The Making Finance Work for Women Podcast

In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we speak with Monika Shukla, Co-Founder & CEO of Humble Bee, on how inclusive business models can unlock economic opportunity for women at the margins. 

Monika unpacks how she is transforming India’s beekeeping sector by integrating women—particularly landless and forest-fringe dwellers—pairing financial access with skills, market linkages, and ownership. With a bold goal of ...

Episode 30 is a celebration. Women’s World Banking just crossed our most audacious milestone yet! Take a step back with us to reflect on the stories, ideas, and breakthroughs that shaped our past episodes. Through curated moments from leaders across the globe, we revisit the lessons that have pushed the sector forward—from reshaping consumer protection to unlocking capital for women’s businesses to building climate resilience. 

We ...

The price of violence is economic. The solution can be, too. Behind many closed doors, violence is an everyday reality—especially for women in low-income countries. For millions, safety, autonomy, and economic participation are undermined long before they ever reach a bank branch or mobile wallet screen. 

In this Vault Release, we revisit a powerful conversation with Dr. Anita Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, Founder of the Women at Risk Interna...

As aid retreats and climate impacts increase, can investors step in where governments can’t? The battleground for influence just may be shifting from parliaments to portfolios. In this conversation with the Manager Partner of Women’s World Banking Asset Management Emerging Market Funds, we explore how gender-lens investing is being defined as both a moral and market imperative — and what it really takes to turn capital into climate...

What does the rise of instant payments, CBDCs, and buy-now-pay-later innovations mean for global financial systems—and for the women too often left at the edges of them? In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we speak with David Marsh, Chairman and Co-Founder of OMFIF, whose upcoming book Can Europe Survive? examines the economic crossroads facing a fragmented continent and world. We explore how monetary innovation is re...

Crypto is redefining value. But what does this mean for people too often left behind by traditional finance—especially women? In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we sit down with Rebecca Carvatt, Partner at EY Financial Services Consulting. With nearly two decades of experience scaling digital banks and launching financial products globally, Rebecca offers an unflinching look at how crypto innovation can drive—or dera...

The Global Findex 2025 is here—and it’s making headlines. In this special episode, Women’s World Banking President & CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian joins Leora Klapper, Lead Economist at the World Bank and architect of the Findex, for an exclusive first look at what the data reveals about women’s financial inclusion worldwide. From headline-making gains to hidden inequalities, this conversation breaks down the most important findin...

Traditional credit products often ignore the lived realities of women entrepreneurs—requiring collateral they don’t own, loan terms they can’t meet, and scoring models that fail to see their value. In this episode, we unpack groundbreaking findings from Innovations for Poverty Action’s latest evidence review on what it truly takes to make credit work for women’s economic activity. 

From psychometric credit scoring in Ethiopia to mo...

In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re taking a closer ​look at the​​ ​​role of credit access in unlocking economic mobility for women. ​Women contribute an estimated​​ $8 trillion USD of global GDP through unpaid labor—nearly three times more than men—yet they still face a staggering $1.7 trillion gap in access to credit.  

In this episode, we speak with Lucia Villar, SVP of Product Management at PayJoy, about this gap. PayJoy is turning...

Can a credit score be compassionate? What if lenders could see a climate shock coming—and adjust your repayment plan before it hits? In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we sit down with Puneet Gupta, CEO of Kaleidofin, to talk about a breakthrough in credit scoring that blends cutting-edge machine learning with human-centered design. Through a recent collaboration with Women’s World Banking, Kaleidofin tested an innov...

What if your ability to open a bank account determined whether you could survive childbirth? Or if a lack of credit meant you couldn’t access life-saving healthcare? Financial systems and public health might seem like separate worlds, but they’re deeply intertwined—especially for women. In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we sit down with Dr.  Mary-Ann Etiebet, President & CEO of Vital Strategies, to explore a gam...

In our 20th episode of The Making Finance Work for Women Podcast and as we approach Women’s History Month, we sit down with Inés, a powerhouse in digital finance, fintech regulation, and financial inclusion, to explore why women’s leadership is essential in shaping the future of financial systems. As the head of Innovation and Financial Inclusion at the Superintendency of Banks in the Dominican Republic, Inés brings cutting-edge in...

Behind the closed doors of many homes, violence is a harsh reality—especially for women in low-income countries. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Anita Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, founder of the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), to explore the intersection of finance and gender-based violence. With one in three women worldwide experiencing physical or sexual violence—most often at the hands of intimate partners—the conver...

As the year comes to a close, join us for a special December episode of the Making Finance Work for Women podcast, "A Moment of Reflection: Insights from the Leaders of Women’s World Banking." In this inspiring conversation, we sit down with the CEO, COO, and Executive VP of Regional Client Services to reflect on the year’s achievements, lessons learned, and the remarkable individuals who drive Women’s World Banking’s mission. From...

Research indicates that female leaders are more likely to champion climate action and sustainability, yet perceptions of their leadership have declined in G7 countries, with only 49% comfortable having a woman as CEO and 47% comfortable with women as heads of government. In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we explore why we hesitate to embrace female leaders, especially in the context of climate change—a crisis that d...

Did you know that 840 million women in climate-vulnerable countries would find it difficult or impossible to cover the cost of an emergency? In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we sit down with an economist turned fintech founder who returned to her African roots to protect farmers against weather shocks. Together, we’ll dissect their real-life solution and how it is translating to impact for women across markets like...

Did you know that 753 million women in climate-vulnerable countries do not have an active bank account or e-wallet and women who are financially excluded are most likely to live in a climate-vulnerable region? In this episode of Making Finance Work for Women, we sit down with one of Reuters' "Trailblazing Women in Climate for 2024" to challenge the traditional focus on resilience and survival during climate shocks. Instead, we shif...

In Episode 14 of the Making Finance Work for Women podcast, we’re exploring the cutting edge of fintech, where innovation meets inclusion. We’ll unpack the gender gap among fintech founders, delve into how emerging technologies like AI are reshaping the industry, and tackle the crucial issues of privacy, trust, and financial health. Our guest, Nicole Casperson, is a visionary leader in fintech, championing the integration of women ...

In Episode 13 of the Making Finance Work for Women podcast, we explore the groundbreaking Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF) with Ruurd Brouwer, Board Chair of GGSF and CEO of TCX. Discover Ruurd's journey into gender-lens investing and learn about the innovative fund designed to achieve $700 million in assets by 2026. We'll delve into the critical role of public-private partnerships, the interplay with policy, and how this fund aims ...