Latin American Women Conquest Fintech

eCommerce
events
2019-04-26

The women founded or were part of the founding team of 35% fintech companies in Latin America, which contrasts with 7% globally.

Finnovista and the Inter-American Development Bank presented the results of the report “Fintech in Latin America 2018: growth and consolidation”. In the second chapter, they focused on the participation of women in fintech companies.

Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil are the countries where most women lead Fintech. Together, these three Latin American countries account for 57% of the total fintech founded by women in Latin America. 31% are in Mexico, while Colombia and Brazil have 14% and 12% respectively.

These data are well above the global norm, where only 7% of Fintechs have a woman among their management team. Also, companies with women in their founding team tend to target sectors excluded from the financial system. According to the report, 38% seek to serve marginalized groups.

However, the report also points out that companies that include women in their founding team tend to receive 15% less financing than companies where there are only men. Besides, 45% of fintech consolidated with women did not receive external funds, which contrasts with 31% of fintech with male teams.

Women are also building a better and more inclusive financial sector in Latin America: 35% of #FinTech companies have a woman in the founding team, and the proportion is larger in some countries. 1 in every 3 employees of FinTech companies are women #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/B7jKIDS3cm
— Gabriela (@SGabrielaAndra) March 8, 2019

Benefits of gender diversity

The report noted that “more diverse workplaces are correlated with better performance and greater desire to use their assets to generate social change and greater gender equity.” Women promote diversity in teams, and diversity leads to a better understanding of the needs of users.

“Having diverse work groups is a strategic asset, and greater representation of women on the boards of directors have a positive impact on the financial performance of companies, especially in countries with a more egalitarian culture, “was mentioned in the report.

80% of Fintechs have at least one woman in their teams, but the percentage is less encouraging if we speak of equal proportions. Only 11% of fintech in Latin America has 50% or more women in their work teams. Regarding equality in the workplace, Colombia and Argentina stand out. In Colombia, 16% of companies employ 50% or more women in their organization, while in Argentina this figure is 12%.