#FinEquity2026 Annual Convening

About FinEquity Annual Convening

Each year, the FinEquity Annual Convening brings together financial service providers, policymakers, regulators, funders, and other practitioners from around the world to exchange lessons and build the collaboration needed to make financial services work better for women. 

In 2026, the community gathered around a shared and urgent question: how do we keep gender on the agenda when funding is tight? The convening featured a global virtual session for the FinEquity Global community and an in-person regional event in Mexico City for FinEquity ALC. It will also include a virtual session for FinEquity Africa.

From regions where access is already high to those where basic gaps persist, sessions explored what it takes for financial services to reach women and support their economic lives and resilience. As AI continues to reshape financial services, the convening also examined how to ensure it works for women rather than against them.

Day 1 | FinEquity Global | 2 June, 2026 – Virtual
Keeping Gender on the Agenda When Funding Is Tight

Day One brought the full FinEquity community together around a shared challenge: sustaining progress on women's financial inclusion at a time of growing constraints. 

International aid is in historic decline, budgets across the sector are under pressure, and funders are making hard choices about where their support will go furthest. At the same time, AI is reshaping financial services, bringing new opportunities alongside new demands on institutions already stretched thin. In this environment, how can partnerships and collaboration through communities of practice like FinEquity help institutions do more with less, and ensure women aren't left behind?

These questions were addressed through plenary discussions, interactive networking, and six parallel workshops. Each workshop examined a different lever for advancing women's financial inclusion in practice, from product design and gender data to financial health, social norms, and AI.

Explore the agenda for Day 1 >

Day 2 | FinEquity ALC | 3 June, 2026 – Mexico City
Beyond Access: What It Takes to Make Financial Services Work for Women

In Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 70% of adults now hold a financial account. Access alone is no longer the main barrier. The question now is: what does it take to move beyond access, so that financial services deliver financial health, resilience, and economic opportunity for women?

Day Two brought the FinEquity ALC community in Mexico City, including stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia, international organizations, and civil society, to work through that question. Centered on Mexico's experience under the National Financial Inclusion Policy (PNIF) 2025–2030 and the National Financial Education Strategy (ENEF 2025–2030), morning panels explored how data, innovation, financial education, and cross-sector collaboration are shaping women's financial well-being, and where gaps remain.

In the afternoon, sessions shifted to practical application through a series of interactive, hands-on workshops on topics including transforming financial institutions through a gender lens, measuring women’s financial health, expanding access to credit through innovation, and designing behavioral and education interventions grounded in women’s realities.

Explore the agenda for Day 2 >

Day 3 | FinEquity Africa | 9 December, 2026 - Online
Tackling Africa's Persistent Barriers to Women's Financial Inclusion

On December 9, the FinEquity Africa community will convene virtually to examine the persistent barriers that continue to limit women’s financial inclusion in the region. Women in Sub Saharan Africa remain 12 percentage points less likely than men to own a financial account, a gap that has more than doubled over the past decade, even as developing economies globally have made progress. Limited digital access, restrictive social and gender norms, and financial products that do not reflect women’s needs continue to constrain meaningful inclusion.

This year’s session will place particular emphasis on young women, exploring the challenges they face as they enter the financial system, build livelihoods, and make critical economic decisions. The discussion will focus on how practitioners, funders, policymakers, and other stakeholders can work together to ensure that young women are not left behind, and that financial inclusion strengthens economic agency and resilience across generations.

Originally planned as an in-person convening in Nairobi, the event will now bring the full FinEquity Africa community together online. Drawing on the latest evidence, including the Global Findex 2025, participants will explore what is working, where gaps remain. A dedicated workshop will offer space to identify priorities, share practical experiences, and explore partnerships and actionable solutions to address persistent barriers, particularly those affecting young women.

Explore the agenda for Day 3 >