Ohana is on a mission. Our company values reflect what our name means in the Hawaiian language: family. We know that SMBs around the world struggle to survive and are excluded from markets to grow and prosper. Now there is another sector that needs help as well, the UBBs. If Ohana can help these two important sectors of society have access to opportunities and participate in mainstream commerce, we can have a small part in improving society and peoples' lives in a big way. That is why we believe in our business idea, our values, and our ability to succeed.
Ohana está en una misión. Los valores de nuestra compañía reflejan lo que nuestro nombre significa en el idioma hawaiano: familia. Sabemos que las pequeñas y medianas empresas de todo el mundo luchan por sobrevivir y están excluidas de los mercados para crecer y prosperar. Ahora hay otro sector que también necesita ayuda, los UBB. Si Ohana puede ayudar a estos dos sectores importantes de la sociedad a tener acceso a oportunidades y participar en el comercio convencional, podemos contribuir en gran medida a mejorar la vida de la sociedad y de las personas. Es por eso que creemos en nuestra idea de negocio, nuestros valores y nuestra capacidad de tener éxito.
Who are the 2 Billion Unbanked Adults Globally?
Most of the world’s 2 billion unbanked adults live in developing economies. According to the most recent Global Findex data, from 2015, 89 percent of adults in high-income economies report having an account at a formal financial institution; in developing economies, 41 percent of adults do.
Regionally, according to this same database, the rate of unbanked adults is highest in the Middle East and North Africa, at four out of every five adults, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In several developing economies, more than 95 percent of adults do not have an account at a formal financial institution.
Disparities also exist by gender. Among adults in developing economies living below the $2-a-day poverty line, women are 28 percent less likely than men to have an account at a formal financial institution. Indeed, there is a persistent gender gap of six to nine percentage points across income groups within developing economies.
Financial inclusion efforts aim not only to serve the unbanked, but also the underbanked. These are people who have poor or unreliable access to formal financial services – for example, customers who open a bank account to receive government payments, but withdraw all of the money immediately and thereafter operate in cash.
An estimated 2 billion working-age adults – more than half of the world’s total adult population – do not have an account at a formal financial institution. Financial inclusion efforts seek to ensure that all households and businesses, regardless of income level, have access to and can effectively use the appropriate financial services they need to improve their lives.
Currently, the world’s poor live and work in what is known as the informal economy. Even though they have little money, they still save, borrow and manage day-to-day expenses. However, without access to a bank, savings account, debit card, insurance, or line of credit, for example, they must rely on informal means of managing money. This includes family and friends, cash-on-hand, pawn-brokers, moneylenders, or keeping it under the mattress. Sometimes these choices are insufficient, risky, expensive, and unpredictable. Being included in the formal financial system helps people:
Make day-to-day transactions, including sending and receiving money;
Safeguard savings, which can help households manage cash flow spikes, smooth consumption and build working capital;
Finance small businesses or microenterprises, helping owners invest in assets and grow their businesses;
Plan and pay for recurring expenses, such as school fees;
Mitigate shocks and manage expenses related to unexpected events such as medical emergencies, a death in the family, theft, or natural disasters; and
Improve their overall welfare.
The benefits of financial inclusion are not only significant for individuals but for economies as well. Financial inclusion is linked to a country’s economic and social development, and plays a role in reducing extreme poverty. (See more on impact.) Recent research indicates that financial inclusion is not only positively correlated with growth and employment, but it is generally believed to causally impact growth.
How the blockchain will radically transform the economy Bettina Warburg TED Talk
Say hello to the decentralized economy -- the blockchain is about to change everything. In this lucid explainer of the complex (and confusing) technology, Bettina Warburg describes how the blockchain will eliminate the need for centralized institutions like banks or governments to facilitate trade, evolving age-old models of commerce and finance into something far more interesting: a distributed, transparent, autonomous system for exchanging value.
As the blockchain revolution continues, Ohana is building a global community for SMBs and UBBs to facilitate trade and ensure sustainability with the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain business applications.
A medida que continúa la revolución de la cadena de bloques, Ohana está construyendo una comunidad global para pymes y UBB para facilitar el comercio y garantizar la sostenibilidad con el uso de criptomonedas y aplicaciones comerciales de blockchain.