Mynt CEO's UN Call for 'Borrowing with Dignity' Boosts IPO Prospects

The call by Mynt president and CEO Martha Sazon for Filipinos to be allowed to “borrow with dignity” has placed financial empowerment at the center of the company’s global narrative at a pivotal moment, amplifying attention for its planned IPO. At the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York on September 23, Sazon presented the Philippine experience in digital financial inclusion to an audience of global business and financial leaders discussing how capital and markets can be used to build more inclusive economies. She framed the challenge not simply as giving people access to money, but as recognizing their capacity to participate meaningfully in the financial system. “When people are seen, they can be trusted. And when they are trusted, they can be empowered,” Sazon said, underscoring the philosophy behind what she described as GCash’s effort to make financial services more accessible to ordinary Filipinos. She said financial inclusion must go beyond access and ensure that Filipinos are treated fairly and allowed to “borrow with dignity,” citing GCash’s reach of more than 11 million borrowers, many from underserved communities, with women accounting for about half of borrowers. Sazon also pointed to the continuing gap in formal credit access in the Philippines, citing formal borrowing penetration of only 12% and saying about 40% of Filipinos rely on informal sources of financing. The issue is closely linked to financial literacy, as responsible inclusion requires consumers to understand loan terms, assess repayment capacity, recognize legitimate lenders and avoid scams and predatory lending. The timing of the appearance has given the message added resonance as Mynt disclosed commitments from more than 20 global and domestic cornerstone investors for its planned IPO, including institutions such as BlackRock-managed funds, Capital Research and Management Company, T. Rowe Price entities, HSBC Global Asset Management, International Finance Corporation and Lazard Asset Management. The cornerstone commitments amount to about P36.5 billion and are expected to cover approximately the entire institutional offer tranche, subject to allocation, according to Mynt and a preliminary prospectus reported by Reuters. Sazon’s UN address was reported to have caused the investors' interest because of the coincidence in timing, which highlights a broader narrative increasingly surrounding Mynt: “A Philippine fintech company that began by widening access to everyday financial services is now preparing to enter the formal capital market with substantial interest from international and domestic institutions.” That connection has already become part of Mynt’s institutional engagement. In July, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Mynt, together with its lending arm Fuse Financing, entered into a partnership to promote financial literacy and consumer protection through educational materials and public-awareness campaigns aimed at millions of Filipino users. The initiative covers responsible borrowing, loan terms, repayment capacity, legitimate lenders and warning signs of illegal lending and financial scams. The convergence of these initiatives gives greater substance to Sazon’s UN message: financial inclusion is not simply about putting more people inside the financial system, but helping them become more informed and capable participants in it. The same principle could extend to capital market as Mynt approaches its IPO.—AOL, GMA News