“Most microentrepreneurs here in Brazil… don’t have a lot of the tools that a bigger business would get. And they were struggling a lot,” says Carlos Dejavite, co-founder of SmartMEI, on the final episode of a four-part miniseries of VentureKast. In this series, we discuss insights from Accion Venture Lab’s latest publication, which explores how fintech startups can “win from within” by focusing on building value for their existing users. SmartMEI’s app offers microentrepreneurs and other workers operating in the gig economy in Brazil — like delivery drivers, street vendors, and electricians — business solutions and a gateway to banking services. SmartMEI continues to evolve their platform and scale new products so these workers can succeed.

Apollo Agriculture co-founder and CEO Eli Pollak joins VentureKast to share how Apollo is staying focused on helping their small-scale farmer customers improve their incomes. Apollo Agriculture empowers small-scale farmers in East Africa with the tools they need to maximize their profits, produce food for their communities, and build financial stability for their families. Through a digital-first approach, they’re reaching rural farmers and building on their services to meet more of their needs.

An interview with Jaime de los Angeles, CEO of Advance, a salary-on-demand platform in the Philippines that is engaging directly with users in order to “win from within."

Accion Venture Lab's Amee Parbhoo joins the first episode of a four-part mini-series of VentureKast to discuss insights and strategies from Accion Venture Lab's latest publication, which explores how fintech startups can grow by focusing on building value for their existing users. Amee also shares highlights from the report's case studies of nine fintech startups that are pursuing these strategies around the world. CEOs from three of the startups featured in the report will be interviewed in later episodes of the series.

In episode ten of VentureKast: Rebuild, Creditas COO Ann Williams explains how Creditas has reached out to their customers during COVID-19 to find out how they can help. The company’s digital platform and focus on long-term customer relationships has led them to design fair, transparent, and affordable financial services and consumer solutions for people in Brazil and Mexico. With this approach, the company is continuing to design new ways to engage with their customers, share more information, and innovate with new relevant products.

In episode nine of VentureKast: Rebuild, managing director of the Center for Financial inclusion Mayada El-Zoghbi explains how COVID-19 has impacted different populations and sectors of the economy in unique ways depending on existing infrastructures, government responses, and “how digitally connected people are.” Mayada discusses how microfinance institutions are going digital, while digital ID systems, e-commerce, and innovative lending can scale to provide inclusive financial services to vulnerable customers. Mayada’s message is an inspiring one as she emphasizes the importance of collaboration across the ecosystem.

In episode eight of VentureKast: Rebuild, co-founder and CEO of LendStreet Jerry Nemorin explains that customers of traditional lenders struggle to cope with financial shocks caused by events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Data aggregation and a focus on consumer financial behavior has enabled LendStreet “to assess, identify and to structure the appropriate … loan that fits [a] client’s capacity.” Looking forward, Jerry urges us to “acknowledge and understand that consumers’ financial lives are fluid” and expects that “we will see more solutions that are focused on that fluidity and solving for rigidity in our system.”

In episode  seven  of  VentureKast: Rebuild, Co-Founder and CEO of Field Intelligence Michael Moreland explains how his pharmaceutical supply chain company leverages tech and data to help keep local pharmacies open and stocked during the COVID-19 pandemic. His work is more important than ever as vulnerable populations increasingly rely on community-based health care solutions amidst lockdowns. Although “the COVID pandemic has exposed risks embedded throughout the health system,” Michael is confident in the “ability [of] entrepreneurs to see those risks and think creatively about how we can re-balance them within the system.”

In episode six of VentureKast: Rebuild, Co-Founder and CEO of Toffee Insurance Rohan Kumar explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a “mass behavioral change” in the form of increased demand for insurance products, and why fintechs are uniquely positioned to meet the increased demand with truly affordable, flexible, and high-quality digital offerings. Toffee leverages its digital infrastructure, including payments and claims management, to offer simple health, home, and income insurance to the 500 million Indians who have historically been overlooked by traditional insurers.

In episode  five of  VentureKast: Rebuild, Anthemis Partner Vica Manos describes how the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the shift to innovative, inclusive and digital financial services and how entrepreneurs are stepping up to provide fair and accessible solutions. Despite the perception of a slowdown in investing, Vica reminds us that more “empathy across the globe” is leading to an unprecedented increase in opportunities to invest in innovation.