#40: Female led fintech innovation: why social impact and profitability go hand-in-hand with Isabel Oriol Bastos

Isabel Oriol Bastos is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Head of Business Development at ADA Impacto, a female-founded fintech startup.

Isabel spent 10 years in the social impact sector. She started her career in Brazil and Chile, working at the UN and social startups. After studying a Masters in International Development at the London School of Economics (LSE), she founded Ánima Soluciones, a consultancy for social entrepreneurs from which she spent 5 years actively involved in the micro-finance sector in Latin America.

At ADA Impacto, women at the bottom of the pyramid get control over their microcredit. They do this through an AI Chatbot via WhatsApp, where women apply, receive and repay their loan, while partaking in a mentorship program for their business. 

ADA launched in Mexico this year and aims to expand across Latin America.

They have recently won the Fintech Innovation Challenge Female Founder Award from the Women's World Banking Organisation.

We cover the following in our conversation:

Female entrepreneurship

Social impact startups

The startup: ADA Impacto

Engaging with micro-lending institutions in the emerging markets

Why providing financial education and emotional support to women around their finances is important

And Isabel shares a message to investors who are new to social impact startups or indeed to gender lens investing.