Mobile Money and Interoperability: Competition vs. Financial Inclusion?
A new study shows that interoperability has contrasting effects for financial inclusion in Africa. While it helps lower fees, it also reduces geographical coverage, so how to strike the right balance?
A Win for Women in Rwanda
Mobile money – and concerted efforts by government and mobile money operators to promote it - has helped reduce the financial inclusion gender gap. But more needs to be done.
Micro and Small Enterprises Get Their Own Digital Ambassadors in Colombia
Approximately 16 million people in Colombia depend on income generated from micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Digital platforms and tools can help them grow, but uptake and use is impeded by diverse challenges.
WhatsApp Helps Small Businesses Get Back on Their Feet After the Pandemic
Business support organizations in Brazil and Peru share how they used this digital tool to build entrepreneur communities and capacity.
Incentives for Small Retailers to Climb the Modernization and Digitization Ladder
Lessons from traditional small-scale shopkeepers in Mexico on finding incentives beyond business education and cash provision
Informed Design: A Case Study Series (WomenSave)
The first in a new case study series from FinEquity on informed design and digital financial services (DFS). This study examines product and service design by WomenSave, an organization targeting poor (living on less than $2 a day) women in underserved areas of Uganda through financial literacy training and financial advisory services, access to mobile money and goal-based savings plans.
Informed Design: A Case Study Series (Lucy)
The second installment in a new case study series from FinEquity on informed design and digital financial services (DFS). This study examines product and service design by Lucy, a neobank for entrepreneurial women—specifically Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore—providing DFS and business-building tools and training through a mobile app to help them start and grow their businesses.
The Resilience of Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa
Quick responses by providers and regulators in the region helped mobile money keep growing despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Support for agent networks and more flexible on-boarding practices were key.
SME Finance Loans for Growth Impact Report 2020
This report shows how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging and frontier markets benefit from access to finance, as well as how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.