POSIBLE.NET, a financial-technology or fintech company, and Grameen Foundation, a global nonprofit organization, have collaborated in a program that seeks the empower the poor, especially women, by using digital technology to address particular needs.
This collaboration was at the core of the public gathering, titled “The CAN Experience: Digitizing Financial Services For All,” held recently at The Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros, Manila. Attended by various stakeholders and regulators in the financial-technology industry, Grameen Foundation reported that its track toward financial inclusion has been reaping substantial results for the benefit of both Filipino entrepreneurs and the underserved communities.
Grameen Foundation has created breakthrough solutions in the realm of financial, agricultural and health services. The organization uses digital technology and strengthens local partner networks to design and deliver solutions that open opportunity for women and families living in poverty. It has done just that for Asia, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The foundation began working in the Philippines in 2000, with the goal of catalyzing financial inclusion by enabling the poor, especially the Filipino women. Grameen Foundation said 36 percent of 1,634 local government units remain unserved by any banking facility, while only 28.1 percent of the adult population owns an account at a financial institution—numbers that are reflective of the large gaps that exist between the financial services needs and the current formal supply available in the market.
This is where Posible.NET and the foundation’s Community Agent Network (CAN) program come in.
The CAN Program, launched in 2015, seeks to improve the resilience of the financially unserved and underserved by establishing an agent network that is sustainable and scalable for various stakeholders, such as fintech providers, merchants and micro-entrepreneurs.
It aligns with the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which sets a focus on enabling an environment where there is effective physical access to a wide range of financial services designed to cater to the evolving needs of the Filipino consumers.
As of January 2018, Grameen Foundation has 1,896 agents nationwide, 75 percent of which is female who is about 40 years old and have had at least a year of college education.
“In many of our studies, we found out how women are better in handling money and finances than men. It is women’s attention to detail that makes them successful in activities that involve money-collecting, balancing and paying—these just come naturally to women,” Gatti said. “This will be beneficial, not only to the lives of these women, but also to the economy.”
In the same report, Grameen said 88 percent of the agents onboarded during the CAN program use POSIBLE.NET as their fintech provider.
Likewise, JG Puzon, CEO of POSIBLE.NET, reported they now have 2,000 active retailers nationwide and has generated 3.8 million transactions amounting to P2-billion gross value.