To honour International Women’s Day, we spotlight the female-founded businesses aiming to boost economic empowerment for women and promote financial literacy in the UK.
Why is financial empowerment important?
Financial empowerment in the economy is a key part of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; female financial literacy is a multifaceted, global issue that varies in severity and scale.
While the gender pay-gap persists, women need to be aware of how best to save, invest and make their money go further. It’s not to say the information isn’t out there, but it is not always accessible. Often, women hold more cash than men due to a lack of confidence in their ability to invest.
In the UK, women earn 87p for every £1 men earn. This varies depending on industry and professional hierarchies; A Financial Times study shows that women are likely to earn 8% less than their male counterparts three years after graduating from an MBA. While this is still high, it is a good decrease from the value of 16% in 2007.
Between formal training schemes, blogs, and the ‘fin-tok’ TikTok trend, female financial empowerment is growing, with information being shared on a variety of platforms. The rapid growth of fintech, making managing finances more accessible, could be the key player both nationally globally to empower women.
Is Fintech the answer?
The UK Fintech Industry raised £8.6bn investment in 2021. The sector is rapidly growing, and while it remains a male-dominated space (Louise Brett, Deloitte), some exciting businesses are paving the way for female financial empowerment.
Pension Bee, founded by Romina Savova in 2014, raised £90m in funding and the business is now valued at £315m. She aims to simplify savings and pensions after finding it a difficult process herself. The app is to be used by all. The focus on social inclusion and financial freedom helps empower both women and men to make smart financial decisions.
Your Juno, founded by sisters Margot and Alexia is a platform aimed at improving female financial literacy. The founders note that, while male counterparts will sit and discuss finance and changes such as cryptocurrency and NFT women seemed less likely to engage in these conversations. The app provides a space to learn about managing money, saving and investing.
WealthiHer Network “is on a mission to drive the economic advancement of women on a global stage, by leveraging the power of insight, collaboration and education to better understand, empower and enable women”. Backed by partners such as JP Morgan, the London-based business plans on having a global impact on female financial empowerment.
AllBright, a career networking platform for women just hosted an AllBright NFT Summit showcased their ‘AllBright Sisters’ NFT collection. They are creating a space for women in the NFT industry and making information accessible to a wider network.
Continue the Conversation
To honour International Women’s Day, the Financial Times Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign have put together a free online teach-in at noon on Thursday, March 10. The session will include four inspirational female finance experts, chaired by FT Consumer Editor Clear Barrett. To register to take part in this free online session, Click Here.
At Transpire Global, we are committed to supporting individuals and businesses who are dedicated to Diversity and Inclusion and put emphasis on the ‘S’ of ESG. For access to our peer-network and relevant ESG, Financial Services and D&I Faculties, Join Now.
