JUMO, a technology company building next-generation financial services to empower emerging market entrepreneurs, received GOLD in the Responsible Digital Innovator of the Year category at the Global SME Finance Forum Awards held on 7 October in Amsterdam.
Organised by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and the SME Finance Forum, and endorsed by the G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the Global SME Finance Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of financial institutions and fintech companies in delivering exceptional products and services to their SME clients.
This year’s award winners were selected from a competitive pool of 144 applicants. A panel of independent judges chose the winners based on their reach, uniqueness and innovation, effectiveness and impact, and dynamism and scalability.
Andrew Watkins-Ball, Founder & Group CEO says the award recognises JUMO’s unique approach to enabling responsible financial access in emerging markets. “Our business is centered on a set of customer operating principles which guides all our work – from product development to partnerships and the application of technology. This is why we’re very proud to be recognised for our efforts in delivering responsible digital financial services to emerging market entrepreneurs”.
Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum said: “We hope the winners of the Global SME Finance Awards will inspire SME financiers all over the world to learn from their good practices. The Awards provide the winners an opportunity to showcase good practices on the global stage and foster learning amongst their peers.”
Natascha Beinker, Deputy Head of Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Co-Chair of the SME Finance Subgroup of G20 GPFI said: “The Global SME Finance Awards put the spotlight on two key issues – responsible innovation and responsible financing, which are an integral part of the financial inclusion agenda. As demonstrated by this year’s and last year’s Awards winners, product innovations can lower costs and allow SME financiers to better serve previously underserved and unserved SMEs, particularly women-owned SMEs.”
