SUMMARY
Scale-Up Your Impact | How MFIs Can Navigate & Thrive in the Age of Fintech Revolution
Some of the biggest challenges MFIs struggle to overcome today are high operating costs, scalability and low earnings. And it is widely believed today that the provision of financial technology (fintech) innovations is expected to help MFIs reduce their costs, increase operational efficiency and remain competitive in the rapidly changing financial landscape. Additionally, new players like fintech-based lenders and mobile network operators are entering the microfinance industry and targeting the unbanked and the financially excluded segments. How successfully MFIs respond to this dynamic and competitive environment will also determine which actors will survive (remain more relevant) within the financial inclusion industry in the near future.
What’s more, investment in the fintech industry has globally raced ahead to the levels unseen before. In 2018, global investment in fintech companies hit a record high 111.8 billion USD. Fintech investments in Asia increased from $12 billion* in 2017 to $22.7 billion in 2018, dominated by Ant Financial’s record-setting deal ($14 billion). Even though the investments slowed significantly in the second half of the year, it is highly expected that fintech investments will remain strong in Asia and play a crucial role in shaping the dynamics of the financial inclusion industry.**
The 2nd Annual Asia Pacific Microfinance Forum will shed light on how the pioneering microfinance sector players (MFIs, social impact investors, banks, international finance organizations, among many others) evaluate the potential uses, critical success factors as well as implementation challenges of the recent fintech developments in the financial inclusion sector. It will be an invaluable opportunity for sector players to meet their potential/existing business partners and help shape the future of microfinancing in the Asia Pacific region.
*All figures are in US dollars
** KPMG, Global Fintech Investments, 2018
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