GSMAThe GSMA is assessing the true potential of Libra’s financial inclusion objectives and highlights the factors—such as geographical reach, identification, and the connectivity gap—that have impacted its first year of operation. Read more
CGAPCGAP recently partnered with the Busara Center for Behavioural Economics to find out how low-income Kenyans use M-PESA. Findings highlighted that M-PESA remains primarily a payments tool while users save elsewhere, digital credit does not stay digital for long, and the average user saw 2 to 5 agents for deposits compared to 10 to 20
UNCDFThe Annual Provider Survey provides a comprehensive view of the state of the DFS market in Sierra Leone. Key challenges hindering the expansion and improvement of DFS in the country include regulatory barriers, limited digital skills of the target population and lack of interoperability between providers. Read more
MercyCorps AFAHaloYako is a digitally enabled saving service in Tanzania offered by Halotel, an MNO in partnership with FINCA Microfinance Bank and supported in part by Mercy Corps Agrifin Accelerate. The blog shares strategies that have contributed to the success of HaloYako amongst men and women below 35 in Tanzania. Read more
UNCDFThe Annual Provider Survey provides a comprehensive view of the state of the DFS market in Zambia. The main challenges for providers include customer dormancy, agent liquidity challenges, developing viable business models to expand services into rural areas and limited internal capacity to support sufficient data analysis and reporting. Read more
Annabel SchiffThe world’s working-age population is growing – and nowhere more rapidly than in sub-Saharan Africa. To keep pace with this growing population, 600 million new jobs must be created globally over the next 15 years. That’s a tall order, but micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are making this goal achievable. MSMEs are the backbone of most economies worldwide, and they play a key role in developing countries, according to the United Nations.
MercyCorps AFAMercy Corps AgriFin Accelerate found, 90 percent of farmers ages 18 to 35 in Kenya have high levels of engagement with information and communication technology. They are active users of social media, particularly Facebook, Google and WhatsApp, and are bringing a new dynamism and perspective to agriculture. However, youth are not homogenous. Mercy Corps AgriFin
GSMASub-Saharan Africa: The enduring epicentre of mobile money—Part 1 discusses how, while the adoption of mobile money has grown across the globe, sub-Saharan Africa maintains the lead in both adoption and use. And Part 2 looks at the future of mobile money listing the key areas of future growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more
Marissa DeanPlatforms are increasingly offering financial services, with implications for platform business models and financial inclusion.