Our Stories
Making Finance Work for Women for 45 Years
Economically empowering women globally through financial inclusion since 1979. To celebrate, join us as we honor 45 remarkable individuals over the next year.
Women’s World Banking came out of the first World Conference on Women held in Mexico City in 1975. Four visionary leaders, Michaela Walsh, Ela Bhatt, Esther Ocloo, and Mary Okelo identified access to finance as a key barrier for women to become full economic actors through the world. Four years later, Women’s World Banking was established with Michaela Walsh as its first president in 1979.
Join us as we highlight 45 remarkable individuals who played a crucial role in our journey.
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Firsthand Experiences with Women's World Banking
Featured
New York
Mary Ellen Iskenderian
She is the President & CEO of Women’s World Banking, guiding the organization’s mission to make finance work for women worldwide.
Luminaries
Mexico
Blanca Estela Olvera
She is an entrepreneur living in Mexico. She used Banco Azteca’s e-commerce app, fueled by Women’s World Banking’s insights, to grow and sustain her business.
New York
Sylvia Chin
She is a Partner at White & Case in New York and has been integral to Women’s World Banking’s operations in NYC, providing essential legal counsel and support.
India
Ganga
She is a BC Sakhi (banking agent) who plays a crucial role in providing financial services to other women and the unbanked in her community.Â
EGYPT
Manal
She is an entrepreneur who was able to turn her passion into a business by accessing individual loan services tailored for women.
JORDAN
Muna Sukhtian
She is the Board Chair of Microfund for Women in Jordan and a Board Member of Women’s World Banking, empowering countless women to overcome financial barriers and achieve independence.
CALIFORNIA
Payal Pathak
She is the Senior Director at Visa Foundation and has been instrumental in shaping the transformative partnership between Visa Foundation and Women’s World Banking.
Mexico
Brigitte Brousset
She is a key leader at Mercado Libre, Latin America’s largest e-commerce platform, ensuring that women entrepreneurs have access to capital, digital payments, and the tools they need to thrive.
London
Gabe Ruhan
He is CEO of Paycode, one of Women’s World Banking’s Network Members in South Africa, enabling financial inclusion through their biometric digital identity and payments platform that can process financial transactions offline.
New York
Maya Potter
She is the granddaughter of Ela Bhatt, the visionary founder of SEWA Bharat and one of Women’s World Banking’s founding members, and carries forward her legacy of radical empathy and grassroots wisdom by reshaping it for a new generation.
Unstoppables​
Kenya
Regina Mwelu
She is an entrepreneur who, with support from Women’s World Banking and Kenyan Women Microfinance Trust’s business and digital skills training, transformed her small boutique into a growing venture.
India
Gyanwati
She is a business correspondent (Sakhi) at the Bank of Baroda in India, providing doorstep access to low-income women who are otherwise excluded.
Uganda
Allen
She is a business owner who received insurance to cover her hospital charges and provide financial security during her recovery.
Netherlands
Marilou van Golstein BrouwersÂ
She is a former Women’s World Banking Board Member and instrumental figure in founding Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM) and managing its first fund.
Nigeria
Olubukola Pedro
She is an entrepreneur and First City Monument Bank (FCMB)Â customer who used their auto repeat loan feature to grow her business.
CAMBODIA
Sreyna Chab
She is a Cambodian migrant worker who faced the risks of unreliable remittance channels. Women’s World Banking and Wing introduced a digital solution that allows her to send money home quickly and safely, transforming her financial future.
Kenya
Sarah MwanthiÂ
She is a woman entrepreneur who shifted career paths during the COVID-19 pandemic, working the fintech Pezesha to access loans that fueled business growth and expanded her product offerings.
Cambodia
Sar Yorn
She is garment factory worker whose life changed by utilizing Wing Bank’s digital payroll system, enabling her to save for goals and emergencies while increasing her influence at home.
India
Apurva Zhagade
She is a mother of two who turned her love for cooking into a thriving family business. With support from the Prayaas loan, by SIDBI Apurva accessed affordable, collateral-free financing designed for rural women entrepreneurs.
Pioneers
New York
Michaela Walsh
She is a nonconformist, visionary and the Founder of Women’s World Banking.
INDIA
Rajesh Bansal
He is the CEO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) and has been at the forefront of efforts to promote women’s financial inclusion in India.
Ghana
Esther Ocloo
She is a Ghanaian businesswoman and Women’s World Banking’s inaugural chairwoman.
INDIA
Ela Bhatt
She was a true pioneer in advancing women’s empowerment and financial inclusion in India, as a Founding Member of Women’s World Banking and the founder of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).
SWITZERLAND
Rosmarie Michel
She is the former Vice Chair for Women’s World Banking and an advocate for women entrepreneurs across the globe, representing the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (IFBPW) as president from 1983-1985.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dr. Mercedes Canalda & Meky Canalda de Beras Goico
Dr. Mercedes Canalda, a previous longtime Board Chair of Women’s World Banking, and her daughter, Meky Canalda de Beras Goico built Banco ADOPEM, a financial institution in the Dominican Republic focused on empowering the country’s most vulnerable women and micro-entrepreneurs.
Nigeria
Martha Ibrahim
She is Team Lead, Regulatory Development & Approvals at NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) and is working to create a regulatory environment that fosters inclusion and investor protection while addressing the barriers that keep women from fully participating in financial market.
KENYA
Rose Goslinga and Thomas Njeru
They are the co-founders of Pula, an insurtech company helping smallholder farmers, especially women, build resilience against climate change.
New York
Ann Rockefeller Roberts
She was an activist dedicated to advancing Native American sovereignty and cultural preservation, and played a pivotal role in Women’s World Banking’s beginnings.Â
KENYA
Dr. Mary Okoro
She is Women’s World Banking’s Africa Regional Representative, East Africa’s first female bank manager, and co-founder go Kenya Women Finance Trust, giving women access to financial services when banks wouldn’t.
Columbia
Dr. Teresa Eugenia Prada GonzálezÂ
She is the founder of Fundación delamujer, a nonprofit dedicated to providing much-needed financial support to women entrepreneurs and small business owners in Colombia, and has used microfinance as a powerful tool for change.
Bolivia
Verónica Gavilanes Véjar
She is the first-female CEO of BancoSol Bolivia, a leading financial institution in financial and digital inclusion.
Netherlands
Pauline Kruseman
From joining our Dutch board in 1985 to serving on the International Board and Executive Committee, she played a key role in shaping Women’s World Banking’s impact.Â
Titans
Kenya
Dr. Jennifer Riria
She is the President and CEO of Echo Network and one of Africa’s leading women entrepreneurs.
England
Mats Granryd
He is the Director General at GSMA and longstanding champion of women’s digital financial inclusion.
New York
Janet Truncale
She is Women’s World Banking’s Board Chair and the Global Chair and CEO of EY (the first woman to lead a Big Four accounting firm).
INDONESIA
Ibu Lenny Rosalin
She is the Former Deputy Minister of Gender Equality, Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection in Indonesia.
New York
Harsha Rodrigues
She is the Global Head of Client Services at Women’s World Banking, dedicated to expanding financial access and empowering women around the world.
New York
Tom Jones
He is the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Women’s World Banking and played a critical role in shaping the organization’s trajectory
INDONESIA
Ibu Anna Setyawati
She is the Deputy Director of the Shariah Economic and Financial Department at Central Bank of Indonesia and dedicated her career to empowering women in the financial sector.
Kenya
Buhle Goslar
She is a fintech leader with over 20 years of experience driving innovation across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Cambodia
Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi
She is the Minister of Women’s Affairs in Cambodia and has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives that are bringing digital financial tools and opportunities to even the most remote corners of the country.
Cambodia
Mrs. Meas Morokot Pich
She is the Head of Payroll Business at Wing Bank in Cambodia, working to empower women in Cambodia’s garment industry—where 80% of workers are women—by increasing usage of digital financial services.
Washington D.C.
Jo Ann Barefoot
She was the first woman Deputy Comptroller of the Currency and co-Founder and CEO of AIR: Alliance for Innovative Regulation, leading efforts to digitize financial regulation and create systems that are equitable and resilient.
New York
Sanjay Sehgal
He is Managing Director and CIO of Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM), and embodies a transformative approach that challenges conventional wisdom about investing.
Supporters of Women's World Banking's 45th Anniversary
As we unveil each story in celebration of our 45 years of impact, we extend our deepest gratitude to our supporters and core funders whose unwavering support has breathed life into each powerful narrative.
