Welcome to Series 2!

Happy New Year and welcome back to Financial Inclusion Unlocked! We're thrilled to kick off Series 2 with 10 powerful episodes releasing every Monday through the end of March. This season, we're diving deep into conversations with innovators, practitioners, and thought leaders who are working to unlock the potential of financial inclusion for all.

In this opening episode, we tackle a topic that's often overlooked but desperately needs attention: disability inclusion in financial services. With 16% of the global population, that's 1 in 7 people, living with some form of disability, and 80% of them residing in low-and middle-income countries, the opportunity and imperative for action is clear.

Meet Our Guests

Paul Surreaux is a financial inclusion specialist, disability advocate, and co-founder of the Barrier-Free Finance Initiative (BFFI), an organization advancing access to financial services for persons with disabilities worldwide. Since 2009, Paul has led multiple projects in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, combining capacity building with tailored financial products for vulnerable populations. A former investment officer who became a quadriplegic after a surfing accident, Paul brings both professional expertise and lived experience to his work.

Luis Fernando Sanabria is the Chief Operating Officer of Fundación Paraguaya, where he has worked for over 30 years. Luis oversees all programs including microfinance, poverty elimination, entrepreneurial education, and self-sustainable schools. He is an architect behind Fundación Paraguaya's groundbreaking disability inclusion program and co-creator of the Poverty Stoplight methodology.

Key Topics Discussed

• Understanding Disability Inclusion
• Barriers to Financial Inclusion for People with Disabilities
• Fundación Paraguaya's Success Story
• The Business Case for Disability Inclusion
• Practical Steps for FSPs

About Our Sponsor

Series 2 of Financial Inclusion Unlocked is proudly sponsored by CGAP.

CGAP is a global partnership of more than 40 development organizations working to advance the lives of people living in poverty through financial inclusion. Housed at the World Bank, it works at the frontier of inclusive finance to test solutions, spark innovation, generate evidence, and share insights. As a global public good, its independent research and analysis is available to all.

Learn more at www.cgap.org. Follow CGAP on LinkedIn or subscribe to its newsletter.

Connect With Us

Don't miss the remaining nine episodes of Series 2! Subscribe to Financial Inclusion Unlocked on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Join the conversation on LinkedIn at Financial Inclusion Unlocked for video highlights, insights, and updates from the world of financial inclusion.

Financial Inclusion Unlocked is produced by SIJ Media and hosted by Jack Farren.

Episode Sponsored by the Microinsurance Network

In November 2025, we travelled to Luxembourg for the European Microfinance Award. The award is a prestigious prize that recognises outstanding initiatives advancing financial inclusion; in its 2025 edition, the theme focused on building resilience through inclusive insurance.

The award is organised by InFiNe, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), and the Luxembourg Government, with this year’s edition also supported by the Microinsurance Network.

After a competitive global selection process, three MiN members were selected as finalists: Radiant Yacu – Rwanda, Dhan Foundation – India, and Britam Insurance – Kenya.

In this bonus episode, we sat down with the winner of the 2025 Award: Radiant Yacu. Representing the organisation in Luxembourg was Emmanuel Nzanana, Operations Manager. Emmanuel joined us for an energising and insightful conversation about Radiant Yacu’s mission to protect low-income households from financial shocks, the innovative design behind their products, how they build trust in rural communities, and what the €100,000 award will enable them to achieve next.

This episode is supported by the Microinsurance Network – a non-profit association of organisations and individuals who are committed to building a world where people of all income levels are more resilient and less vulnerable to daily and catastrophic risks through improved access to effective risk management tools, including insurance services.

MiN brings together insurers, regulators, innovators, development partners, researchers, and practitioners across 70+ countries. Through research, advocacy, facilitation of best practices, and global knowledge-sharing, MiN plays a vital role in strengthening the inclusive insurance ecosystem.

Learn more at www.microinsurancenetwork.org, and explore insights from their flagship global study, The Landscape of Microinsurance 2024:
👉 https://microinsurancenetwork.org/resources/the-landscape-of-microinsurance-2024

A warm thank you also goes to InFiNe Luxembourg for supporting logistics of this episode. InFiNe (Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg) brings together 44 stakeholders from Luxembourg's public, private, and civil society sectors to promote financial inclusion globally. Learn more at www.infine.lu

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Financial Inclusion Unlocked is a podcast on a journey to learn how we can unlock the potential of financial inclusion as an enabler for the 17 UN SDGs. The show is produced by SIJ Media.

Join our community and access exclusive content for this episode on LinkedIn at SIJ Media.

Connect with host Jack Farren on LinkedIn or at jack@sijmedia.com

Series 2 of Financial Inclusion Unlocked launches in January 2026.

Following a fantastic and successful Series 1 of show, we're excited to bring you a special bonus episode, before the launch of Series 2 in January 2026.

In May 2025, Jack travelled to Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands—a stunning nation in the Pacific made up of nearly 1,000 islands. With a population of just over 800,000, the country faces unique geographic and infrastructure challenges, especially when it comes to delivering financial services to its many remote communities.

While there, we had the unique opportunity of sitting down with Governor Luke Forau, Governor of the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands, for an honest and refreshing conversation exploring the country's digital transformation, including the launch of M-SELEN, a mobile money platform, innovations in climate insurance, the role of regulatory sandboxes, and why trust and community engagement are key to expanding financial inclusion.

A huge thank you to Governor Forau for his time, and to the entire Central Bank team for so warmly hosting us in their offices.

Financial Inclusion Unlocked is a podcast on a journey to learn how we can unlock the potential of financial inclusion as an enabler for the 17 UN SDGs. This show is produced by SIJ Media.

Join our community and access exclusive content for this episode on Linkedin at SIJ Media.

Connect with host Jack Farren on Linkedin or jack@sijmedia.com