One of the goals of Ghana’s new digital financial services (DFS) Policy is to close the gender gap by ensuring that at least 85 percent of women have financial accounts by 2023. But what should the public and private sector consider while implementing the policy to bring real change for women? The authors suggest five
In Senegal, most remittance services operate over-the-counter cash collections but lockdown restrictions are making it hard for people to collect the money sent by relatives abroad. Even as remittances dwindle due to lockdowns in the countries where the migrant workers are based, UNCDF says more action is now needed to develop and scale up digital
New research from Caribou Data provides a unique perspective into the digital lives of micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya, quantifying how they use digital platforms to enable their business.
In 2015, Mercy Corps launched the AgriFin Accelerate (AFA) Programme; a six-year, $24 million project with an ambitious goal of reaching one million farmers with digital financial services across Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. This blog focused on Zambia tells the story of the program between 2015 and 2019 during which AFA and a network of
Senior financial sector specialist Stefan Staschen makes a strong case for open banking in emerging markets and why it would be important especially today in a COVID-19 world. Open banking, he writes, could advance financial inclusion in emerging markets by dealing with some of the pain points related to spending, savings, and credit, usually experienced
Catalyst Fund shares several examples of how its portfolio are helping customers in emerging economies through the COVID-19 crisis. By using their existing solutions and additional innovations, the fintechs are helping people access critical health insurance, send money to their families, access essential goods and services, and better manage current finances via financial advice. In
As impact evidence grows, so should our understanding of the impact of various digital finance products on low income users. We've launched the third addition of our EGM, revealing new insights with almost double the studies since 2017.
This research explores how digital financial services are used in Kenya, providing valuable insights for product managers, FinTech entrepreneurs, policymakers, and DFS practitioners.
The report is based on a representative sample of 1,000 Kenyans with data-enabled mobile phones—“Digital Kenyans”—gathered between September and November 2017 by Caribou Data.