SentBe presented financial inclusion-centered ESG activities at the AVPN Global Conference 2022

SentBe, a global fintech company specializing in cross-border money transfer services, attended the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) Global Conference 2022, an official side event of the G20 summit which will take place in Indonesia this November. On June 22, SentBe led a session titled “Creating Pathways to Financial Inclusion through New Technologies,” and sharing examples highlighting the company’s efforts toward financial inclusion. Hosting the session confirmed SentBe’s various ESG-focused business practices centered on financial inclusion is being recognized externally and receiving positive feedback.

At the conference, Hanna Yim, Head of Business Impact for SentBe, discussed the topics of public-private partnerships for financial inclusion and improved accessibility for financial services through fintech with Asia-Pacific region leaders. Discussing how SentBe’s business aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Yim shared the company’s efforts toward solving the financial exclusion issues of migrant workers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which the UN has set goals to achieve by 2030.

The AVPN Global Conference, first held in 2013, is the largest social investing convening in Asia-Pacific that gathers impact investors and social innovators from across the world to share knowledge, build strategic partnerships and address socioeconomic challenges at scale. In particular, this year’s conference, held in Bali, Indonesia, from June 21 to 24, was held as an official side event for the upcoming G20 summit in November 2022.

SentBe, the first Korean fintech company to join the AVPN, led the financial inclusion session as an Impact Partner at the conference. Previously, SentBe participated in a panel for the session “Focusing On ‘S’ in ESG Through Fintech and Financial Inclusion” at the AVPN Northeast Asia Social Investment Summit in 2021. Recognizing that one of the main topics of the G20 summit 2022 is related to financial inclusion, SentBe proposed the co-curation of a financial inclusion session for this year’s AVPN Global Conference.

The session, moderated by Priya Thachadi, CEO of Villgrophilippines, was joined by various speakers, including Hanna Yim, Head of Business Impact at SentBe; Emma Stanton, Manager of Social Impact at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth; Amit Gurung, Digital Finance & Remittance Expert at UNCDF; Craig Bristol Dixon, Co-Founder and General Partner at Accelerating Asia; Rajiv Lall, Professorial Research Fellow at Singapore Management University; and Dondi Hananto, Partner at Patamar Capital.

This session centered on the role of impact investment and funding institutions for financial inclusion and, more importantly, how financial exclusion has worsened to some extent during the pandemic. It also covered the increasing influence of financial technology in various financial service areas. Impact investors, including Patamar Capital and Accelerating Asia, presented multiple case studies on why financial inclusion is a key focus area of their investment portfolio as well.

In addition, the discussion addressed the importance of the private sector and the public-private partnerships in making fundamental changes toward financial inclusion. SentBe’s global partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) was shared as an example representing a successful collaboration between public and private entities.

“SentBe’s C2C and B2B services contribute to achieving the UN’s SDGs and policy goals of the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI),” said Hanna Yim, Head of Business Impact at SentBe. “SentBe helps migrant workers from lower-income countries send money to their home countries at a 90% lower rate than other remittance options offered by traditional banks. This is a very tangible indicator of how fintech companies can contribute to the successful achievement of the UN SDGs.”

“SentBe’s B2B service also addresses the high costs and inconveniences that MSMEs have endured in the traditional financial ecosystem. If SentBe’s B2B cross-border payment service enters into or is benchmarked in lower-income countries, it would greatly contribute to achieving the global policy goals in financial inclusion,” she added, expressing high expectations regarding the impact of future business expansion.

MasterCard is also striving to boost financial inclusion by dedicating an independent subsidiary, the Center for Inclusive Growth, to carry out diverse activities by applying data and technology. Emma Stanton, Manager of Social Impact at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, explained the process of creating social value by solving financial exclusion problems. “Designing and developing financial services for those who are financially excluded requires the application of tailored technology rather than the latest fintech technology,” said Stanton. “It is important to understand the user’s financial environment, infrastructure and real needs, and then apply the appropriate level of fintech technology.”

“SentBe’s strength and uniqueness come from running a profitable fintech business while simultaneously creating social impact from the lens of financial inclusion,” said Alex Seongouk Choi, CEO of SentBe. “The cumulative fees saved by migrant workers using SentBe’s remittance service amount to about KRW 160 billion (USD 126 million). SentBe aims to expand borderless finance to a wider market to improve financial accessibility, usability and health for the financially under-served.”

SentBe’s core business model is closely aligned with ESG standards. Currently, SentBe is the only company in the cross-border money transfer sector in Korea to feature its own business impact team. As part of a partnership with the UNCDF, SentBe develops a financial literacy education program for migrant workers. SentBe will continue to promote business impact creation efforts beyond Korea and strengthen its position in ESG as a fintech company at a global level.

Published in IT DAILY on June 24, 2022

Source: http://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=208770