Based on data collected from projects in India, Ghana and Pakistan that aim to improve financial inclusion for rural women, the authors examine the interplay between gender dynamics and the employment of women as agents supplying in cash-in and cash-out (CICO) services. This includes the impact these agents can have on communities, the challenges faced by women in becoming and succeeding as agents, and possible solutions to these challenges.
While training to become CICO agents,
Norway’s Spenn Technology recently expanded its partnership with the Rwandan unit of Kenya’s Investments & Mortgages (I&M) Bank to allow users of the Spenn mobile application to send money to any financial services provider in Rwanda, including banks and competing mobile money services. The app’s other features include
Themed “Shaping a Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem,” the upcoming edition of this event – the first in-person since 2019 – will focus on client protection to help “low-income and vulnerable” people reduce risks as they use financial tools. Although the detailed agenda has not yet been finalized, it is expected to include topics such as: (1) Balancing Responsible Finance Between
The authors of this report offer a taxonomy to help measure the positive and negative impacts of the products and services of financial institutions, with the aim of enabling these institutions to build a better understanding of various elements of sustainable development. The “impact radar” includes a range of “impact areas” and constituent
This paper addresses the measurement and causes of financial well-being in Latin America with the aim of encouraging the deployment of optimal policies and practices by both private institutions and governments. To define the term, Mr Cárdenas cites the US-based Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which considers a high level of financial well-being to mean individuals can “meet their financial obligations successfully, can feel secure about their financial future and are able to make decisions
This paper offers an analysis of data collected from alumni of the Women’s World Banking Leadership & Diversity for Innovation Program (LDIP), which engages “senior executives and high-potential women leaders to enable them to successfully serve low-income women” customers of financial service providers (FSPs). The authors focus on “the strategic business initiatives of LDIP participants” and
FINCA Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a subsidiary of US-based FINCA Impact Finance, recently announced a partnership with Flash International, a DRC-based financial technology (fintech) company. FINCA customers will gain access to Flash App, Flash International’s mobile financial services platform, while Flash customers will
Compañia Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES), a development finance institution controlled by the Spanish government, recently unveiled a new program called Triple Bottom Line Inclusive Finance in Latin America (TIF), in collaboration with the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), a unit of the government of Spain. TIF aims to support low-income populations in Latin America by increasing access to loans while
Wallet Factory, a financial technology company based in the UK, recently partnered with Belize Bank Limited, a commercial bank in Belize, to create E-kyash, a digital payment platform aiming to ease financial transactions for people without bank accounts. E-kyash’s offerings include utility bill payments, retail payments via
The authors of this paper investigated “how consumers acquire knowledge of financial numeracy and how it’s applied, especially to their economic and social lives.” Past research has shown both higher borrowing costs and over-spending to be correlated with
To protect the health of their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, financial institutions have largely shifted their employees to working from home (WFH), increasing various cyber risks. During a two-month period early in the pandemic, “the use of remote access technologies such as the remote desktop protocol (RDP) and virtual private network (VPN)” increased by 41 percent and 33 percent, respectively. The authors posit
Even as worldwide access to financial services expands, women remain underrepresented among elected officeholders. This panel discussion will center on how access to finance can increase the political empowerment of women. The panelists include
This is a summary of a paper by Roy Mersland, Samuel Anokye Nyarko and Ariane Szafarz; published by CERSEM; February 2019; 11 pages; available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673418301574
Most microfinance organizations (MFOs) provide access to financial services with the goal of catalyzing development in impoverished communities. However, MFOs, like other social enterprises
This is a summary of a paper by Danielle Moore, Zahra Niazi, Rebecca Rouse and Berber Kramer; published by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA); January 2019; 16 pages; available at
https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/publications/Building-Resilience-Through-Financial-Inclusion-January-2019.pdf
Lower household incomes are linked with lower levels of resilience from financial setbacks. The authors suggest that access to savings and other forms of financial inclusion can
This is a summary of a paper by Jamie Anderson, Ramesh Karuppusamy, Paul Enrico Neumann and Vijendran Thangavel; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); November 2018; 4 pages; available at:
https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/publications/Brief-High-Saving-Youth-Nov-2018_1.pdf
As in many places, mobile financial services are becoming increasingly popular in rural parts of developing countries. However, the authors of this paper argue
The Zambian subsidiary of US-based FINCA Impact Finance has borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.5 million from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation for on-lending in Zambia. FINCA Zambia aims to
Kafo-Jiginew, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Mali, has borrowed EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation to support microlending in Mali. Kafo-Jiginew, which is organized as a credit union, seeks to