MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF, Quizrr, Ulula, Wagely Supporting Financial, Digital Literacy for Garment Workers in Bangladesh

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently committed approximately USD 556,000 to support pilot training programs for workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The funding will pay for technical assistance and performance-based grants for three firms seeking to promote financial and digital literacy skills and hence financial and digital inclusion for 135,000 individuals working in the sector, mostly women. UNCDF’s implementing partners for the project are Quizrr, Ulula and wagely. Wagely is to offer participants its Earned Wage Access service, which allows workers to retrieve their salaries in advance. The other two firms are collaborating to provide digital training on “human rights and responsibilities, worker engagement and digital wages.”

Founded in 2020, wagely is an Indonesian platform whose mission is “to provide a sustainable solution for all employees in breaking the cycle of debt caused by overdraft fees, high-interest credit or payday loans and play a leading role in building financial wellness for lower- and middle-income workers….”

Quizrr is a Sweden-based education technology (edtech) company established in 2013. It offers digital worker training from offices in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Sweden. The firm reports having served 1.3 million users who work in 600 factories.

Launched in 2013, Ulula, which means “reveal” in Chichewa, is a Canadian company whose services include anonymous feedback and engagement solutions for workers to report human rights violations as well as tools for measuring the scale of firms’ contributions towards UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company reports having served 1.6 million users in 40 countries.

Established in 1966 and headquartered in the US city of New York, UNCDF endeavours to create opportunities for poor people and their businesses by increasing access to microfinance and other forms of investment capital. The organisation operates in 47 low-income countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific with a particular focus on countries emerging from crises. For 2020, UNCDF had a budget of USD 75 million and supported initiatives providing financial services to 3 million unbanked and underbanked clients.

By Saulius Simonas Ramanauskas, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Sources

UNCDF press release
https://www.uncdf.org/article/7684/financial-digital-solutions-garment-workers-bangladesh

Quizrr homepage
https://www.quizrr.se

Ulula homepage
https://ulula.com

Wagely homepage
https://www.wagely.app

UNCDF homepage
https://www.uncdf.org

Previous MicroCapital brief on UNCDF
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-public-sector-commits-61m-to-smes-via-bamboo-uncdf-initiative-for-the-least-developed-build-fund

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