Report: In a series of blogs, ISF Advisors and the Mastercard Foundation Rural and Agricultural Finance Learning Lab (the Lab) will introduce major concepts and frameworks that will anchor our upcoming State of the Sector report for rural finance. Building on the “industry model” developed in our 2016 Inflection Point report, these frameworks aim to bring further clarity and insight to the three layers of the market: Rural clients, financial service providers (FSPs), and the capital markets. We hope that by sharing early versions of this thinking we can stimulate debate and discussion across the sector about what is needed to continue to enhance access to rural, agricultural financial services.
Analysis: In a series of blogs, ISF Advisors and the RAF Learning Lab will introduce major concepts and frameworks that will anchor our upcoming State of the Sector report for rural finance. Building on the “industry model” developed in our 2016 Inflection Point report, these frameworks aim to bring further clarity and insight to the three layers of the market: Rural clients, financial service providers, and the capital markets. We hope that by sharing early versions of this thinking we can stimulate debate and discussion across the sector about what is needed to continue to enhance access to rural, agricultural financial services.
Analysis: Building Inclusive Payment Ecosystems in Tanzania and Ghana published by CGAP, offers insight into how Digital Financial Services (DFS) transformed the financial services ecosystem in Tanzania and Ghana.
Analysis: The Digitizing Agricultural Payments publication, jointly published by CGAP and the United Nations Capital Development Fund, highlights how The United Nations Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) and Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited (KCL) created a system to digitize payments to KCL’s 6,000 certified farmers, in Uganda.
Analysis: Part 6 of the Pulse series highlights early learnings around the smallholder finance enabling environment and makes recommendations for future research.
Community: Part 1 of ISF's and RAF Learning Lab's Pulse series shares insights and trends on customer centric approaches in the rural and smallholder finance sector.
Analysis: CGAP’s National Survey(s) and Segmentation of Smallholder Households in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda explores the financial, agricultural, and digital demands of smallholder households. The surveys are a groundbreaking effort to build a representative evidence base for the demand-side of the smallholder finance equation. The links above provide access to both summary reports and full micro datasets for each country, for further analysis. This blog summarizes a few of the key themes and specific variations across the three countries.
Tool: CGAP recently published a Customer Experience Playbook to help FSPs increase uptake and usage among low-income customers. Although the CX Playbook is targeted at urban clients we think there are many valuable lessons that can be applied to rural communities as well.
Report: CGAP's recent study, Smallholder Diaries, offers valuable insights into smallholder financing needs and supports the broader case for customer centricity to unlock growth in financial solutions.
