Dock, the payments and digital banking enabler in LatAm, is supporting G10, a digital bank born within the favela, with its technology as it aims to invest in entrepreneurial power and encourage online banking for residents of the Paraisópolis community.
G10 Bank works as a fintech, with Dock technology, the same used by large Brazilian fintechs and digital banks.
“G10 Bank is a project fully aligned with Dock’s mission of democratising finance to boost society. Access to the financial system is fundamental for the individual’s evolution in today’s society and the generation of wealth increasingly involves financial systems. People need to learn how to utilize online banking and the physical branch will support access to online banking and its resources, which are fundamental for expanding opportunities.”, says Antonio Soares, CEO of Dock.
“We really believe in the empowerment potential of G10 Bank. We decided to open the physical branch to be a point of support for residents. Many still need support to go digital, and we want to provide access to everyone”, says Gilson Rodrígues, CEO of G10 Bank and national president of G10 Favelas.
Online banking for individuals or legal entities, G10 Bank’s main product, allows the use, via the app, of features such as Pix, bill payments, transfers, deposits and cell phone recharge. A prepaid Visa card will also be available through the account and app.
Impact
One of the purposes of the project is to ensure that investments return to the community. Especially as 50 per cent of residents operate their own businesses, as shown by Data Favela. By concentrating resources in G10 Bank, investments return internally. “Our goal is to put the community’s money into circulation and generate value here,” explains Soares.
According to Rodrígues, the expectation is to open four more G10 Bank branches in the first half of 2024, in the Casa Amarela favelas, in Pernambuco; Aglomerado da Serra, in Minas Gerais; Heliópolis, in São Paulo; and Sol Nascente, in the Federal District.
Another objective of the institution is to provide credit. The G10 Bank pilot project, previously carried out non-digitally, benefited around 200 entrepreneurs with microcredits totaling R$1million. “The initiative has made it possible to increase these people’s income and stimulate the creation of jobs in the favelas and contribute to the financial education of entrepreneurs. With online banking and the physical branch, we will maximise these impacts”, says Rodrígues.
Power
Residents of Brazilian favelas have a consumption power of R$167billion per year, according to research by Outdoor Social Intelligence carried out in 2022. This value exceeds the income mass of 20 of the country’s 27 federation units and is higher than that of entire countries, including Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, according to data from the Locomotiva Institute. Brazil has 13,000 favelas where more than 17 million people live, almost half belonging to class C, according to data from IBGE and Serasa Experian.
This Week’s Market Commentary from David Jones, Chief Market Strategist at Capital.com