At the first edition of Level Up with Gameskraft, fintech founder Hena Mehta took the stage to share a refreshingly honest and deeply insightful narrative, one that’s reshaping how we think about financial inclusion. As the founder of Basis, Hena draws parallels from personal experience and extensive user research. She highlighted the systemic gaps in the traditional financial world that often leave women feeling hesitant, overwhelmed, and ultimately underserved, despite managing household budgets effectively. Basis positioned itself as a purpose-driven platform, focused on fostering financial independence through a bold, gender-intentional approach that reimagines traditional financial systems.
The Financial System's Blind Spot: Ignoring Half the Population
Hena began by painting a picture familiar to many women: competent in managing daily expenses but sidelined when it comes to long-term wealth creation. Citing the statistic that only 30% of women make long-term financial decisions despite 80% managing household finances, she pointed to a fundamental disconnect. Her ‘aha!’ moment came when facing the daunting cost of an MBA, realizing her own lack of financial preparedness despite years of earning. This personal experience fueled her investigation into why women, despite intent, were often excluded. The conclusion: the financial system wasn't built for them, using jargon-filled language and platforms based on assumptions that don't reflect women's unique financial lives and trajectories.
Debunking Myths: Risk-Aware, Not Risk-Averse
A core part of Basis's mission involved dismantling pervasive myths about women and money. Hena directly challenged common industry tropes:
Myth: Women are risk-averse.
Reality: Women are highly risk-aware, needing trust and knowledge before committing.
Myth: Women just want FDs and gold.
Reality: There's a high intent to grow wealth, but they lack relatable guidance and trustworthy platforms.
Myth: Women are averse to credit.
Reality: When educated on its utility, women want to borrow responsibly but often face unfavorable terms. Basis found women weren't disinterested; they lacked trust and relatable pathways into finance, often feeling judged or ignored by existing systems.
Building Differently: Community, Education, and Intentional Design
Recognising that simply "pinkwashing" existing products wouldn't suffice, Basis adopted an education and community-first approach. They prioritised building financial confidence before pushing products. A key insight came from experimenting with community platforms: an open-gender group saw conversations dominated by men, while a women-only community unlocked a floodgate of honest questions and peer-to-peer learning, from basic definitions ("What is a mutual fund?") to complex life situations ("How do I rebuild financially after separation?"). This proved that a safe, trusted space was essential, integrated directly into the user journey. The content itself was designed to be short-form, actionable, and conversational, cutting through the usual financial jargon.
Innovating for Impact: Designing for Women's Realities
Basis went beyond just communication style, embedding gender-intentionality into its product design. Key innovations included:
Life-Stage Personalisation: Acknowledging women's different financial journeys, including career breaks, longer lifespans, higher healthcare/personal care costs (the "pink tax"), and the gender pay gap.
The Power Card: Recognizing women juggle multiple responsibilities, Basis introduced a spend card – a familiar tool – as an entry point. Unlike typical cards rewarding "traveling men," this card offered women-centric rewards.
Behaviorally-Linked Savings: The Power Card was linked to a gold savings product, automatically building a portfolio as women spent, removing the friction often associated with starting to invest.
AI-Powered Assistance: Leveraging data from their moderated community, Basis built one of the first Gen AI personal finance assistants (trained on GPT-3) to provide jargon-free, relevant answers, positioning technology as a trust-builder.
The Future of Finance is Inclusive
Hena Mehta's talk underscored that building for women isn't a niche endeavor but a fundamental requirement for a truly inclusive financial future. By moving beyond generic, one-size-fits-all approaches and actively designing products and experiences that acknowledge and address women's specific needs, life stages, and behavioral patterns, Basis demonstrated that trust and confidence can be built. The success wasn't just in user acquisition but in empowering tens of thousands of women to move from learning to doing. As Hena concluded, designing intentional products benefits users, financial institutions, and the economy as a whole – proving that building for women isn't just good business, it's the future of finance. The impact? Empowered users, evolved institutions, and a more balanced financial ecosystem.
Level Up Lessons for Krafters
Hena Mehta’s story is a masterclass in ‘consumer obsession’, something we at Gameskraft hold at our core. Her approach reminds us that understanding the why behind a user’s hesitation is as important as designing the how of the solution. Her focus on building trust through education, community, and intentional design offers Krafters actionable strategies for creating more engaging, relatable, and ultimately successful gaming experiences tailored to diverse player communities, fueling the next stage of growth.
