Women’s World Banking Asset Management

What Women’s World Banking Asset Management does

Women's World Banking Asset Management (WAM) is the gender-lens investment arm of Women's World Banking, a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1976 and headquartered at 230 Park Avenue, New York. WAM invests in financial services providers that expand their capacity to serve women sustainably, targeting both enterprise value and competitive financial returns. The parent organization complements investment activity with regional advisory services delivered through teams in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, working directly with banks, microfinance institutions, and fintechs to design, test, and scale women-centered financial solutions such as JazzCash Guddi Baji (Pakistan), BETA Savings (Nigeria), and Pafupi (Malawi). Additional subsidiaries include the WWB Institute (research, policy, and leadership programs) and Women's World Banking Capital Partners, a $50 million private equity limited partnership launched in 2012.

The underlying technology stack centers on digital financial services delivered through mobile banking, agent banking, and digital savings accounts rather than proprietary software. WWB monetizes through three streams: (1) investment management fees and capital deployment via WAM and Capital Partners, (2) grants and contributions from foundation, government, and corporate donors (including Gates Foundation, MetLife Foundation, UNCDF, FSD Africa, and FSDA), and (3) professional advisory services to financial institutions and policymakers. Distribution is non-traditional: rather than selling products to end customers, WWB reaches end-users through a network of 38-49 partner financial institutions across 27+ countries, supplemented by direct engagement with regulators via leadership development programs and policy toolkits (Policy Handbook for Women's Financial Inclusion, Gender-Smart Policy Checklist).

Name

Women’s World Banking Asset Management

Legal name

Women's World Banking, Inc.

Website

https://womensworldbanking.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Women's World Banking Asset Management is the gender-lens investment arm of a 501(c)(3) non-profit, investing in and advising financial institutions across emerging markets to expand access to financial services for low-income women.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investment and Financial Inclusion Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Accounts & Unified Managed Accounts (UMAs) — Multi-Asset (FSAAAJAE)

Keywords

• Gender-lens investing
• Financial inclusion advisory
• Women's economic empowerment
• Inclusive finance
• Emerging markets finance

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Gender-Lens Investing: Women's World Banking Asset Management (WAM) invests in financial services providers to expand their capacity to serve women sustainably, creating both enterprise value and competitive financial returns.
2. Donations and Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization, Women's World Banking relies on grants and contributions from funding partners including governments, foundations, and corporations.
3. Advisory Services: Provides advisory services to financial institutions and policymakers to design gender-intentional financial products and policies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Women's World Banking Asset Management (WAM) invests in growing businesses with innovative financial solutions that enable women to achieve economic empowerment, creating enterprise value while delivering competitive financial returns. The broader organization provides advisory services to financial institutions across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa to design, test, and scale women-centered financial solutions, including digital savings accounts, mobile banking, and credit products for low-income women.

Product overview

Women's World Banking Asset Management (WAM) is the gender-lens investment arm of Women's World Banking, investing in financial services providers to expand their capacity to serve women sustainably. The broader organization offers advisory services through regional programs in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, working directly with financial institutions to design, test, and scale women-centered solutions. Key products include WAM's investment activities, the Women's Financial Inclusion Hub (in partnership with GRID Impact), policy tools (Policy Handbook, Gender-Smart Policy Checklist), leadership programs for regulators, Gender Performance Indicators for measuring institutional impact, and advisory solutions such as BETA Savings (Nigeria), Pafupi (Malawi), and JazzCash Guddi Baji (Pakistan). The organization also produces research publications, podcasts, and digital resources to advance evidence-based financial inclusion strategies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women's World Banking Capital Partners: $50 million private equity limited partnership investing directly in women-focused financial institutions
• WWB Institute
• JazzCash Guddi Baji

Products and services

• Women's World Banking Asset Management (WAM) Gender-lens investment arm that invests in growing businesses with innovative solutions enabling women to achieve economic empowerment and resilience, with the goal of creating enterprise value and delivering competitive financial returns.
• Women's Financial Inclusion Hub Free online resource (in partnership with GRID Impact) providing evidence, practical tools, and real-world insights to help financial service providers design systems that work better for women.
• Policy Handbook for Women's Financial Inclusion Practical roadmap for policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions providing a framework to embed gender responsiveness into financial-sector policy and regulation, outlining seven Gender Policy Principles.
• Gender-Smart Policy Checklist Diagnostic tool for regulators to assess existing policies, identify gaps, and take action to ensure women have equitable access to financial services, translating global evidence into seven Gender Policy Principles.
• Leadership Development Program for Regulators Capacity-building program equipping senior officials with tools to lead inclusively and design policies that close the gender gap in finance.
• Gender Performance Indicators Metrics framework helping financial institutions measure how well they serve women clients and promote women leaders within their institutions.
• BETA Savings / BETA Target Savers Digital savings accounts designed for low-income women and men running market stalls, delivered through agent networks using mobile technology; developed with Diamond Bank in Nigeria.
• Pafupi Savings Account Mobile savings account meaning 'close' in Chichewa, designed for low-income rural women with no previous bank access, delivered through local shop agents using mobile technology; developed with NBS Bank in Malawi.
• JazzCash Guddi Baji Branchless banking program through female agents (Guddi Bajis) to increase women's uptake of digital financial services in Pakistan; partnership with JazzCash and Unilever.

Quantifiable outcome

• 118 million women and 76 million men reached in 8 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Unilever PakistancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2018Partnership leveraging Unilever's Guddi Baji women entrepreneur training program to recruit female agents for JazzCash. The collaboration combined JazzCash's digital financial services expertise with Unilever's rural women entrepreneur engagement experience to reach more unbanked women in Pakistan.
• JazzCashcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 April 2017Partnership to promote women's financial inclusion across Pakistan. JazzCash, Pakistan's leading mobile network operator, collaborated with Women's World Banking to increase low-income women's adoption and use of digital financial services. The partnership included behavioral design work with ideas42 and led to the JazzCash Guddi Baji program recruiting female agents to serve women customers.
• ideas42coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBehavioral design firm that partnered with Women's World Banking to design and test behaviorally-informed text messages to encourage referrals for JazzCash mobile accounts, helping onboard more women customers.
• GRID ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen's World Banking partnered with GRID Impact to create the Women's Financial Inclusion Hub, a free resource providing evidence, practical tools, and real-world insights to help financial service providers design financial systems that work better for women.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor): Global partnership housed at the World Bank advancing financial inclusion for poor people. Directly comparable in advisory and policy work targeting financial institutions, regulators, and policymakers in emerging markets.
• Acumen: Global non-profit impact investment fund deploying patient capital into enterprises serving low-income populations in emerging markets. Directly comparable as a mission-driven impact investor with gender inclusion themes across financial services.
• BlueOrchard Finance: Leading impact investment manager focused on microfinance, SME finance, and financial inclusion across emerging markets. Comparable as an asset manager deploying capital into financial institutions serving underserved populations.
• Triodos Investment Management: European sustainable investment manager with impact funds targeting financial inclusion and SME finance in emerging markets. Comparable in deploying capital with a social/impact mandate into financial institutions serving low-income customers.
• ResponsAbility Investments: Swiss impact investment manager focused on financial inclusion, climate finance, and food security in emerging markets. Comparable as a fund manager with gender-inclusive themes across financial services investments.
• LeapFrog Investments: Purpose-driven investment firm with multi-billion AUM exclusively focused on financial services and healthcare in emerging markets serving low-income consumers. Direct peer in gender-lens and inclusive investing in financial institutions.
• Omidyar Network: Philanthropic investment firm with explicit focus on financial inclusion and gender equity in emerging markets. Directly comparable impact-investing approach with global reach and advisory work to financial service providers.
• Incofin Investment Management: Belgian impact investment manager focused on financial inclusion and responsible finance in emerging markets. Comparable as a fund manager investing in MFIs and financial service providers serving low-income populations.

Broad incumbents

• IFC (International Finance Corporation): World Bank Group's private-sector investment arm with a significant financial-inclusion focus in emerging markets. Comparable as a large-scale institutional investor and advisor to financial institutions serving low-income populations globally.
• FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank): Dutch development finance institution investing in private enterprises across sectors in developing countries. Comparable as a larger institutional investor in financial inclusion in emerging markets with a broader sector mandate than WAM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/womensworldbnkg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiFnLO9yVsWb7_O9jQ0jzQA
• Facebookfacebook.com/WomensWorldBanking
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women%27s-world-banking
• Instagraminstagram.com/womensworldbnkg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women’s World Banking Asset Management