MANILA — Martha Sazon, President and CEO of GCash, has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Asia for 2024, highlighting her role in advancing financial inclusion and leading GCash’s transformation into the Philippines’ leading finance super app.
Sazon took over as CEO during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since been instrumental in turning GCash into a crucial financial service for millions of Filipinos. Under her leadership, the app now serves over 90 million users, tripling its pre-pandemic base and becoming the country’s first and only $5 billion unicorn.
“GCash’s mission has always been to provide accessible and affordable financial services for all Filipinos,” Sazon said. “We are proud to be helping millions of people save, invest, get insured, and access loans—many for the first time in their lives.”
With a customer-first approach, GCash has played a key role in boosting financial inclusion in the Philippines. The proportion of Filipinos with bank accounts has surged from 29% before the pandemic to 65% in 2022, largely due to GCash’s innovative solutions such as GSave, GFunds, and GInsure.
GSave has enabled 1 in 4 banked Filipinos to open deposit accounts through the GCash app. GFunds allows users to invest in global and local funds with as little as PHP 50, and GInsure has sold over 23 million insurance policies, making insurance more accessible to many.
Additionally, GCash, through its lending arm Fuse, has disbursed over $2.75 billion in loans to 5.4 million borrowers, with two-thirds of these borrowers being women, low-income individuals, or those living outside Metro Manila.
Sazon’s leadership has earned her several accolades, including CEO of the Year at the IDC Future Enterprise Awards in 2021, Master Innovator at the Mansmith Innovation Awards in 2022, and Woman of the Year at the Asia Leaders Awards in 2023.
Before joining GCash, Sazon had over 20 years of experience in diverse sectors, including food, personal care, and telecommunications. Her extensive background has helped her drive GCash’s exponential growth and position it as a pioneering force in the fintech industry.
The Fortune 100 Most Powerful Women Asia list honors women who lead industry transformation, drive growth, and inspire positive change. Sazon’s inclusion in the list solidifies her as one of the top female executives shaping the financial landscape in Asia.
GCash remains committed to its mission of financial inclusion and continues to expand its services to better serve Filipinos. The app provides a wide range of services from bill payments to investments, all at the convenience of a mobile phone.
