The top four finalists in the Women’s Global Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge have been chosen, and Paycode, a biometric identity and digital payments fintech firm, will compete live at the 2023 Making Finance Work for Women Conference in Mumbai in May.
Paycode was chosen from a group of 98 highly qualified candidates from 34 different countries based on strict criteria by an advisory council of industry experts. These criteria included product innovation, gender inclusivity, financial sustainability, scalability potential, team experience, and diversity.
Speaking about the Challenge, Marina Dimova, Global Head of Financial Industry and Network Advocacy for Women’s World Banking said, “Fintech founders develop new solutions when they see an unmet need or an underserved community, and low-income women are absolutely an underserved community.”
By calling on fintech innovators from around the world and inviting them to present their best ideas at the Fintech Innovation Challenge, we aim to advance women’s financial inclusion and scale growth. We look forward to seeing our finalists present their exciting solutions live in India this May, bringing us closer to achieving an inclusive economy for all.”
The announcement continues Paycode’s winning streak, which began in May 2022 in Mozambique when it took home the Mondato Award for Innovation in Digital Banking. The Paycode earned Best Financial Inclusion Payments Project at the UK Payments Association’s Pay360 Award, which was presented in conjunction with Mastercard. Paycode was subsequently selected a Top 10 Semifinalist in the Women’s Global Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge in December 2022 and the Second Runner Up in the Ecobank Fintech Challenge in Togo in October 2022.
The demand for effective financial inclusion solutions that serve residents of remote, deep-country locations was a recurring issue throughout all of the competitions. Due to a lack of identification, poor connectivity, and exorbitant costs, nearly one billion individuals in Africa alone are unable to access basic financial services. These obstacles to financial inclusion are removed by Paycode’s biometric identity and digital payments solution, which operates offline and in real-time.
Paycode CEO, Gabe Ruhan, commented, “Paycode is delighted to be a Finalist in the Women’s World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge and we look forward to presenting our solution to the judges at the Making Finance Work for Women Summit in Mumbai later this year. We are proud to be recognized as a leading fintech in Africa, and we look forward to building on our success to drive financial inclusion for millions through our world-class digital identity and payments solution.”
