We came away with deeper understanding of their challenges, aspirations, behaviors and economics of their businesses. These insights underpin our global Social Impact strategy.

Over the past 3 years Visa has built a deep base of understanding through more than 800 hours of interviews with hundreds of small business
owners globally.

Like 400,000 other women, Funmi uses an innovative savings product design by a Nigerian bank with a charitable grant from Visa.

She also needs better access to credit to buy more inventory on timing of her choice, which would help her grow sales. There are millions of market traders like Funmi in Nigeria alone, and many more globally. 

We came away with deeper understanding of their challenges, aspirations, behaviors and economics of their businesses. These insights underpin our global Social Impact strategy.

Over the past 3 years Visa has built a deep base of understanding through more than 800 hours of interviews with hundreds of small business
owners globally.

Micro and small enterprises are the backbone of the global economy, accounting for >90% of enterprises worldwide and 50% of global employment. But they struggle to access financial tools, capital and training programs required to enable them to fully thrive. The visa Foundation’s made its first grant to Women’s WorldBanking, committing $20 million to develop sustainable solutions for women entrepreneurs.

Visa CEO Al Kelly: “Visa has always stood for making a positive and transformational impact on the world. The Visa Foundation will accelerate the delivery of our social impact goals… by helping millions of microenterprises thrive.”

More than one quarter of Kenyans belong to a savings and loan clubs, coming together with friends, colleagues, neighbors, often continuing to collaborate for years or decades. The clubs have rich data illustrating the income, saving and borrowing behavior of members.

Visa supported global NGO CARE to create a platform digitizing data within savings clubs and train an algorithm producing credit profiles which formal sector lenders can use to lend to club members. 

Visa partnered with Gap Inc. and TechnoServe to empower women cotton farmers with skills training and access to digital financial services, yielding a 35% increase in farmer revenue from agriculture and a 207% increase in women represented on farmer cooperative boards.

Women cotton growers in India experience a gap in financial inclusion and less of a say in farmer cooperatives. As a result, economic growth is less inclusive and the cotton value chain is more vulnerable.

Visa is supporting the Chinese government’s financial inclusion strategy, which aims to help bring 70 million citizens out of poverty by 2020.

With a 5 year charitable grant, Visa and the China Foundation for the Development of Financial Education have created a demonstration zone in northeast China. More than 3 million farmers have received financial education, and nearly 100,000 village officials trained since 2016.

   

According to the FDIC, more than 40% of America’s 35 million minority households are unbanked. They rely on payday loans, check cashing services and money wires to manage their day-to-day finances.

Visa partnered with the Filene Institute and 40 US financial institutions to test 5 new products for minority households, including credit-building tools, payday loan consolidation and data-mined auto loans. 18,000 families received 60,000 loans over 18 months. More than half of participating banks and credit unions will carry the program forward.