Press release
Inmediate distribution
Accion Announces New Program to Close the Financing Gap for Women
With support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, Accion will partner with financial service providers in Mexico, Bangladesh, Ghana, and India to address the challenges women face in accessing financial services.
Mexico City, February 4, 2025 – The global nonprofit organization Accion is launching a new program aimed at connecting women entrepreneurs in emerging markets, who are excluded or underserved by the financial system, with services tailored to their specific needs. Accion will partner with Techreo in Mexico, Sajida in Bangladesh, Fidelity Bank in Ghana, and SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) in India to reduce gender inequalities and barriers that women face in accessing financial services.
According to the World Bank, women entrepreneurs globally face a financing gap of $1.7 trillion. Many financial service providers lack sustainable strategies to serve women, and existing products often do not meet their specific needs. This new program aims to create innovative solutions that can be replicated by other financial service providers, contributing to the global advancement of financial inclusion for women.
Accion’s team of experts will work with each institution to improve internal processes, promote gender equity, develop credit risk models, design new products, and implement strategies for collecting sex-disaggregated data. The new solutions are expected to include creating a digital profile for women lacking access to formal financial services, expanding a resilience fund for climate shocks, conducting market research to better understand the social norms that prevent women from accessing and using financial services, and designing programs aimed at addressing the financial needs of young women.
The 12-month program is supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation. It builds on Accion’s work connecting local ecosystem players with the latest technologies to test, refine, and scale responsible financial solutions that enable small business owners and their families to strengthen their economic well-being.
Liza Guzmán, Vice President of Client Strategy and Women’s Economic Empowerment at Accion Advisory, said: “More than one billion women around the world still lack access to the essential financial services that would enable them to build successful businesses and invest in their future. By working with four partners, all leaders in financial inclusion in their countries, Accion will bring its extensive expertise to help businesses offer innovative and accessible financial solutions to small businesses and hard-to-reach customers in emerging markets.”
Carlos Pagoaga, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation, emphasized: “We are building on our legacy of supporting women’s economic empowerment programs to provide underserved women with access to economic opportunities, which ultimately creates shared value with the goal of a better collective future, improving the livelihoods of women, their families, and their communities.”
Iliana De Silva, CEO and Co-founder of Techreo, commented: “Technology has the power to transform realities, but only if we use it with a deep understanding of the daily needs women have to manage their money. To design truly effective financial products, it is essential to place women at the center of the process, creating solutions that address their specific challenges and allow them to improve their economic well-being sustainably.”
About Accion
Accion is a global nonprofit organization with the mission of creating a just and inclusive economy for the nearly two billion people excluded by the global financial system. We develop and scale responsible digital financial solutions for small business owners, smallholder farmers, and women, so they can make informed decisions and improve their lives. Through targeted investment strategies, advisory solutions, and expert thought leadership, we work with local partners to develop and scale more accessible, affordable, and customer-friendly financial solutions. Since 1961, Accion has helped build 267 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 75 countries, reaching 440 million people. For more information, visit www.accion.org
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation’s mission is to make a difference in communities around the world where The Coca-Cola Company operates and where our employees live and work. We support transformative ideas and institutions addressing complex global challenges and leaving a measurable and lasting impact. Our grants focus on sustainable access to clean water, climate resilience and disaster preparedness and response, the circular economy, economic empowerment, and causes that impact our local community. Since its creation in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has granted over $1.6 billion in support of its mandate to strengthen communities worldwide. For more information, visit www.coca-colacompany.com/social/coca-cola-foundation.
About Techreo (Mexico)
Techreo is a digital platform that creates tools for financial service providers, ensuring smooth digital transformation and financial inclusion for a wide range of customers. From women entrepreneurs to investment management, our applications provide comprehensive services fully adaptable to client needs. For more information, visit: www.techreo.services/en/.
About Sajida (Bangladesh)
Sajida is a leading nonprofit organization in Bangladesh dedicated to eradicating poverty, improving healthcare, and empowering communities. It currently serves over 700,000 low-income households with a variety of services, including credit. The Sajida Foundation is committed to expanding its impact by improving efficiency through digital innovations and advanced credit risk models. For more information, visit: www.sajida.org.
About Fidelity Bank (Ghana)
Currently the seventh-largest bank in Ghana in terms of assets, Fidelity Bank Ghana operates in 73 branches and 115 ATMs nationwide. The bank is known for its strong social commitment and dedication to serving microentrepreneurs throughout the country. With over 3 million customers, Fidelity Bank has established itself as a key player in promoting inclusive financial growth in Ghana. For more information, visit: www.fidelitybank.com.gh.
About SEWA (India)
The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a women’s union that began in Gujarat under the guidance of Smt. Ela Bhatt in 1972. Originally born from the Textile Labor Association (TLA), India’s oldest and largest textile workers' union, SEWA is now a multilateral women-owned movement in the informal economy. Fifty years later, SEWA has become a globally recognized movement for women workers in the informal economy. SEWA has over 2.9 million members across 18 states in India. For more information, visit: www.sewabharat.org
