Growth where it matters — discover how Oaklins’ advisory is helping a Colombian foundation dedicated to social and financial inclusion
A conversation with Daniela Konietzko, President, Fundación WWB Colombia
At Oaklins, we work with companies and organizations across many sectors and regions, supporting them as they pursue growth. We bring our expertise and experience to help them explore opportunities and make informed decisions. Our clients range from family-owned retail businesses to AI start-ups and enterprises focused on energy transition. Although each faces distinct challenges, they share a common determination to embrace new ventures and achieve their objectives.
One of our most interesting recent partnerships has been between Oaklins Axia in Colombia, and the Fundación WWB Colombia. Set up in 1982, this foundation was one of the first five institutions that made up the Women’s World Banking (WWB) network — WWB itself was launched in 1979 as an NGO dedicated to financial inclusion through initiatives such as microfinancing. In 2011, the foundation created Banco W, in which it held 86% of the shares, to expand its remit to include other services such as savings; the rest of the shares were held by three impact investment funds — Bamboo Financial Inclusion Panamá, DWM Panamá and WWB Isis Fund — and three founders; it was established that the three funds would exit after a fixed period. Today, the foundation’s mission includes social as well as financial inclusion, especially for women entrepreneurs and others in vulnerable situations, encouraging capacity building, knowledge transfer, and carrying out investments with a social impact.
Oaklins Axia has worked with Fundación WWB Colombia for several years on both formal transactions and strategic advisory services, including a review and assessment of the bank's strategic alternatives, and advisory on the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the bank's liquidity and management. In 2024, Oaklins Axia provided buy-side advisory on the acquisition of the minority stake in Banco W and a year later, advisory on the sale of 51% of the bank’s shares.
We talked to Daniela Konietzko, president of Fundación WWB Colombia since 2013, about the collaboration with Oaklins Axia, the importance of finding the right strategic partner and the role of innovative technologies in the foundation’s work.
Your organization has collaborated with Oaklins Axia for some time now. Why did you first reach out to them, and what does your relationship with an M&A advisor mean to the foundation?
We started a strategy for financial sustainability in 2019. As the foundation has no owner, we have to be very transparent and strategic in all the decisions that we make, so we did a process for advisory and for investment banking, and Oaklins Axia won that bid. We knew, because of the shareholders agreement, that the minority shareholders in Banco W would soon be out of the picture, so that was one of the first mandates that we worked on with Juan Pablo Bayter (partner, Oaklins Axia). We needed a trusted advisor with both deep technical expertise and, especially, a solid understanding of our social mission.
We define ourselves as a social innovative laboratory for development. We always say we have a global perspective and local solutions.Daniela Konietzko, President, Fundación WWB Colombia
Last year, Fundación WWB bought out the minority shareholders of Banco W to become owner of 100% of its shares. Can you describe some of the specific ways that Oaklins Axia worked with you on this transaction?
When Axia came, they mainly helped us manage complex decisions. This acquisition from the minority shareholders in 2024 was a critical step because we had to regain the full ownership of what is our most significant asset. But Oaklins Axia could also help us to shape a long-term vision, ensuring that decisions were financially sound and socially aligned. They helped us prepare the roadmap. It was complex but it was also very strategic for us so Oaklins Axia played a central role at every stage in the transaction, meaning the deal structure, the negotiations with the minority shareholders, the approval process with the board.
Also, the minority shareholders had been our partners for 10 years, they helped us create the bank, they were really hands on. So we wanted this transaction to be fair. It was a negotiation with allies and we were careful not to ruin the relationship that had been constructed. In the end it took longer than expected, but Oaklins Axia were patient and understood the importance of a strategic agreement with our partners.
Banco W has a distinct mission focusing on financial inclusion and supporting socially and economically disadvantaged sectors, including women-led ventures. Earlier this year, you sold 51% of the bank’s shares to Fundación Grupo Social. Why did you decide to enhance the bank’s strategy by adding a strategic partner? How did Oaklins Axia support this process?
Banco W was already a strong performer and had shown resilience during COVID. However, we wanted to scale the bank and that required significant investment and additional expertise. In Fundación Grupo Social, a respected, 100-year-old social financial holding, we found a strategic partner that shared our values and could bring complementary capabilities and experience.
On our board, we have people from the social sector and the financial sector, and from academia. We needed everybody to fully understand the transaction, and Oaklins Axia helped with that. It was really important that we all fully comprehend every aspect, and I really appreciate their patience and commitment. It was a big responsibility, and it took time, but they never said “No, we can't.” They understood the importance of it having to be a financially sound business, but that we also had to have this strategic social mandate.
Three words I would use to describe the relationship over the years with Oaklins Axia are: trust, respect and very professional. They have this deep technical experience, but they're really open to what the client needs and is comfortable with.Daniela Konietzko, President, Fundación WWB Colombia
The microfinance sector is rapidly evolving with increased digitalization and innovative financing models. How is your organization leveraging these trends to enhance services and reach underserved populations?
From the beginning, the foundation and the bank have been very aligned on this. Through the foundation we generate knowledge around gender, entrepreneurship, vulnerability and financial inclusion, and we share this with the bank and others. We have our research team and analytical team, an intersectoral working group for financial inclusion and financial literacy. From the start, the foundation was very digital. We started programs with low-income women — the first one was about having to work with Excel, needing to have a computer and digital diversity. Digital transformation has always been a strategic purpose for the organization. The foundation is leveraging behavioral science, literacy programs and social solutions through technology.
Today’s banks offer digital products, mobile wallets and open finance partnerships — and Banco W has embraced this digital transformation. We’ve created a technical committee dedicated to this strategic area, and our latest joint initiative between the bank and the foundation is particularly innovative — a financial literacy program for young people in the form of a video game!
Looking forward, how do you envision the Fundación Grupo Social acquisition impacting Banco W’s capacity for innovation and further expansion into new markets or client segments?
We have a lot of dreams! We know that with this partnership we’re adding value to the bank, we envision the bank’s growth in serving its purpose and for it to be the best, not the biggest, but the best microfinance bank in the country. I’m sure that we have a beautiful and strong future. This partnership with Fundación Grupo Social is designed mainly to amplify Banco W’s innovation and growth. Grupo Social not only brings financial strength, which is very important, as I mentioned before, but all the expertise that they have in segments that are adjacent to ours — they have products in housing finance, they’re really strong in that, and they have broader retail products. Their operation is huge and there are a lot of synergies that we can do with Fundación Grupo Social. We have a wonderful and highly committed team at Banco W, they’re purpose- driven and it's a great place to work, so they want to learn from each other. For knowledge, capital, co-development of solutions, it's the start of a very interesting relationship with an interesting and promising future. The most important thing is both institutions are aligned in missions and in values — it makes the path smoother.
Talk to the deal team
Partner
View profile
Director
View profile
