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.
Sweeter Prospects for Cocoa Farmers
Cocoa is one of the world’s most prized foods, but the smallholder farmers in Cote d’Ivoire who produce it live in extreme poverty. Formal land ownership can improve their financial outlook.
The Power of Community-Based Organizations to Mobilize Farmers’ Savings
A Scale2Save project in Cote d’Ivoire shares what they’ve learned working with farmer cooperatives as financial agents.
State of the Sector: Agri-Insurance for Smallholder Farmers
This report takes stock of the current state of agri-insurance for smallholder households, distilling what has changed in the sector since 2018 and proposing a set of priority areas to guide work over the next five years.
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.
How To Keep the Human Touch While Digitizing Agricultural Value Chains
Hedwig Siewertsen of AGRA discusses the different digital solutions for financing agricultural value chains that were shared at African Microfinance Week this year.
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.