In this episode of Unboxing What Matters we meet Friso Wesseling, former Regional Head of Financial Services of the Daraz Group and Co-Founder of the Koko Buy-Now-Pay-Later app in Sri Lanka, as he talks to us about financial inclusivity and his predictions for the future of microfinance in the developing markets.

Having been a part of Koko, which leverages rich alternative data to allow users to access interest-free credit, provided Friso with the regional leadership experience to discuss the South Asian context and unpack how governments and private organisations can collaborate to improve infrastructure, digital identification, and investment in mobile technology to enable more communities through access to financial services and solutions. The show discusses the 430 million unbanked consumers in the Asian region and looks at the impact of this socially and economically to uncover why so many consumers in the developing markets will not, or cannot, access the traditional banking system.

Guest Bio

Friso Wesseling hails from the Netherlands and has extensive experience in the South Asian region. He has a degree in Economics (BSc.) and Law (BSc.) from Utrecht University and has earned a Management of Innovation Master's degree from Erasmus University in Rotterdam. At Daraz, he has led the Retail, Strategy, Planning, Business Intelligence, and Financial Services departments over the course of 3 years, seeing the business grow 10 fold, to 100M USD+ during his time in Sri Lanka.