Social Impact: Financial Access for the Unbankable- Kellee Marlow & Ashish Gadnis

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SUMMARY

Access to financial services has been recognized as one of the most important factors in eradicating global poverty. 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked on the global scale, yet two-thirds of them own a mobile phone that could help them access financial services. Women make up more than half or 55 percent of the global unbanked population. How can we help the unbanked become bankable or access to financial services or support?

GUEST NOTES

Kellee talks with Ashish Gadnis, CEO of BankQu, who is working to address this challenge through his blockchain technology platform and company. Most goods are created by millions living in poverty around the world. BankQu uses its blockchain technology to empower those who are unable to prove their identity and economic participation. Through implementation with corporations to record all impoverished farmers or workers that are contributing crops, raw materials and services to their supply chain, it enables these farmers and workers to have financial identity and viability.

BankQu is an award-winning, social impact enterprise that is providing the invisible poor with digital identities and transaction history. It is the winner of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2019 and Fast Company's 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards in the Developing World Technology. Ashish Gadnis has been recognized as MIT Innovate for Refugees Award, Young Global Leader (World Economic Forum), Change-Makers Innovator Award and Battery Ventures Innovation Award. BankQu has been featured in leading media outlets including Forbes, Wall Street Journal and Wired.

WHAT IS SPARK?

Spark, hosted by Kellee Marlow, on KXSF.FM in San Francisco, focuses on curated conversations with change-leaders and influencers- to inform minds, inspire ideas and ignite innovation. Basically, conversations that enable us to transcend beyond what we believe we are capable of.