit rather than cash. 

To cater to these firms, some banks have introduced 'cash-flow'-based lending and or began accepting co-guarantors in place of property titles (which are often a barrier for women seeking loans); however, these approaches can be expensive and adoption by banks is not widespread. Supplier credit offers some respite; but that too has limitations and is irrelevant for many businesses. Supply chain finance has promise; yet it has not been achieved scale. 

Banks need faster and more efficient ways of underwriting loans to women-owned VSEs and SMEs, availing of the latest alternative information sources to create credit scoring models and assess multiple income sources, psychometric testing for likely repayment behavior, blockchain to establish collateral ownership, social networks to create co-guarantor mechanisms, and customer data to establish financing demand. Those who design these systems must be careful to safeguard against potential gender bias within data sources, algorithms, and human-made lending decisions. Many core banking systems cannot work with alternative data sources. Banks also need support in acquiring these customers. This includes current customers, because their MIS cannot identify women owned/led businesses easily and many remain unknown in the consumer portfolio; as well as prospect customers—identifying them and reaching out to them in the marketplace. In some cultural contexts, loan collection processes must also be adapted because the traditional recovery agent model does not work.

While some fintechs have solved pieces of the equation, the market is vastly underserved. This presents a huge B2B partnership opportunity for fintech’s and banks, as well as a B2C opportunity for fintechs.

To know more download the “How Fintechs can profit from the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy” report

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(B1) Financing Women-Owned/Led Formal SMEs in ASIA

Moving up in business size, women owned/led formal SMEs (WSMEs) are registered as businesses, have bank accounts where transaction history can be assessed, pay taxes, borrow from multiple sources—often using their credit card. Banks requirements are perceived to be and are onerous. The banks themselves find it difficult to identify these women whether they are their own customers (availing of consumer credit) or are prospect customers; find them costly to acquire them once identified and costly to serve. Create solutions that would improve women business owners’ in the SME segment to access finance in ASIA.  (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

ASIA: South Asia - Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka; Singapore.

Women-owned SMEs face a number of constraints to growth, including access to finance. While financing is almost always a challenge for SMEs, the difficulties are often intensified by gender-related factors, including women’s lack of collateral, weak property rights, tendency to have been in business for a shorter amount of time and be subjected to discriminatory regulations, laws and customs. On average women self-report report less financial literacy and seek out smaller loans or prefer to use credit cards rather than apply for business finance from banks.  With both supply and demand side barriers, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that as many as 70% of women-owned SMEs in the formal sector in developing countries are unserved or underserved by financial institutions, amounting to a financing gap – and opportunity – of around $285 billion (Source: Credit where it is due, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, 2014). 

Moving up in business size, women owned/led formal SMEs are registered as businesses, have bank accounts where transaction history can be assessed, pay taxes, borrow from multiple sources—often using their credit card. Banks requirements are perceived to be and are onerous. The banks themselves find it difficult to identify these women whether they are their own customers (often availing of consumer credit and in the retail rather than corporate portfolio, and also often using credit cards) or are prospect customers; find them costly to acquire them once identified and costly to serve. .  This segment is growth-oriented and tremendously loyal when served well but still face many of the same constraints as WVSEs when accessing finance.

To know more download the “How Fintechs can profit from the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy” report

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(B2) Financing women-owned/led formal SMEs in AFRICA

Moving up in business size, women owned/led formal SMEs (WSMEs) are registered as businesses, have bank accounts where transaction history can be assessed, pay taxes, borrow from multiple sources—often using their credit card. Banks requirements are perceived to be and are onerous. The banks themselves find it difficult to identify these women whether they are their own customers (availing of consumer credit) or are prospect customers; find them costly to acquire them once identified and costly to serve. Create solutions that would improve women business owners’ in the SME segment to access finance in AFRICA.  (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

AFRICA: Kenya; Nigeria

Women-owned SMEs face a number of constraints to growth, including access to finance. While financing is almost always a challenge for SMEs, the difficulties are often intensified by gender-related factors, including women’s lack of collateral, weak property rights, tendency to have been in business for a shorter amount of time and be subjected to discriminatory regulations, laws and customs. On average women self-report report less financial literacy and seek out smaller loans or prefer to use credit cards rather than apply for business finance from banks.  With both supply and demand side barriers, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that as many as 70% of women-owned SMEs in the formal sector in developing countries are unserved or underserved by financial institutions, amounting to a financing gap – and opportunity – of around $285 billion (Source: Credit where it is due, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, 2014). 

Moving up in business size, women owned/led formal SMEs are registered as businesses, have bank accounts where transaction history can be assessed, pay taxes, borrow from multiple sources—often using their credit card. Banks requirements are perceived to be and are onerous. The banks themselves find it difficult to identify these women whether they are their own customers (often availing of consumer credit and in the retail rather than corporate portfolio, and also often using credit cards) or are prospect customers; find them costly to acquire them once identified and costly to serve. .  This segment is growth-oriented and tremendously loyal when served well but still face many of the same constraints as WVSEs when accessing finance.

To know more download the “How Fintechs can profit from the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy” report

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(B3) Financing women-owned/led formal SMEs in LATAM

Moving up in business size, women owned/led formal SMEs (WSMEs) are registered as businesses, have bank accounts where transaction history can be assessed, pay taxes, borrow from multiple sources—often using their credit card. Banks requirements are perceived to be and are onerous. The banks themselves find it difficult to identify these women whether they are their own customers (availing of consumer credit) or are prospect customers; find them costly to acquire them once identified and costly to serve. Create solutions that would improve women business owners’ in the SME segment to access finance in LATAM.  (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

LATAM: Colombia; Brazil

Women-owned SMEs face a number of constraints to growth, including access to finance. While financing is almost always a challenge for SMEs, the difficulties are often intensified by gender-related factors, including women’s lack of collateral, weak property rights, tendency to have been in business for a shorter amount of time and be subjected to discriminatory regulations, laws and customs. On average women self-report report less financial literacy and seek out smaller loans or prefer to use credit cards rather than apply for business finance from banks.  With both supply and demand side barriers, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that as many as 70% of women-owned SMEs in the formal sector in developing countries are unserved or underserved by financial institutions, amounting to a financing gap – and opportunity – of around $285 billion (Source: Credit where it is due, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, 2014). 

Moving up in business size, women owned/led formal SMEs are registered as businesses, have bank accounts where transaction history can be assessed, pay taxes, borrow from multiple sources—often using their credit card. Banks requirements are perceived to be and are onerous. The banks themselves find it difficult to identify these women whether they are their own customers (often availing of consumer credit and in the retail rather than corporate portfolio, and also often using credit cards) or are prospect customers; find them costly to acquire them once identified and costly to serve. .  This segment is growth-oriented and tremendously loyal when served well but still face many of the same constraints as WVSEs when accessing finance.

LATAM: Colombia; Brazil 

To know more download the “How Fintechs can profit from the Multi-Trillion-Dollar Female Economy” report

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(C) Building Business Capability of Female Entrepreneurs

Women-owned enterprises are an untapped growth opportunity for financial institutions: Women are half of the population and own around a third of small businesses in developing countries. Better addressing their needs can unlock tremendous growth potential. Women-owned enterprises need more than just finance. Training, mentoring, networking, and other non-financial services can give entrepreneurs a vital leg up.
Create solutions that would improve women business owners’ access to education and networks. (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

To support women, including those from minority groups, in growing their small businesses, access to finance must be complemented with business and financial education (40 percent of women going to a bank for a loan do not have a projected cashflow), access to networks and markets (women have smaller networks than men and yet size of network is correlated with business success), relevant information that’s timely and efficient (women are avid consumers of information) and some form of recognition (too few role models, require increased visibility). This holistic value proposition is what women need to succeed.

Traditional approaches (classroom training, mentoring, trade fairs, etc.) are being supplanted by digital platforms (PFM platforms, upskilling on e-commerce platforms, networking on social media platforms, etc.) and women are looking for one-stop shops that improve their skills, build their networks (including exports) and enable access to financing (at whatever stage of business lifecycle). Banks in the Financial Alliance for Women network offer this holistic value proposition but need to do so more cost effectively and at scale through use of innovative technology — fintech, edtech, healthtech — availing of real and financial sector stakeholders, to solve for business growth needs.

For more info, download the "Non-financial Services: The Key to Unlocking the Growth Potential of Women-led Small and Medium Enterprises for Banks"

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(D) Transforming Mass-Market Women's Investment Capabilities

Women’s relationship with wealth continues to be impaired. This is because of a focus on immediacy instead of long-term planning and a lack of connection with financial advisors. Mass-market women are underserved by the asset management sector and lack confidence in long-term financial planning and investment skills.
Create a solution that helps develop mass-market women’s investment capabilities. (B2B, B2B2C or B2C)

Although women hold approximately 40 percent of global wealth, as per Credit Suisse’s 2018 Global Wealth Report, they are underserved by financial services providers and tend to have low satisfaction ratings. Women’s wealth is expected to increase, as they are inheriting at greater rates than men and getting closer to parity in education and entrepreneurship. Yet asset management companies have thus far failed to take a tailored approach to serving the women’s market. That many relationship managers struggle to communicate with women is evident in consumer behavior patterns. For example, 70 percent of widows leave their financial advisor within 12 months of becoming
a widow.

On the other hand, women tend to face multiple demands on their resources (paying for children, health, housing, etc.) and constraints on their time. They often deal with wealth management through informal channels:  According to a 2016 report by Boston Consulting Group, 30 percent of high-net-worth (HNW) women list friends and family as their primary source of investment advice, compared to 11 percent of overall respondents. Or they may not focus on their own financial security until they reach old age. This can lead to financial insecurity in retirement, a problem compounded by the pension gender gap, lower lifetime earnings and longer life expectancies than their male counterparts.
While wealth tech is taking off, the mass market for women’s wealth and investment management is largely untapped. Successful solutions should earn the trust of clients and the public, provide relevant and timely information, build financial confidence and expertise, and offer a range of products that are good value and have strong values that speak to women’s widespread interest
in ESG investing.

The Financial Alliance for Women's report, “The Growing Opportunity of Women of Wealth,” revealed that HNW women have financial needs distinct from their male counterparts. At the same time, women are often under-informed about investment opportunities and lack confidence in their own financial planning abilities. Fifty-five percent of HNW women “strongly believe” that they know less than the average investor. Eighty-two percent of affluent and HNW women globally and across age groups believe that men know more about investing. This does not necessarily mean women are not interested or active in dealing with money. Women are highly involved in managing expenses (85 percent) and paying bills (80 percent). However, 58 percent opt out of long-term financial planning, instead prioritizing savings and short-term investments.

To build confidence in their own long-term financial planning abilities and drive financial security, women need trusted financial advisors that work closely with them to provide timely and relevant information through a range of consultative practices, including risk/reward trade-offs, gamification, and peer learning.

To know more download the "The Growing Opportunity of Women of Wealth: DefiningStrategies for Success"

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(E) Identifying Women-Owned/Led Businesses Within Bank MIS

Closing the finance gap to women-owned/led businesses starts with financial services providers (FSPs) being able to identify them within their existing customer base. This is due to a variety of reasons including: a) a lack of data availability due to inadequate MIS systems and/or lack of alternative data; b) inaccurate or questionable data quality such as a lack of consistent definitions, inability to tag WSME within a business portfolio and changes in shareholder and management structures; c) the fact that sex-disaggregated data is not being used or analyzed to its full potential nor is it included in regular management reporting.
Create a solution that helps banks identify, track, analyze, and report women-owned/led businesses within FSPs portfolios. (B2B, B2B2C)

Identifying women-owned/led very small businesses, often semi-formal (WVSEs) and women-owned/led small businesses that are formal (WSMEs) is a challenge for FSPs. This is due to a variety of reasons. First, FSPs systems are not set up to capture and/or aggregate sex-disaggregated data, particularly for WSMEs and WVSE. Many FSPs MIS are inadequate or based on legacy systems that are not easily changed, and many core banking systems cannot integrate alternative data. Second, while sex-disaggregated may be available, the data may be inaccurate. One driver is that some banks may not be setting consistent definitions of what a WVSE/WSME are in order to tag them. Many women who are actually small business owners remain in the consumer banking portfolio, as it is difficult for banks to determine the purpose for which their account is actually being used, and any changes in shareholding and management can be burdensome to keep up to date. Finally, although data may be available, many FSPs are not using it or analyzing it to its full potential. Aggregating the data can be cumbersome, and due to a lack of automation in extracting sex-disaggregated data, it is not done on a consistent basis, nor is it complete. This leads to WVSE/WSME data not being included in regular management reporting.

The situation is compounded by the lack of universal definitions of women-owned/led businesses, but the IFC definition is a useful benchmark: >51 percent female ownership or >20 percent female ownership and 1 woman CEO/COO, and >30 percent female board, if a board exists. Further, existing reporting requirements by funders, investors, regulators, or other stakeholders can vary, and because there is no universal definition for WSMES, nor are there consistent indicators being used, reporting requirements vary and can be onerous.

for more insights on this challenge read the report:  "A Data-Driven Path to Women's Financial Inclusion | Financial Alliance for Women"

Prizes

Chart a path to becoming a chosen brand for female customer

Alliance Hack will support fintechs in developing solutions to support women business owners’ access to and use of financial products, create supportive services to accelerate their growth and connect them with global FSPs with similar objectives.

Up to $25,000 cash prize for winning team
Get the chance to participate in a global incubator program for financial inclusion
Receive capacity-building support

PARTICIPATING JUDGES

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Amy Neale

Senior Vice President, Mastercard Start Path

Amy leads a global team to identify, mentor and partner with leading later stage startups and Fintech innovators through the award winning Mastercard Start Path program. An experienced leader driven by a passion for new technology, Amy’s career has spanned corporate, startup and university sectors and she has a track record in strategic partnerships, innovation management, venture investing, business development and IP & technology licensing. Amy has a PhD in computational linguistics from Cardiff University and is passionate about making the world of technology fully inclusive. Originally from the UK she now calls Ireland home, living in Dublin with her husband and son.

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Sopnendu Mohanty

Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Sopnendu Mohanty is the Chief Fintech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). He joined MAS in August 2015 and is responsible for creating development strategies, public infrastructure and regulatory policies around technology innovation. Since 2015, Singapore has become one of the top global fintech hubs covering a wide range of financial asset classes including adjacent technology innovations in areas such as insurance, digital assets, blockchain, artificial intelligence, reg-tech and green-finance.
Before joining MAS, Sopnendu spent more than 20 years in various leadership roles in technology, finance and innovation with most of his career with Citigroup. Sopnendu is a member of multiple advisory committees of multilateral global agencies, associations, universities, and governments. He is an avid speaker, global thought leader in FinTech, and advocate of accelerated transformation to a digital economy for solving financial inclusion and sustainability challenges.

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Inez Murray

CEO, Financial Alliance for Women

Inez Murray was appointed chief executive officer by the Financial Alliance for Women’s board of directors in November 2012. As CEO, Inez, who had previously served the Alliance as Vice Chair of the board, is responsible for setting the strategic direction, implementing the board’s vision, and overseeing the Alliance’s day-to-day operations. She is a globally recognized expert in women’s economic empowerment, speaking and publishing widely on that topic, and is also a seasoned executive with nearly 20 years’ experience running complex global projects, incubating new initiatives, and raising more than $20 million in funding from public and private sources.
Inez comes to the Financial Alliance for Women following a 17-year career with Women’s World Banking. The world’s largest network of microfinance institutions, WWB reaches more than 26 million low-income people, the vast majority of them women, with quality financial services.

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Theodora Lau

Founder, Unconventional Ventures

Theodora (Theo) Lau is the founder of Unconventional Ventures, a public speaker, and an advisor. She is the co-author of Beyond Good, and co-host of One Vision, a podcast on fintech and innovation. She is also a regular contributor for top industry events and publications, including Harvard Business Review and Nikkei Asian Review.

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Qamar Saleem

Regional Manager, Advisory Services, FIG, IFC.

Qamar, a Pakistan national, has been FIG's Global Lead for SME Banking and Supply Chain Finance Practice based in Istanbul since October 2016. He has led the transformation of SME Banking Advisory Services business globally to achieve market and client impact, technical standardization, financial sustainability, knowledge leadership and innovation. The Advisory Practice that Qamar has built and led has won internal and external awards and is also recognized for launching Creating Markets initiatives such as enabling supply chain finance. He has also been a driving force in FIG Advisory services business's strategic alignment and business growth, globally. Qamar joined IFC in May 2012 as Senior SME Banking Specialist based in Jordan covering EMENA region and then transitioned to a Global Specialist role during his initial 4 years at IFC. Prior to IFC Qamar spent two decades in Banking having been associated primarily with global financial institutions like HSBC, Standard Chartered, AMEX

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Virginia Tan

Founding Partner of Teja Ventures, Co-Founder of She Loves Tech, Co-Founder and President of Lean In China

Virginia Tan is the founding partner of Teja Ventures, the first gender lens VC fund for emerging Asia. As a pioneering thought leader for gender and technology in Asia, she founded She Loves Tech, the world’s largest startup competition for women and technology. Virginia Tan is also the founder and former president of Lean In China, one of China’s leading nonprofit platforms for women with over 100,000 members across more than 25 cities and 100 universities in China, which supports the goals and aspirations of Chinese women.

Virginia's background is in law and finance, having worked in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America for 2 magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Allen and Overy. She specialised in emerging market investments and has covered more than USD 30 billion of transactions in the course of her career. She moved to Beijing in 2013 to work on strategic investments related to the "One Belt One Road" initiative.

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Claire Calmejane

Chief Innovation Officer, Societe Generale Group

Claire Calmejane began her career in 2006 in the Technology Transformation department of Capgemini Consulting, where she supported companies and especially financial institutions in their technological and digital transformation. Contributing to a study on the digital transformation of large companies led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011, she joined the London office of Capgemini to lead the digital centre of the Financial Services sector. Recruited in 2012 by Lloyds Banking Group as Head of Digital Delivery in the Online Services Department, she was appointed Innovation Director and set up the Innovation Labs and the Digital Academy before being appointed Risk Transformation Director at Lloyds Banking Group. In September 2018, Claire Calmejane joined Societe Generale as Group Chief Innovation Officer and is a member of the Group Management Committee. She studied IT Engineering with a degree from EPITA and a Masters degree from the HEC French school of management.

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Dan Roberts

Global Head of Business Banking, and Head of Strategic Growth for Commercial Banking, HSBC Asia Pacific

Dan is responsible for HSBC’s relationship with small-medium enterprises globally. Additionally, Dan leads on HSBC Commercial Banking’s digital platforms, cross-business line collaboration, and platforms and partnerships strategy across Asia Pacific.
He joined HSBC in 2019 from Barclays where he was Global Head of Transaction Banking. In his 23 years there he held senior commercial banking leadership roles in coverage, credit, products and balance sheet management.
Dan has an MBA from the University of Chicago and read mathematics at the University of Oxford. He is based in Hong Kong SAR.

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Cat Rust

Global Head, Technology, Standard Chartered Bank

Cat has extensive leadership experience driving mobile, internet and software related transformation with large enterprises and start-ups. She is responsible for building a new business around technology clients. She joined from 3 years at UBS Wealth Management Greater China where she was Head of Innovation Technologies, Greater China. Previously, she spent more than 15 years building eight technology companies in software, cloud and mobile in Hong Kong, China, the US and the UK. With the aim of promoting technology and transformation, Cat holds senior roles with the Women’s Foundation and InvestHK; she also leads a Facebook community with over 12k members around start-up. She was also named a global top 100 in women in Fintech.
Prior to her days in technology, Cat spent 5 years in China building companies, factories and amusement parks. She studied Management and Statistics at St Andrews University and received Diplomas in Marketing and Process-reengineering.

Eligibility

  • Formally registered technology-based start-up firms that primarily serve the financial services industry (fintechs)
  • FinTechs, InsureTech, RegTech, etc., with experience with and willing to develop solutions to serve the female economy
  • Possess a minimum viable product (MVP) or a product available on the market or ready to be rolled out in the market
  • Mature enough to drive to POC stage with commercial banks
  • Female founders and gender-diverse teams encouraged to apply

Media Centre

Fintech Fridays

FAQ

What stage should my fintech be at if I want to apply?

This hackathon is open to fintechs in early to mid-stage development, including seed stage, raising/raised funds, in the process of scaling, or mature enough to drive to POC stage with commercial banks.

Why should I participate in this hackathon? How will it benefit my organization?

Women represent a huge business opportunity — worth trillions of dollars — that has been largely underserved or unserved by the traditional financial sector. Through the Alliance Hack, you can chart a path to becoming a chosen brand for female customers, connect with global industry leaders and learn from global female economy champions the key steps to building a successful women-centered strategy. Additionally, you'll have the opportunity to pitch to high-level executives at established brands, including Enterprise Ireland, IBM and other major finserv institutions and network with industry leaders. The winning team will get US$25,000 cash prize, a free one-year subscription on the APIX platform and up to US$25,000 credits on AWS. The top three winning teams will become members of the Financial Alliance for Women for a full year, enabling access to a network of global financial services providers, mentoring and peer learning opportunities, and to the Alliance's proprietary tools and knowledge products to develop their women's market proposition. The three winners will also automatically enter the finals for global accelerator programs.

Why should fintechs target the female economy?

A Wealth of Opportunities. Women represent a huge market opportunity and growing purchasing power led by trends toward gender parity in education, entreprenuership and wealth. Women control more than $216 trillion in wealth globally and earn $24 trillion on an annual basis. They’re also strong savers and reliable customers. Yet, this market remains largely underserved. Only 65 percent of women benefit from financial services (compared to 72 percent of men). And of the women who are receiving financial services, 73 percent are dissatisfied with them. Forty percent of global health is held by women. By 2030, American women are expected to control much of the $30 trillion in financial assets that baby boomers will possess — a potential wealth transfer of such magnitude that it approaches the annual GDP of the United States. In the US, women make up 80 percent of household buying decisions about where to bank and yet they are greatly underserved by and highly dissatisfied with the financial services sector. They need propositions that they can trust to solve their needs at all stages of life. Brands that can meet this unmet need this will have a strong competitive advantage moving forward. A Lingering Gap. While overall financial inclusion has increased markedly over the past decades, the global gender gap in account ownership has stayed at roughly 7 percent since the early 2000s. Digitizing payments, lowering eKY, increasing digital adoption, making products more compelling with gamification, connecting women to their communities, expanding their networks, and building in financial education are all potential solutions with the promise to finally close this stubborn gap. Driving that change is both a financial and ethical imperative. Fintechs have exceptional capabilities to help close this gap and respond to women’s distinct needs and behaviors, including offering low-cost access and delivering time-efficient and high-value services. And when they do so, they find a ready market: 58 percent of financial app users in the United States are women, and 62 percent of millennial women pay bills online, compared to 53 percent of millennial men.

Can I apply to more than one problem statement?

Yes, your team can submit one proposal per subcategory of the problem statement and can submit up to three proposals per company. The Alliance will allocate the selected team one subcategory of a problem statement from the team’s [three] preferred choices. Incomplete entries may be disqualified.

What is the selection process, and how are the winners selected?

Teams Selection: An independent selection committee will assess fintech proposals based on the following criteria: registration status, growth potential, minimum viable product (MVP) or product on the market, and the ability to impact women's access to financial services. Selected fintechs will be invited to take part in the Hackathon from Aug. 3 till Sept. 15.

What kind of solutions are you looking for?

Hackers will develop a proof of concept (POC) through their integration, testing and coding on the APIX sandbox. Solutions can be targeted to women only or can be women-friendly — displaying an understanding of women's unique needs while still catering to a wider market.

How are the winners chosen?

A panel of prominent experts with relevant experience will be responsible for judging entries. The final decisions of the judges are to be based on the following parameters: • Idea Validation (Weight of 15%) • Innovation & Prototype (Weight of 15%) • Impact on Women's Market (Weight of 20%) • Business Model (Weight of 15%) • Customer Segment (Weight of 10%) • Competitiveness and Scalability (Weight of 15%) • Team (Weight of 5%) Bonus +5% for female founders The panel will assign a score for each parameter, which will then determine the ranking of each team. The hackathon winner will be the team with the highest total score. Project evaluation and selection of winners Step 1: Each team will be invited to submit the solution on the APIX platform between July 28 and Sept. 15, 2021, midnight GMT. Step 2: Each Jury will review the solution on the Apix platform starting on Sept. 16, attend the live pitches and Demo Day on Sept. 23 at 9 am ET, and finalize their scoring before Sept. 30, 2021. Step 3: Each team must be available on Sept. 23 to present their POC and solution live (no more than 8 minutes) to a judging panel, after which judges will individually assess the pitch and enter scores on the APIX platform. The entry that earns the highest composite score will win. Failure to present on Demo Day will result in a fintech's automatic disqualification. Step 4: Once the final rankings have been determined, the top 5 positions will be announced.

What kind of support will be provided for participants?

Selected teams will take part in dedicated clinics (workshops) to better understand the women's market proposition and the opportunity behind the female economy. In addition to business and technical workshops. Participating teams will also recieve guidance, expert advice and full sandbox access on the APIX platform.

Who owns the code developed during the hackathon ?

Teams have full ownsership of everything they build at the hackathon and on APIX and are free to do with it what they wish.

What will the pitch include?

As part of the pitch, you will demo your hack and present your solution in front of the judging panel (not exceeding 8 minutes) followed by Q&A. Your presentation must include the proof of concept demo, state the problem and research behind it, the proposed solution, the go-to-market strategy and the relevance to the female economy covering the judging criteria.

Meet – Ups

Shortlisted teams will meet with Challengers and market leaders to understand the problem statements

Hackathon clinics

The Alliance hack will include 6 clinics to support fintechs:

  • The Power of the Female Economy
  • Using Sex-Disaggregated Data
  • Developing a Gender Intelligent Business Model
  • Coding and developing the Solutions on APIX
  • Scaling through partnerships
  • Pitching Your Way To Success

Mentoring & Technical Expertise

Mentors from various financial institutions will be sharing their expertise and assisting the participating teams in creating impactful solutions.

Each team will be connected with:

  • A business Mentor: Women’s Market Champion to understand the key drivers to unlock the Female Economy
  • A Technical Expert: to support in developing the POC

Alliance Hack 2020 Winners

The Alliance Hack 2020 called for innovative tech-based solutions in four challenge tracks—banking, wealth, insurance, and payments. These challenges were designed to address barriers that keep women from accessing and benefitting fully from financial and non-financial services.

Tackling these challenges were thirteen teams; six working on banking, four on wealth, two on payments, and one on insurance. Each of these teams applied with an innovative proposal that they are now developing into a scalable solution, with support from the hackathon’s excellent experts and mentors. The teams hail from ten different countries—including Canada, Germany, Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and the United States—reflecting the global nature of both the Alliance network and the issues at hand.

Alliance Hack 2020 Winners:

The Female Economy FinTech of the Year: Tyme Bank, South Africa
The Female Economy Silver Fintech: NDOVU, Kenya
Female Economy Bronze Fintech: GFI Fintech, Malaysia

Contact

For Alliance Hack related queries, please reach out to

For technical queries during registration or proposal submission process, please reach out to