By providing a familiar environment for small transactions, agency banking can foster good financial habits.

Youssef Fawaz of the Lebanese MFI Al Majmoua, shares the difficult reality of trying to keep an established institution running while the economy collapses around it.

Over 164 million migrant workers make a living in a foreign country, and almost 26 million refugees have been forced to flee due to conflict. Unfortunately, while migrant workers are on the move, their data is not, often preventing them from accessing financial services or better jobs. Developing a digital identity system is one potential solution to this problem.

Informal Savings Mechanisms (ISMs) have long been important to many people’s day-to-day money management across Africa. But as formal financial services become much more prevalent in the region, what will happen to these ISMs? Will they fall by the wayside as the digital revolution takes over? 

Digital financial services (DFS) and FinTech innovations continued to grow in 2017, with increased trust in DFS and more interoperability. But challenges remain...