Several of us thought that the pandemic would be over by now. We’d finally be able to walk outside freely with no masks, spend lavishly on good food, and meet people face-to-face without having to worry about COVID-19, sadly we are still here. As human beings, we are capable of adapting to change, and this is another change we have to accept while thinking about ways to survive and getting out of it stronger.
During the pandemic in the previous year, we have seen people adapting to this change by building innovations, fundraisers, and donation drives to support those in the Filipino community affected by natural disasters and COVID-19. It has also come to light that many vulnerable groups became much more vulnerable due to loss of livelihood, access to necessities, among many others. This has caused financial distress on many Filipinos who rely on low-paying jobs and work to pay for immediate necessities. Unpreparedness and failure to save money for emergencies like these limit the ability of families to get back on their feet and survive its socioeconomic impacts. [READ: Pinoys need to improve financial literacy — BSP]
We believe that financial inclusion is one of the ways underserved communities will be able to cope with the pandemic. Access to financial products and services can help individuals, families, and businesses take care of present needs, plan the future, and save for unprecedented events. It can support businesses not only in sustaining themselves but explore creative and innovative ways to do business. Their growth, in turn, converts to job creation and can increase cash flow in the economy.
How Might We Make Financial Services and Resources Accessible to the Underserved Sectors/Groups in Our Communities?
This was the challenge PhilDev Labs and the Financial Inclusion Lab (FIL) placed for young innovators and students to innovate during the FInancing the Future Innovation Challenge last November 30 – December 15, 2020. 19 teams used design thinking and went through the challenge of improving the accessibility of low-income families to financial resources and services by creating human-centered, innovative, and sustainable enterprise solutions.
In crafting these innovations, participants from various universities and startups met with FIL’s stakeholders to get a deeper understanding of the situation, participated in mentorship sessions, discussed fintech in the Philippines, and learned how to generate an effective business plan.
“A fintech platform or any technology could be a vehicle but to get to your destination or your end-user, in this case, the underserved communities, you’ll need a map, a driver, a schedule, fuel, etc. It’s a whole ecosystem. And no one can do it alone,” says Leah Reyes, Associate Director of Financial Inclusion Lab.
This is how Leah describes the Financing the Future Innovation Challenge. She emphasizes that the 2-week competition was a way to collaborate and empathize with other stakeholders to create innovative solutions. This allowed young innovators to transition from being problem-solvers to social entrepreneurs. Their entrepreneurship journey did not stop at the final pitch day, that was only the beginning.
Out of 19 teams, three of the most innovative solutions were chosen as winners. We would like to congratulate the winners of the Financing the Future Innovation Challenge, Team Mayani (Champion), Team MetaTech (1st Runner Up), and Team Spare (2nd Runner Up)! These three teams pitched data-driven innovations for grassroots communities, sharing ways they can provide the unbanked access to financial services that are user-friendly and accessible.