Browsing Topics
Choose a primary topic (based on our learning agenda) or popular topic at the right, or click "all topics" to view the full list of topics. Posts can be also be filtered by format or region.
Choose Topic:
- Agribusinesses (value chain actors)
- Alternative data
- Asset financing
- CGAP
- Client Demand
- Client Voice
- Climate-Smart Agriculture
- Cost Efficiency
- Credit Assessment
- Delivery Channel
- Digital Financial Services
- Ecosystems for SHF finance
- Evidence on Impact
- Farmer Organizations
- Farmer Technical Assistance
- Financial services advisory
- Food Security
- Fund for Rural Prosperity
- Funders (donors/investors)
- Human Centered Design
Analysis: In this short focus note, RAF Learning Lab partner, Mercy Corps Agrifin Accelerate (AFA) Program, collaborated with the Mediae Company by providing a financial education mentor and developing a Web-based budgeting tool to accompany the reality TV show called Don’t Lose the Plot as part of a strategy to engage young people in farming as a business, leveraging digital tools and services.
Analysis: The eighth blog in the Pulse series explores the rising number of new databases emerging in smallholder finance and the opportunities for funders/donors, financial service providers, and researchers to engage.
Media: In this seven-minute video, the Lab digs deep into business model sustainability by following the Musoni Kenya team to understand how going digital can help achieve scale and drive profitability.
Analysis: The seventh blog in the Pulse series unpacks what we know about farmer impact and identifies the knowledge gaps for improving our understanding moving forward.
Tool: On November 10, RAF partners and friends gathered for the third annual Mastercard Foundation RAF Partner Learning Workshop in Accra, Ghana.
Report: This October 2017 Better Than Cash Alliance report examines how shifting to digital payments can provide powerful solutions to help countries improve agricultural productivity and ensure food security, bringing higher incomes and greater financial inclusion.
Analysis: On October 5, 2017 the RAF Learning Lab hosted a RAF Partner webinar to discuss and share learnings from our Annual Learning Review. View the deck below for more information.
Report: On behalf of IDH and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Enclude has recently completed a report analyzing trends and lessons learned about how technical assistance can contribute to scaling investments in the agricultural sector.
Analysis: The third in the Learning Brief series, "Understanding profitability in smallholder finance", intends to (1) bring clarity to efforts currently undertaken by financial service providers (FSPs) to reach financial sustainability and (2) set the stage for future research. Drawing from a review of Mastercard Foundation rural and agricultural finance (RAF) partner experiences – including documentation, interviews a survey of 17 financial service providers, and secondary research from external sources – this brief provides FSPs with evidence to guide their journey in achieving financial sustainability.
Analysis: Half of Africa's farmers are women, yet women have consistently lower access than men to productive resources and opportunities – including land, livestock, training, extension and financial services, and technology.
Analysis: Part 6 of the Pulse series highlights early learnings around the smallholder finance enabling environment and makes recommendations for future research.
Media: As part of a Learning Lab Webinar series to highlight and showcase the work of our partners, on July 20, 2017 we hosted a webinar with Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) and Juhudi Kilimo – a Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Winner – focused on the use of psychometrics for smallholder credit scoring. This blog includes webinar materials such as the presentation, recording, and responses to any questions that we were unable to answer during the webinar due to limited time.