financial woman is a startup that aims to “contribute to the financial inclusion of women and help them save and invest,” according to its founder, Sabrina Castelli, in an interview for Minute Argentina.
Sabrina, who is an accountant, has a degree in Business Administration and has more than 12 years of experience in multinational companies in the areas of sales and finance, started this Project in the year 2018, as a blog; then, in 2019, his initiative became a venture and, in 2020, Financial Woman became a technology company.
Via Financial Womanwomen can learn to empower their finances, save and invest, through online courses and personal finance management toolswhich, in turn, allows them to make better decisions with money and develop better skills in managing it.
This project is born from a personal story of its founder, since, when she was just nine years old, her father, who was in charge of all the household finances, passed away, which left her mother adrift, since she did not work, I didn’t have a bank account and I didn’t handle finances.
Added to this, the family lost, in one of the biggest economic crises in Argentina, the money they had been granted for the father’s life insurance, which they had invested in a bank in an investment product.
This situation forced her mother to have to face a universe completely unknown to her at the time: the world of finance, a reality experienced by many other women in Latin America.
Thanks to this experience, the administrator learned “that financial inclusion is not just about accessing a bank account, but that you can really make the best decision to protect your money for your family and for your well-being.”
Although it was a very difficult situation for Sabrina and her entire family, this motivated her to prepare herself, to venture into the world of finances and to understand how they worked, and it was precisely this preparation that later led her to help other women to empower themselves with their finance.
This, since, as the lawyer points out, in the region, “there is a large gender gap in financial terms”, since, for example, “only 51% of women have a bank account” and, of these, “only one in 10 has savings in the financial system”so it is clear that education is needed in this regard.
Castelli emphasizes that women in particular face many challenges in terms of the financial gender gap, such as, for example, at the level of income, since, in Latin America, that gap today reaches 17%. This means that, compared to a man “who works in the same activity or has the same socioeconomic or educational level, the woman will generate less income throughout her professional life.”
Likewise, the lawyer points out that, according to a World Bank report, “women tend to have a bias of lack of confidence in matters of money”, that is, they tend to think things like: “this number thing is not for me”, which has also been influenced by the same behavior of societies, since women were always more immersed in the care of the home and all the tasks associated with it, than in the world of work.
Additionally, educational systems do not train women in this area either, so, for this population, handling money is still an unknown subject and about which there is much to learn. “The reality is that if you don’t go out looking for that knowledge, that knowledge doesn’t find you as it can in other areas.”
In view of this, there is a need to educate and, above all, to empower women in financial terms, because, in addition, when economic crises such as the current one occur, even in situations such as the coronavirus pandemic, women are the the first to lose their job and the one that takes the longest to get it back, so having the right tools that allow them to have, for example, savings to face this type of situation, is decisive.
For this reason, through financial education, the women who join this initiative learn to understand how the economy works, how their finances are, and to keep track of them. In addition, they develop healthy financial habits such as saving and investing.
They do this through digital courses, both paid and free, which are available both on the web portal of Financial Woman as in the application that bears the same name. Likewise, the company provides tools so that, in an easy and simple way, everything learned can be put into practice.
This, so that each woman can make her own decisions regarding the management of her money and her assets.Well, in addition to the fact that the application teaches women everything about financial news, it also provides them with suggestions according to their needs so that they optimize the use of their income and start saving.
In this regard, the lawyer highlights, in an interview for this newspaper, that “9 out of 10 women who used the applicationmanaged to start saving for the first time in their lives”.
Although its largest market is in Argentina, this project has managed to reach 12 other countries and train more than 100,000 women around the world, who, in addition to understanding how the economy works, have learned to save and create emergency funds, which are decisive to overcome moments of crisis.
But not only those who are linked to this enterprise have managed to make savings for emergency situations, it has also allowed them to get out of their debts, since women, by learning to organize their finances, can better manage them and create habits healthier, which, in turn, translates into peace of mind and a better quality of life for them and their families.
Likewise, those who learn through this project teach other women to empower themselves and better manage their finances, so the scope of this undertaking goes far beyond those who take its courses, because, as Sabrina assures: “this has a cascade effect towards the next generations, very strong”, because, when financial education is provided, there is also the possibility not only “of changing the lives of these people, but that of the next generations”.
Although this entrepreneurship has transformed the lives of thousands of women around the world, it has also done so in the life of its founder, who points out that, throughout these years, she has not only learned the importance of teamwork, but, after seeing all that he has achieved, he now considers that there are no limits.
“I started my business with 100 dollars buying a website and with an idea and, from there, it grew and became a company. We managed to have investors, we managed to grow, we are opening new countries, so, I think that today we really have no limits, because even our own clients help us to carry our message to more women”.
Likewise, she highlights that, with effort, discipline and constant work, dreams can be achieved, but above all, help others to grow and “generate great changes in society”, because, as an Argentine citizen, she wants the country to grow and let Latin America do it too.
Although since the beginning of her project she was clear that she wanted to go far, she did not expect it to go so far and so fast, which, in turn, motivates her to improve and further grow the entire community that has been created around Financial Woman.
In this sense, Sabrina defines success as “being able to go from failure to failure, get up and move on”, because although she knows that the path as an entrepreneur has not been easy and has been full of challenges, she can also recognize who has managed to go very far and, for that very reason, has not stopped wondering what she can do to reach more women every day.
The keys to financial empowerment
As founder of Financial Womaneven as a user of it, the lawyer highlights, in a dialogue for this newspaper, that the main key to financial empowerment is: “being encouraged to put a number on our goals”, that is, knowing how much money is needed to achieve what desire (a house, a trip, a car, to have a better quality of life, etc).
This, since, from there, knowing how much money is required to achieve said objective, a plan can be built “and be willing to make the effort that saving implies”, since, for people, saving implies an effort and, therefore, “you have to be very convinced of why I am making that effort”. Consequently, the sooner you become aware of making that plan, the more achievable that goal becomes.
“Having savings is having freedom, having freedom of what to do, to stay or not in a job that you like or not, in a relationship, in a job, in a city, in a country, it is the freedom to really do what you want. want”.
Regarding women in particular, the lawyer points out that the greatest challenge to achieve this is to be able to break down those myths that exist around the distrust of money management, since, in addition, finances are connected to all areas of life and, well managed, can be a great tool to achieve the life you want.
“It is proven that, when women manage to generate income, they reinvest almost 90% of their income in well-being for their families, in food, health and education; which is essential to break the circles of poverty and to generate equal opportunities. Therefore, when we really understand the power we have to do this, it is the first thing that will help us empower ourselves.”.
Therefore, in addition to educating women about finances, Sabrina hopes that through her work she will also inspire other women to undertake, because what she seeks is that “never again does a woman feel alone when making a financial decision ” as it happened in his family.
With clear objectives and the purpose of reaching more women around the world, they are currently venturing into Mexico. In addition, they plan to create financial products according to the needs of women and invite all those who want to empower themselves in their finances to take the first step to learn about the subject, so that they not only obtain economic freedom, but also make it a reality. your biggest dreams.
