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Studying financial services for migrant workers

· Hanna Yim selected as an Obama Foundation Scholar

· Learned about the vulnerable situation of migrant workers in Korea when previously working for KOICA, now continuing her work at a remittance service start-up

“Migrant workers arrive in a foreign country, stay for a while and return to their home countries. I would like to closely look into their journeys in order to find ways to provide better financial products and services at each phase,” said Hanna Yim (34), Head of Business Impact at Sentbe, while sharing her reaction to being selected as an Obama Foundation Scholar.

The Obama Foundation announced the list of 32 scholars who will study at the University of Chicago and Columbia University for the 2019-2020 academic year. Hanna Yim, who is the only Korean among the scholars, will work toward a Master of Arts degree focusing on International Development and Policy at the Harris School of Public Policy of the University of Chicago.

Her goals are shared on the Obama Foundation Scholars announcement as follows: “producing rigorous evidence that will inform policymakers and businesses by making remittance services and remittance-linked financial products accessible to all migrants in the world and their families.”


The Obama Foundation Scholars program aims to empower the next-generation of global leaders by giving them opportunities to deepen their knowledge and skills. Last year’s first cohort is succeeded this year by a second cohort of young leaders with diverse backgrounds: from a humanitarian activist to a software developer, to a film director, and to a former government policy advisor. Their countries of origin are as diverse, including China, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, and Brazil. “We are eager to grow this international network of changemakers with our second cohort of Scholars,” stated the Obama Foundation.

“I once came across a survey result on the living conditions of migrant workers in Korea. According to the survey, migrant workers need to send their hard-earned income to their families back home, but often rely on informal money transfer because banks’ remittances fee are too expensive for them. For instance, more than 80% of Nepali migrant workers responded they used informal remittance channels.”


While previously working for the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Hanna Yim learned that migrant workers often find themselves excluded from the mainstream financial system. Searching for ways to support them, she joined Sentbe, a digital remittance service startup incorporated in 2015.


“The international community, such as the United Nations and G20, as well as the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been striving to lower the cost of remittance for migrant workers. I hope to find ways in which to implement these high-level policies in the real world by connecting and sharing ideas with other scholars while participating in the Obama Foundation Scholars program.”


Published in Maeil Business Newspaper on June 20, 2019.

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