asia regional Live

Gender-Inclusive Financial Solutions: A Case Study about Garment Workers in Vietnam

Fiw Topics

  • Digital Financial Services
  • Women's Financial Inclusion

FIW Year

  • 2024

Transcripts:

English
Spanish
French

Summary + Key Insights

A case study on gender-inclusive financial solutions for garment workers in Vietnam highlights the importance of human-centered design to address financial exclusion. 

  • 🌟 Human-Centered Design: Engaging end-users through observation and feedback ensures solutions effectively address their specific needs and contexts. This approach encourages iterative development and validation. 
  • 💬 Cultural Norms around Money: Money discussions are often taboo, leading to a lack of transparency among family members regarding financial decisions. Encouraging open conversations can empower individuals in managing family finances. 
  • 👩‍🏭 Women’s Roles in Finance: Women in Vietnamese households often manage finances, highlighting their influence. However, they face challenges such as limited career advancement and household responsibilities, necessitating tailored financial solutions. 
  • 📈 Financial Literacy Importance: Programs like Bright Futures can demystify financial concepts through accessible, engaging materials, fostering a culture of financial planning and management within communities. 
  • 🔄 Iterative Testing: The process of trial and error in developing financial solutions allows for refining ideas based on real-world feedback, ensuring that the final products are relevant and impactful. 
  • 🤝 Peer Learning: Leveraging peer leaders within communities enhances learning and trust, creating supportive environments where individuals can discuss and navigate financial challenges together. 
  • 📊 Sustainable Financial Solutions: Designing solutions that are both empowering for users and viable for financial institutions can lead to long-term economic resilience and inclusion for marginalized groups. 

This session summary was AI-generated using NoteGPT.

Join IDEO.org and Doodle Design for an in-depth exploration of applying human-centred design towards financial inclusion among Vietnam’s garment workers, particularly women. This session will delve into a comprehensive case study, highlighting the challenges and opportunities these workers face in accessing and utilizing formal financial services. We will examine the socio-economic factors and gender norms that contribute to financial exclusion, the role of digital financial tools, and innovative solutions that we implemented to bridge the financial gap. We will share a framework to design for gender inclusivity and actionable strategies we used to enhance financial inclusion for vulnerable populations in similar sectors worldwide. Discover how empowering garment workers with responsible financial services can improve their livelihoods and contribute to broader economic growth.

Session Speakers

Agnes Ogallo

Senior Designer, IDEO.org

Agnes is a Senior Business Designer at IDEO.org, based in Nairobi, Kenya. She works at the intersection of business and design, helping teams focus on ensuring the solutions developed are feasible, financially sustainable, and make good business sense. She combines her experience in technology, business, and research with creative approaches to support her team in developing solutions with and for the communities they work alongside. Agnes has deep expertise in designing for gender equality, with an emphasis on increasing economic empowermen for women. Before IDEO.org, Agnes was at Nairobi Design Institute, an impact design academy, where she developed her human-centered design skills. During her studies, Agnes worked on a diverse set of social impact projects around waste management, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, menstrual health, and sustainable sand harvesting. Agnes also worked at Fintech Kenya, a firm focused on bridging financial inclusion gaps throughout Africa, where she worked on enhancing the user experience of the digital products and training materials being developed for people in Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi.

Chris Elkin

HCD Designer/Facilitator, Founder of Doodle Design/Doodle

Chris is Founder of Doodle Design and Doodle A (Design Thinking Academy), as well as a Senior Instructor at LUMA Institute and mentor at Google for Startups SE Asia. With 20+ years of experience, he’s on a mission to empower people, teams, and organizations to collaborate and innovate at scale via Design Thinking. Originally from Northern Ireland, he’s honed his skills across global hubs like London, New York, Singapore, and now Saigon, Vietnam. He has led senior multidisciplinary teams, shaping customer-centric research, strategies, customer experiences, cross-team collaboration, testing, and CX/UX/UI design outcomes. His journey spans diverse sectors— from Banking and Insurance to FMCG, NGOs, EdTech, Healthcare, and Pharma.

FIW Resources

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Hosted annually by the Center for Financial Inclusion, FIW brings together global leaders to exchange ideas, share research, and offer perspectives to inform the future of inclusive finance.

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