BIMA wins The Wall Street Journal’s Financial Inclusion Challenge 2017
HONG KONG, June 13, 2017 /3BL Media/ - The Wall Street Journal has celebrated the winning enterprises of The Financial Inclusion Challenge 2017, sponsored by MetLife Foundation. BIMA, Kinara Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance Lab were all recognized as leaders in the field of financial inclusion at an awards ceremony at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
For the third year, The Wall Street Journal’s Financial Inclusion Challenge invited nonprofit and for-profit enterprises to showcase solutions to the problems of financial access in the Asia-Pacific region.
Each of the finalists presented live to the audience and an independent panel of judges, including Muhammad Yunus, a microlending pioneer and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Michael Wiegand, director of the Financial Services for the Poor initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
BIMA, a microinsurance provider that serves 27 million families across Asia, Africa and Latin America, was named the overall winner, also receiving the most votes by the public. BIMA allows consumers to pay insurance premiums with mobile phone credit, while offering customers services such as life insurance, health insurance and doctor consultations.
Kinara Capital, which offers loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises without access to traditional collateral, took home the Audience Choice Award.
Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, an alternative credit-scoring platform that uses behavioral science, was also recognized as a finalist.
“This is year three of our work with MetLife Foundation on the Financial Inclusion Challenge, and I am pleased to say the judges were extremely impressed by the depth and breadth of innovation in financial inclusion in the region," said Andrew Dowell, Asia Editor, The Wall Street Journal. “We congratulate all of the 2017 Challenge winners.”
“Through the Financial Inclusion Challenge, our goal is to recognize ventures doing innovative work in Asia to advance financial inclusion,” said Dennis White, president and chief executive officer of MetLife Foundation. “Our commitment to this issue remains steadfast given the 2 billion people who are still outside the formal financial system.”
Finalists were invited to attend the WSJ D.Live Asia conference in Hong Kong, which took place on June 8-9, 2017, to network with the biggest names in tech and take part in a workshop for startup executives.
WSJ’s coverage of the Financial Inclusion Challenge can be found at financingthefuture.wsj.com.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is a global news organization that provides leading news, information, commentary and analysis. The Wall Street Journal engages readers across print, digital, mobile, social, and video. Building on its heritage as the preeminent source of global business and financial news, the Journal includes coverage of U.S. & world news, politics, arts, culture, lifestyle, sports, and health. It holds 37 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism. The Wall Street Journal is published by Dow Jones, a division of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).
About MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 to continue MetLife’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Since its founding through the end of 2015, MetLife Foundation has provided more than $744 million in grants and $70 million in program-related investments to organizations addressing issues that have a positive impact in their communities. In 2013, the Foundation committed $200 million to advancing financial inclusion and has reached nearly 3.5 million people to date. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.
