Visa Path to Access

Expanding access to the digital economy could uplift everyone, everywhere and accelerate global growth – and it has never been more critical. At Visa, we are committed to empowering individuals and communities because together we can prosper.

Discover more about the power of access – click below to watch the Visa Path to Access video

Unlocking Opportunities through Access

Access to the digital economy allows people all over the world to unlock new opportunities – opportunities to expand their businesses, create jobs, access services and promote inclusivity. Through the Visa Path to Access Campaign, we have a unique opportunity to better understand the digital economy across nine markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) and explore the ways to accelerate and enable access for all

Bridging The Digital Divide: Paths to Financial Inclusion Through The Digital Economy  - Virtual Event 

The World Economic Forum valued the global digital economy at US$14.5trn in 2021. Over the next few decades, it’s poised to be a critical engine of global growth: in some countries in the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region, enabling universal access could boost GDP per capita by around 40% by 2045 ¹.

Digital inclusion is more than just the ability to access technology—it also presents the valuable opportunity to participate fully in society. However, not everyone has equal access to the digital economy, an access gap that is preventing individuals, businesses, and entire economies from availing of the multiple benefits of the digital transition. 

‘Bridging The Digital Divide: Paths to Financial Inclusion Through The Digital Economy’ brings together a panel of regional and global experts to assess and analyze the prevalent barriers and the inherent opportunities related to unlocking digital access. In doing so, the panel brings a host of valuable insights to light on how to create an enabling environment for digital enterprises, current consumer and SME digitisation trends, and the best-practice policies and regulatory frameworks to propel financial inclusion, amongst others. The speakers also highlight key public and private sector collaboration and incentives that have been effective in paving a more equitable path to prosperity.

Discover why the digital economy matters, and how it can unlock access for everyone, everywhere. 


Visa Path to Access Podcast Series

In the Visa Path To Access podcast series, industry leaders and financial experts explore how unlocking access to the digital economy can bring significant benefits to individuals, businesses and entire economies. 

Join Visa and guests to hear the key challenges that need to be addressed to enable access and unlock growth opportunities for everyone, everywhere. Throughout the series, our experts identify and share insights on what remains to be done across CEMEA to realise the goal of a more equitable future – one where entire economies, businesses, and individuals are uplifted as we progress along the path to global prosperity.

Episode 1. Levelling the digital playing field: Why access is the critical component to drive economic growth for everyone, everywhere

Digital inclusion is more than merely the ability to access technology, it also presents a valuable opportunity for individuals to participate fully. While many now have access to the internet, various barriers that prevent full participation in the digital economy still need to be addressed. 

Join industry experts Andrew Torre, Regional President, CEMEA at Visa, and Aamir Kureshi, Head Consumer, Agriculture & SME Banking at Habib Bank Ltd, as they discuss how we can overcome the digital divide, alongside strategies by which organizations and stakeholders can collaborate to uplift economies, businesses and individuals, everywhere.


Episode 2. Creative Assets: Financial Education on Increasingly Accessible Digital Economy Gives Creators Tools to Prosper, Monetize, and Ensure Long-term Growth

Financial education gives content creators tools to prosper, monetize, and ensure long term growth

The creator economy is increasingly taking centre stage. An estimated 50 million people worldwide are now earning primary income as content creators, a number that has more than doubled since 2019¹.

Technology has changed the game for amateur storytellers, who can now access a number of ways by which to create content and leverage social media platforms in order to gain maximum exposure. And, for the first time, technological advances are enabling creators to access empowering tools that can help them to shift to more lucrative and sustainable business models. 

We assess the opportunity for creators of all kinds – from videographers and vloggers, podcasters and photographers, to writers, artists, and course creators - to build their own authentic communities while maximising usage of the numerous tools available to them in today’s increasingly open digital world. 

We also explore the role financial education has to play in the continued growth and development of  the creator economy, and address some critical topics, including: how access to financial education can help creators to move from a reliance on sponsorship and revenue-sharing to unlock the full scope of the monetization opportunity; how social media can be leveraged to disseminate essential financial information to the creator cohort; and what the benefits for creators when accessing expert-led financial education workshops and masterclasses.

Finally, we learn about how Visa is unlocking access for creators to enable them to avail of the full scope of opportunity. And, most important of all, explore how creators are contributing to the digital economy.


Stay tuned for updates, more to come on Visa Path to Access.