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Here is a list of 45 inclusive fintech startups that are making a positive impact on society.
The Omdena “AI Adoption Leaders Series” comprises game-changing startups, stories, and thought-leadership pieces from leading impact ventures solving real-world problems using AI.
In 2024, the fintech industry has continued to evolve rapidly, with inclusive fintech startups and companies at the forefront of this growth. Inclusive fintech is the development and implementation of financial technology solutions that aim to serve underrepresented and underserved communities, including low-income individuals, women, and minority groups. In recent years, several fintech companies have emerged with a mission to increase financial inclusion and provide access to financial services for all. These startups and companies are leveraging technology to tackle financial inequality and make a positive impact on people’s lives. In this article, we will explore the top inclusive fintech startups and companies that are making a difference in 2024.
Inclusive fintech refers to the development and implementation of financial technology solutions that aim to serve underrepresented and underserved communities. The goal of inclusive fintech is to increase access to financial services and products, particularly for people who have been excluded from traditional banking services. Inclusive fintech companies use technology to provide innovative financial solutions that cater to the unique needs of these communities, including low-income individuals, women, and minority groups. This can include services such as mobile banking, digital payments, microfinance, and other financial tools that help to democratize access to financial services. Inclusive fintech seeks to promote financial inclusion and reduce the financial inequality that exists in many parts of the world.
AI can play a crucial role in enabling inclusive fintech in several ways, including:
Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way that financial services are provided, making them more accessible, affordable, and inclusive for people from all walks of life.
Explore more AI use cases applied for financial inclusion via https://www.omdena.com/ai-in-finance/
It is difficult to identify a single top fintech product, as there are a wide variety of fintech products that have had significant impact in different areas of the financial industry. However, here are a few examples of fintech products that have had a significant impact:
Fintech products have had a significant impact on the financial industry, and continue to drive innovation and change.
The order does not follow a ranking.

RavenPack is the leading big data analytics provider for financial services. Financial professionals rely on RavenPack for its speed and accuracy in analyzing large amounts of unstructured content. The company’s products allow clients to enhance returns, reduce risk or increase efficiency by incorporating the effects of public information in their models or workflows.
How do you measure impact?
RavenPack is the leading provider of Language AI technology applied to textual data like news, transcripts, filings, or job data. Founded 20 years ago, it is one of the few pioneering companies to have laid the foundations of the alternative data industry.
With a team of over 200 people, representing 30 distinct nationalities, RavenPack’s mission is to democratize big data. Its ultimate goal is to empower organizations to leverage the power of data at scale to make more informed and sustainable decisions.
In 2022 alone, research teams published over 300 academic studies using RavenPack datasets. More than 60 universities worldwide are leveraging RavenPack data to produce remarkable research in the fields of finance, quantitative investment, risk, or reputation, among many others. During the pandemic, the RavenPack team developed a free Coronavirus News Monitor to help navigate the heaps of information available on Covid-19 and its impact on world affairs. These indicators have become a reliable source for researchers and over 100 studies already leverage them.

Paycode is a South African fintech company that provides a low-cost transactional banking platform for the unbanked population in Africa. Their platform allows customers to receive and make payments, and access insurance, and other financial services using a mobile phone.
How do you measure impact?
In Zambia, we digitized agricultural payments for 600 smallholder farmers to address numerous cash-related challenges. These challenges included eliminating the process of cash handling (delivering and collecting cash in rural areas) which is slow, expensive, and risky. Farmers generally stored their cash at home which made it susceptible to theft.
Describing the benefits of digital payments through Paycode biometric smartcards, Lisa Kabumbya, from Chikankata, Zambia said, “Through these cards, I have improved my farming. I can sell my crops and get the money on my card immediately. My money is safe all the time. Even when I am in the bush far away, I am able to purchase goods using the card. It also helps me as it doesn’t require a password to transact, but I just use my fingerprints. Also, even though there is no internet, we can still do transactions.”

Spleet is a Nigerian proptech company that provides shared and fully-furnished apartments for young professionals and students. Their platform allows users to book a room or an apartment for a flexible period of time, with all utilities and services included.

OKO provides index insurance and other farming-related services to smallholder farmers in emerging countries. Using state of the art technologies to monitor rainfall and crop evolution, a direct interface with farmers, and a unique distribution network, OKO protects farmers and unlocks their access to financing.

Founded in February 2017, SureClaim is India’s first independent claim advisory, dedicated to solving customers’ health insurance claim issues when a medical urgency arises. With an eclectic team of operations executives, technical specialists, and claim advisors, SureClaim has helped in the fast and easy settlement of over 20,000 claims.

Asaak is a fintech company that offers mobile financial services to entrepreneurs and farmers. It uses SMS and community-based lending to help break the cycle of unbanked entrepreneurs in the developing world. In turn, helping to fund infrastructure projects, small business expansions, agricultural technology, and mortgages.

Siembro is an innovative online lending-as-a-service platform that connects farmers with financial institutions. This platform provides farmers with access to loans that can be used to purchase machinery at the point of sale. By providing this service, Siembro is helping to increase the availability of financing options for farmers, allowing them to purchase the machinery they need to run their operations more efficiently.

PesaKit is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered virtual assistant for mobile money agents. It is a provider of a software application designed to digitize distribution and access channels for mobile money and digital finance. Its software offers an artificial intelligence-based API-driven interface which performs as a virtual assistant for mobile money agents that enables users to manage liquidity and conversion processes easily.
How do you measure impact?
PesaKit is a last-mile Fintech and Digital Commerce start-up based in Nairobi and operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana.
PesaKit enables the last-mile fulfillment of innovative financial services, retail services, and eCommerce that are in step with the way people live and work in Africa.
Our interoperable platform enables mobile money agents, merchants, and end users to access a variety of financial and digital commerce services thus acting as a means of bringing in more people especially those in underserved areas into the formal financial system, consequently fostering financial inclusion.
The PesaKit platform also increases profitability for agents due to the expanded revenue sources. Additionally, PesaKit enables mobile money agents to access interoperable electronic float and working capital loans for merchants.
Since we launched, we have onboarded 55,000 agents with 80% of them reporting a 25% increase in profit.

Anedot was started in 2010 with the simple goal of helping campaigns, churches, nonprofits, and universities to maximize donations and raise more money. Since then, they have served thousands of organizations and millions of givers. They continue to be committed to providing givers with innovative tools for better online giving.

Bankly is a digital savings and peer to peer transfer product where users fund their wallet using tokens available on Bankly vouchers nationwide in a “Recharge to save” model. This cash digitization system is similar to the telco mobile airtime top up and is currently available on MTN and 9mobile networks in Nigeria.

Extramile Africa is a zero-fee and zero-risk (no hidden charges, no maintenance or ATM fee) fintech mobile app that allows users to ‘save and invest’ money digitally as an individual or cooperative in disruptive startups in Africa and get good dividends on investment as shareholders anywhere.

Sila is the leading money API for fintech. Using their developer friendly sandbox, bank agency, and embedded compliance, their fintech and crypto customers have gone from MSA signing to live in production with compliant payments in as little as a few weeks.

R5 aims to address the insurance and loan needs of underserved consumers and ultimately improve their financial health and resilience. The company uses artificial intelligence, technology that enables them to offer products such as the online sale of SOAT, loans with vehicle guarantees, intended for free investment, portfolio purchases, capital for new businesses, and home remodeling.

PayGo Energy is a revolutionary cookstove solution and distribution system that enables consumers to access clean and efficient fuel at a price point that is within their daily energy budget.

Crediwatch has built the easiest way to connect the world of business and financial data and convert them into analytics-powered insights for quick and effective decisions. Businesses and Lenders can integrate their private datasets into Crediwatch’s platform to analyze the companies that matter to them most.

Propel builds software dedicated to helping low-income Americans improve their financial health. Its core product, Providers, is a free app that allows EBT cardholders to manage their benefits and money, save on essentials, and earn cash. Providers are used by millions of Americans across the country and Propel has been featured in the NYTimes, WallSt Journal, and Forbes.

LulaLend is more than a company. It’s a belief in the power of small business, making a difference, building a better solution, and striving for excellence. They work hard to empower businesses across South Africa with the funds they need to grow, and they have a great time doing it!
How do you measure impact?
Lulalend‘s mission is to empower every SME in South Africa to succeed, and by doing so act as a catalyst for economic and social development. Every SME we can assist with funding to help the business grow and prosper will in turn create employment opportunities. To date, we have supported thousands of SMEs, with each business employing an average of 10 individuals. Each of these individuals supports approx 3 dependents. So our impact to date has benefited tens of thousands of South Africans.

CNote is an investment platform that earns a better return while investing in the causes and communities that matters. CNote rewards great savers with alternative financial vehicles that earn more – safely and simply.

Fairbanc is a scalable, AI-powered mobile loan and payments platform for emerging market small-medium enterprises (SMEs) that requires no collateral or credit history. The company’s AI-powered platform can read digital footprints such as transaction history with large suppliers, and data on the mobile phone to grant instant digital credit line that SMEs can use to purchase inventories from their selected suppliers.

VeriSmart is a blockchain-based data exchange platform that enables businesses to exchange their data with each other in a privacy-compliant manner, helping enterprises retain data ownership and protect their users from third-party data abuse.

ALFI is a financial literacy program that builds trust between the financial institution and its client. ALFI increases financial health and improves the purchase behavior of the financial institutions’ present and future clients.

Esusu is a financial technology platform that leverages data solutions to help residents and improve property performance. Esusu was created on the premise that no matter where you come from, the color of your skin, and your financial identity should never determine where you end up in life.

At Xolo, their mission is to make starting and running a modern micro business 10 times easier. Xolopreneurs can save up to 162 working hours a year on business administration so they can focus on running an awesome one-person business.

Credgenics is India’s first of its kind of NPA resolution platform backed by credible investors including Accel Partners and Titan Capital. They work with financial institutions, Banks, NBFCs & Digital lending firms to improve the efficiency of their collection using technology, automation intelligence, and optimal legal routes in order to facilitate the resolution of stressed assets.

Naya Jeevan collaborates with large multinational corporations (MNCs) and provides workers in their value chains (sales force, suppliers, distributors, factory workers, retailers, micro-retailers, informal domestic workers, etc.) with access to a high-quality health plan that provides them with cashless access to over 300 private-sector hospitals in Pakistan.

Trust Stamp applies advanced cryptographic techniques and AI-powered presentation-attack detection tools to biometric and other identity data to create a proprietary non-PII Hash (IT2). The company’s technology is used in multiple verticals, including humanitarian and development services, banking, FinTech, KYC / AML compliance, real estate, and law enforcement.

Coink is a piggybank that is everywhere. It focuses on allowing its users to save easily by transforming small amounts of cash into digital currency, which they can then spend however they like. Because Coink is a fully regulated and licensed financial institution, their users have a wide range of options to use their savings, like P2P, debit cards, bank transfers, and more.

Alpha Theory keeps your portfolio in lock-step with your fundamental research at all times, ensuring your decision process is more disciplined, repeatable, and accurate. Reduce emotion, biases, mental errors, and decision-making time by up to 25%.

Born in 2014 after seeing a massive opportunity for technology to disrupt the multi-trillion SME financing market, AREX is an ambitious data-driven fintech company aiming to bridge capital market liquidity and SME cashflow needs.

Nagad is a digital finance service that provides users with a range of online payment and transaction processing options. It enables users to make payments, transfer funds, and access support services from the comfort of their own homes.

Climb Credit (NMLS# 1240013) is an innovative student lending platform that makes career creation and transformation more accessible, affordable, and accountable than ever before. Driven by a mission to empower individuals to unlock their career potential – no matter what their credit profile – Climb identifies programs and schools with a demonstrated ability to improve the earnings of their graduates.
How do you measure impact?
Climb is on a mission to expand access to career-advancing education. We do this by identifying, assessing, and monitoring schools and their educational programs to ensure that they are producing strong outcomes for their graduates and a positive return on their investment. We then partner with those schools to provide their learners with accessible and affordable payment options that are structured to meet the unique needs of those seeking career training. We maximize individual learner access to our approved, high-quality educational programs through a combination of our AI-based underwriting methodology and enhanced financing options that we have created for our partners.

EthicHub connects groups of smallholder farmers on a profitable activity, with lenders from all over the world and with direct buyers, creating value for all parties. By combining lending and product sale services they use the coffee as collateral for the loan and improve unit economics.

Fonbnk is a new distributed finance company enabling a frictionless, financial onramp for emerging markets. Leveraging the existing network of mobile phone accounts, anyone with a prepaid mobile SIM card can now have access to the global digital economy. They are driving financial inclusion through digital access for the nearly 2 billion humans who are unbanked.

We Are Digital is one of the UK’s leading digital and financial inclusion training providers to councils, housing associations, charities, corporates, and central government. Their vision is to empower people to enrich their lives and communities.

MPOWER is a US-based lender offering student loans to international students studying in the US or Canada without requiring a co-signer, collateral, or US credit history because their proprietary credit algorithm focuses on future potential.
How do you measure impact?
At MPOWER, we believe that access to education should not be restricted by financial barriers. Unfortunately, funding is often the biggest challenge faced by students pursuing a global education. We aim to break down these barriers and promote diversity and opportunity on campus. With students from over 150 countries, nearly 80% of whom are from Global South countries, our loans help to foster a rich tapestry of cultural exchange and understanding on campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, our focus on women in STEM fields is helping to close the gender gap in these critical industries. For international, DACA and refugee students, our scholarships provide a lifeline to a brighter future. By removing financial barriers, we are enabling a new generation of leaders to fulfill their potential and make a positive impact on the world.

SteadyPay service enables gig economy workers to enjoy consistent income even when they work inconsistent hours (due to such factors as reduced shifts, fewer bookings, time of sick and holidays). Using the SteadyPay mobile app, customers securely link to their bank, they then work out the customer’s average income and monitor for when income drops below that average.

Turaco develops simplified insurance and credit solutions through mobile technology to solve healthcare financing needs. Turaco has simplified insurance products and also provides on-demand health loans, allowing customers to get healthcare at affordable monthly premiums.
How do you measure impact?
Customers covered with Turaco insurance receive claims payouts within 3 days (measured by $ and # of claims paid and turnaround times), reducing the reliance on informal safety nets and stressful coping mechanisms and increasing their ability to pay for quality health care. Ultimately, this helps to improve health, reduce lost income, and minimize over-indebtedness. As well, by just having an active plan (measured by # of lives covered), customers know they have mitigated their financial risk and as a result can plan accordingly and invest income in more productive ways. We also recognize that there is a powerful impact from the peace of mind that comes just from knowing you’re covered in case of an unexpected shock!

SoLo is a financial service provider enabling a marketplace where members can request and fund emergency needs. SoLo launched in 2018 with the goal of providing a lending alternative that was equitable, empowering, and community-driven.

HiPipo is a leading digital age organization with operations covering Digital, Financial Inclusion, Inclusive Finance, Events, Awards, and Music. HiPipo is keen to promote secure digital financial services because of their vital role in promoting financial inclusion.
How do you measure impact?
Through its activities, HiPipo helps reduce the barriers that perpetuate the gender gap by providing women with technical and business skills in digital financial services.
HiPipo helps companies and nations to become prosperous in ways that benefit everyone. We drive financial inclusion by advocating for the reduction of interoperability issues, which can lead to poor and vulnerable groups being excluded from the system. HiPipo supports the creation of domestic and cross-border instant retail payment systems that enable economic growth.
We advocate for the use of DFS to help poor and vulnerable people gain access to affordable financial products, which can support inclusive growth.
HiPipo provides tools and services to help FinTechs and their collaborators simplify access to financial products for their customers. We measure our impact and success based on both outcomes (what we do) and outputs (what happens as a result). Essentially, the combined efforts of our team and partners have garnered various awards and recognitions.

Moon empowers African rural communities with innovative clean energy and digital products. Their mission is to achieve universal digitalized electrification for all rural sub-Saharan households.

The first platform in Mexico that connects more than 30 million Employers, Homeworkers, Vulnerable Workers, and Self-employed, through protection services designed to strengthen the 3 pillars of development: Health, Work, and Finance. Bamba develops tech solutions for businesses to help their insuranced affiliates solve their unforeseen events fast by minimizing costs.

Kaleidofin is a fintech platform that provides complete financial solutions for excluded individuals and households. The platform propels under-banked customers towards meeting their real life goals by providing intuitive and tailored financial solutions. Their solutions take into account the financial roadblocks and vulnerability that these segments, such as volatile income streams and limited understanding of the fine print in financial products.

Bright Money is a mission-driven consumer fintech company dedicated to helping everyone delete debt and build wealth. The birthplace of MoneyScience™, Bright delivers AI-driven financial planning that delivers real results —automatically. Based in San Francisco, CA, and Bangalore, India, data science is at the heart of every product they build.

Skaleet is an international FinTech providing a Core Banking Platform, allowing financial institutions to quickly launch new banking products and new experiences at a competitive price. Complying with the highest security standards, it already powers 25+ regulated financial institutions and manages 8+ million banking accounts worldwide. The solution combines open, modular, and cloud-agnostic technology.

PT UangMe Fintek Indonesia is one of the most trusted financial services companies in Indonesia. UangMe is a platform that provided loans online without trusted collateral. People can get loans as quickly and easily without any guarantee.