Who We Are

FinEquity is a global community of over 7,200 researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and donors globally prioritizing women's economic empowerment through financial inclusion. We are currently reaching over 2,500 members across FinEquity ALC (in Spanish) and approximately 450 members with the nascent FinEquity Africa. Convened by CGAP, FinEquity envisions a world where women have the capabilities to access, negotiate and control financial services that improve their lives. Goals and strategies are guided by member needs.

Our Vision

A world where women have the capabilities to access, negotiate, and control financial services that improve their lives.

Our Mission

To accelerate women's economic empowerment through financial inclusion by catalyzing knowledge generation, fostering best practices and encouraging sector collaboration.

Our Values

Collaboration, Inclusion, Effectiveness, Accountability.

Engaging with FinEquity - What Does Membership Mean?

By signing up for the FinEquity mailing list you are considered a member of FinEquity’s vibrant Community of Practice. FinEquity is an open and inclusive community and we’re always happy to add new members. Engaging with FinEquity provides a variety of channels and facilitated platforms for members to share experiences, identify key challenges, discuss new ideas, document emerging good practices and solve common problems associated with increasing equitable access to and use of a broad range of financial services. 

Connect:

FinEquity Annual Convenings are a terrific opportunity to connect with members of the global women's financial inclusion community as we engage in productive, inspiring conversations. The Annual Convening includes a combination of panels, group discussions and member share sessions arranged to showcase solutions and ongoing efforts to accelerate women's economic empowerment through financial inclusion.

FinEquity Socials are informal gatherings hosted by members of our community around the globe. Often held on the sidelines of regional events, they are an ideal way to meet local peers and increase awareness of FinEquity issues at a grassroots level. For further information about hosting a FinEquity Social contact FinEquity@cgap.org

FinEquityALC: This Spanish-language discussion forum is intended to broaden engagement and exchange on women’s financial inclusion across the Latin American and Caribbean region. The FinEquityALC community has its own Dgroups and FinDev Gateway Web Pages

FinEquity Africa: This regional branch of FinEquity aims to accelerate knowledge generation, foster best practices, and encourage sector collaboration for women's financial inclusion across the Africa region. For more information visit the FinEquity Africa Page

FinEquity LinkedIn Group: The FinEquity LinkedIn Group is particularly suited for members seeking to grow their professional networks, develop new partnerships and share materials of interest.

Member Spotlights: Spotlights promote greater exchange and collaboration across the FinEquity community by showcasing the work of a cross-section of FinEquity members. Members Spotlights are often included in the Newsletter and always shared on the FinEquity Blog.

Share:

FinEquity Newsletter: Visit our Newsletter Archive, and subscribe to receive the FinEquity monthly Newsletter in your email inbox. Catch up on summaries of important FinEquity discussions, stay informed through our curated reading list, view recent webinars, read Peer Review summaries, share your news, and stay abreast of upcoming member events, webinars, RFPs and publications.

Dgroups: The easiest, most immediate way to connect with the FinEquity community. The FinEquity Dgroups list-serve allows you to participate in discussions, promote events and webinars, ask questions, connect with peers and share updates. Our Dgroups Information Sheet has all of the information you'll need to sign-up, set email preferences, join discussions and start your own conversations. Sign-up to join the FinEquity Dgroups.

X formerly Twitter: For recent developments from the broader FinEquity community and timely announcements from our team, follow us on Twitter at @FinEquityGlobal. FinEquity members are welcome to send social media kits for retweeting to FinEquity@cgap.org

Learn:

Webinars: Engage with peers and learn about innovative new research, practices and helpful tools. These webinars cover a wide range of issues relevant to our community and are facilitated by FinEquity Thematic Leads. Recordings are made available on our Events Page and often include recommended reading and follow-ups to Q&A.

Peer Reviews: A valuable opportunity for FinEquity members to receive input from a specially selected group of experts regarding new research, publications or other knowledge products they are producing. Facilitated by a member of the FinEquity team, Peer Reviews can be in-person, virtual or one-to-one consultations. For information on how to request a FinEquity Peer Review for your work program contact us at FinEquity@cgap.org

Resources: Find reports, conceptual models, case studies, policy briefs, Peer Reviews and a host of other specially curated materials to support your work on our Resources Page. By gathering our community’s most relevant resources, FinEquity supports collaborative learning and continued exchange of information, while reducing institutional learning curves and duplication of efforts. 

#DGroupsDialogues: Members interested in drawing upon the collective expertise of the FinEquity community for their work are invited to host a #DGroupsDialogues held on our Dgroups channel within a designated period of time on topics ranging from research issues to implementation challenges and questions sparked by new publications. #DgroupsDialogues are produced together with a FinEquity Thematic Lead. For more information see our How-To Use #DGroupsDialogues graphic.

Influence:

FinEquity Blog: A carefully curated selection of views and news from a cross-section of experts, funders and practitioners shaping the conversation around women’s financial inclusion globally. See our Blogging Guidelines for information on how you might contribute to the FinEquity Blog, we are particularly interested in publishing original content and hearing from new voices. 

Learning Themes: Interested in engaging more deeply on key thematic issues? FinEquity's learning agenda is organized around several learning themes. Learn more about specific activities and engagement opportunities within each theme: Climate and Gender, WEE Measurement, and Gender-Lens Investing for Women-led MSMEs. Previous themes included: Gender-Transformative SolutionsDigitally-Enabled Financial Inclusion, and Impact Pathways.

Meet the FinEquity team:

FinEquity Community of Practice Facilitator at CGAP

Aude de Montesquiou is the FinEquity Community of Practice Facilitator at CGAP. She has close to 20 years of experience in poverty reduction, and has published widely on social protection, livelihoods and financial inclusion. Previously, Aude was the Special Advisor at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development and a social protection specialist in the World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice.

CGAP Gender Lead

Antonique Koning is the CGAP Gender Lead. Antonique has over 20 years of experience working on a range of topics related to microfinance and financial inclusion, with special expertise in consumer protection and responsible finance, customer centricity and customer empowerment.

Gender-Transformative Solutions Thematic Lead

Nisha Singh, FinEquity's Gender-Transformative Solutions Thematic Lead. She has over 17 years of experience promoting access to finance and financial market systems development, with a focus on women’s economic empowerment and inclusion.

WEE Measurement Thematic Lead

Jenny Morgan is FinEquity's IWEE Measurement Thematic Lead. She has over 15 years of experience in inclusive financial growth, entrepreneurship and small business development, women’s economic empowerment, and resilience.

Regional Lead

Mariana Martínez is FinEquity's Regional Lead. She is an economist with over 15 years of experience in financial inclusion, microfinance, and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean; with a focus on women’s economic empowerment and inclusion. Prior to joining GCAP in 2013, she consulted for international organizations, NGOs, MFIs, and governments in LAC. 

FinEquity Africa Facilitator

Rose is a trade economist with over twenty years of work experience drawn from public, private and development sectors in Africa. Rose has been involved in negotiation, design and implementation of trade and gender equality initiatives supporting development partners such as UNECA, CBI Netherlands, GIZ, Expertise France, and USAID amongst many others.

FinEquity Technical Advisor

Lucy Kaaria joined CGAP as a consultant in 2019 to research the potential of targeted financial services to maximize the benefits of the gig economy for the young and marginalized workers, especially women. Lucy brings in 13 years of experience, including eight years  in financial inclusion and development research.

FinEquity Communications Specialist

Chido Myambo is a communications specialist with over 10 years experience working in the non-profit and international development space. She has worked on several projects including being the Community Engagement Manager for Social Enterprise Connect, which is a community of practice for South African social entrepreneurs, convened by Social Enterprise Academy.

FinEquity Technical Advisory Committee

Senior Director of BRAC's Microfinance

Shameran Abed is Senior Director of BRAC's Microfinance and Ultra-Poor Graduation programmes. BRAC’s microfinance programme serves more than 8 million clients in seven countries in Asia and Africa, with total assets exceeding USD 3.5 billion.

Independent Consultant

Nandini Harihareswara is an independent consultant specializing in FinTech, Digital Finance and Payments. She formerly worked as the Senior Advisor & Lead Focal Point on Gender Equality for UNCDF’s IDE division, and as the UNCDF Digital Finance Regional Technical Specialist in Zambia and Malawi.

Senior Policy Manager, Gender Inclusive Finance, AFI

Audrey leads the Gender Inclusive Finance (GIF) workstream at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation with 86 members (central banks and financial sector regulatory institutions) in 82 countries.

President and CEO of Women’s World Banking

Mary Ellen Iskenderian is President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, the global nonprofit devoted to giving low-income women in the developing world access to the financial tools and resources they require to achieve security and prosperity.

CGAP Gender Lead

Antonique Koning is the CGAP Gender Lead. Antonique has over 20 years of experience working on a range of topics related to microfinance and financial inclusion, with special expertise in consumer protection and responsible finance, customer centricity and customer empowerment.

Independent Consultant

Joanna Ledgerwood joined CGAP in 2020 as part of CGAP’s gender team focusing on social norms affecting women’s financial inclusion and gender transformative solutions.

Managing Director, Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF), at CARE

Christian Pennotti is the Managing Director for the Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF), a $60M initiative committed to meaningfully closing the gender digital divide.

Senior Strategic Analysis Advisor at FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Carolina Trivelli is an economist working on rural finance, and financial inclusion in Peru.

Deputy Director, Digital Connectivity at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Jamie M. Zimmerman leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work to increase low-income women’s economic empowerment through access to and usage of digital financial services.