A record 88 organisations from 47 countries apply to Round 1 of Award on ‘Financial Inclusion that Works for Women’
Round 1 of the European Microfinance Award 2022 (EMA2022) on ‘Financial Inclusion that Works for Women’ has closed, and the EMA evaluation team is delighted to announce an unprecedented field of 88 organisations applying, based in 47 countries and with operations in over 60 countries. This is well over double the typical number of Round 1 applications from earlier Awards, and many more than the previous highest, illustrating the enormous importance the sector places on this topic – and the diversity of initiatives underway.
Launched on March 14, the EMA2022 seeks to highlight organizations working in financial inclusion that aim to understand and meet women’s challenges and aspirations to go beyond traditional gender outreach strategies. This has several elements, and includes products and services designed to respond to the specific needs of women clients, as well as gender mainstreaming strategies within organisations, ensuring work environments that are conducive to women’s advancement and opportunity.
The response has been extraordinary, and more than ever, the field of applicants represents a diverse set of provider types and with operations in all regions of the world. As previously, a majority of the applicants are MFIs, with banks, cooperatives/credit unions, NGOs, Fintechs and others making up the rest of the field. Figure 1 below shows the distribution of applicants by organisation type.
These organisations are based and operate all over the world. As Figure 2 shows, a plurality is from Sub-Saharan Africa, with almost as many in Asia and the Americas, and a smaller number in the MENA region and Europe.
The e-MFP evaluation team now begins the task of evaluating this unprecedented number of applications against a rigorous evaluation grid with established criteria. This process will determine which applicants will be invited to participate in Round 2, with its more comprehensive application form and required supporting documentation and financial performance assessments. That Round 2 field will then be further reduced to a number passed on to an expert selection committee, largely made up of e-MFP and InFiNe.lu members, which will meet in September to choose the semi-finalists and finalists, which themselves will be evaluated by a High Jury and the winner announced during European Microfinance Week in November.
The EMA organisers would like to thank all 88 organisations for taking part in this process so far, and we look forward to learning about all the innovations underway in this sector.
Round 1 of the European Microfinance Award 2022 (EMA2022) on ‘Financial Inclusion that Works for Women’ has closed, and the EMA evaluation team is delighted to announce an unprecedented field of 88 organisations applying, based in 47 countries and with operations in over 60 countries. This is well over double the typical number of Round 1 applications from earlier Awards, and many more than the previous highest, illustrating the enormous importance the sector places on this topic – and the diversity of initiatives underway.
Launched on March 14, the EMA2022 seeks to highlight organizations working in financial inclusion that aim to understand and meet women’s challenges and aspirations to go beyond traditional gender outreach strategies. This has several elements, and includes products and services designed to respond to the specific needs of women clients, as well as gender mainstreaming strategies within organisations, ensuring work environments that are conducive to women’s advancement and opportunity.
The response has been extraordinary, and more than ever, the field of applicants represents a diverse set of provider types and with operations in all regions of the world. As previously, a majority of the applicants are MFIs, with banks, cooperatives/credit unions, NGOs, Fintechs and others making up the rest of the field. Figure 1 below shows the distribution of applicants by organisation type.
The e-MFP evaluation team now begins the task of evaluating this unprecedented number of applications against a rigorous evaluation grid with established criteria. This process will determine which applicants will be invited to participate in Round 2, with its more comprehensive application form and required supporting documentation and financial performance assessments. That Round 2 field will then be further reduced to a number passed on to an expert selection committee, largely made up of e-MFP and InFiNe.lu members, which will meet in September to choose the semi-finalists and finalists, which themselves will be evaluated by a High Jury and the winner announced during European Microfinance Week in November.
The EMA organisers would like to thank all 88 organisations for taking part in this process so far, and we look forward to learning about all the innovations underway in this sector.