Financial inclusion allows individuals and businesses to have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs—transactions, payments, savings, credit, and insurance—delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.
An example of financial inclusion is having credit access, which can provide a lifeline to people and businesses to stay afloat, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Boosting access to credit can also help households address the volatility of their personal finances and is essential for firms to fund their investments.
In the Philippines, half of the country’s adult population is unbanked. This means many Filipinos do not have access to financial services, including credit services. To tackle this issue, Philippine startup Advance has developed an on-demand salary platform to provide financial aid to cash-strapped workers. Touted as the first salary on-demand provider in the Philippines, the fintech startup partners with employers to offer salary advances to their employees.
Employees who wish to receive a wage advance just need to fill out an online application, which can be approved in a matter of days. Upon approval, the payroll advance is disbursed directly through Advance’s digital platform.
Founded in 2018 by Jaime de los Angeles (CEO) and Addi Guevara (CFO), Advance has a management team that includes Stef Lim (COO) and Enzo Doromal (CTO). The Manila-based company raised an undisclosed sum in a seed funding round in 2020 led by Next Billion Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, Dymon Asia Ventures, and Accion Venture Lab.
By enhancing the financial well-being of employees, the company hopes that its business solution can drive organizational growth, improve productivity, and boost workplace engagement.
Advance applied to take part in the Project AsiaForward Alibaba Cloud Global Startup Accelerator, held online on February 8, 2022.