Financial Inclusion and the Frugality of Mobile Money for the BOP
Mobile money and digital financial services are frugal innovations and proven vehicles for providing and deepening access to formal financial services among the unbanked and underserved citizens. What is a frugal product and how does mobile money fit into this description? To be frugal means to be efficient at adding value amidst scarce resources. Frugal […]
Financial inclusion, a sustainable pathway to empowering women
Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals is one of the most ambitious projects on the planet. A project of immense scale and unfathomable impact, it is no surprise that several experts have doubted the possibility of ever attaining them. Why? For one, the SDGs are severely underfunded as the estimated budget is $USD 5–7 trillion, and […]
COVID-19 and MONEY
Monitoring the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the financial service industry We’re all going to remember this coronavirus pandemic a bit differently. Students are at home, churches and mosques are empty, international travel is at a historic low, medical resources are stretched thin and some countries are on lockdown. The coronavirus pandemic is rocking the […]
For Nigeria’s poor, Covid-19 is just one out of a myriad of life hazards
For Nigeria’s poor, Covid-19 is just one of a myriad of life hazards As the entire planet battles against the rage of the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s poor remain evermore vulnerable. And in a country like Nigeria where 50 percent of the near 200 million population already live below the poverty line, getting infected with the […]
Financial inclusion: a low-hanging fruit for post Covid-19 economic recovery and growth in Nigeria
Covid-19 is the sci-fi sounding name given to the latest coronavirus from Wuhan, China. What is now clear is that early warning systems, response protocols, international and national response preparedness and institutions are either unavailable or painfully embryonic. Inevitably, the contagion spread, mainly through global aviation, tourism and even diplomatic activity. In Nigeria, there was […]
Digitised Banking: Greater DFS Innovation Needed to Adequately Decongest Banking Halls
With financial service providers taking major steps to protect staff and customers from COVID-19, this should be the finest moment for DFS! After four weeks of being ‘locked down’ at the directive of the President, the cities of Lagos and the FCT sprang back to life at the lifting of the lockdown. What no one […]
COVID-19 and SDGs: How the pandemic impacts attainment of the SDGs
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major hitch in the attainment of the SDGs, but how bad are we hit? The pandemic impediment to attaining the SDGs The United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is perhaps the most ambitious agenda on the planet. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to produce a better world for humanity […]
Covid-19 and Financial Inclusion in Nigeria: Effects and Implications on Agent Banking
Agent Banking “…is the provision of financial services to customers by a third party (agent) on behalf of a licensed deposit taking financial institution and/or mobile money operator (principal).” (from CBN Agent Banking Guidelines) We’ve written extensively in the past about agent networks and their role in DFS delivery at the last mile, especially in […]
Fast tracking e-KYC for Financial Inclusion
The policy work stream of the SIDFS initiative tracks formulation and reform of public policy, regulation and implementation of agreed consensus on DFS policy direction, periodically communicating developments to stakeholders. Currently, we are engaged in empirical research in a bid to recommend policy/regulatory measures for the promotion of sustainable business models and inclusive products […]
Good insights, better products: the exciting journey into consumer research and DFS innovation
Using insights to describe customer needs and tailoring products around these traits will supercharge adoption of financial products Financial inclusion is an enabler and an effective lever for GDP growth, poverty alleviation and closing the gender gap. The logic is that being financially included leads to improved financial health as it grants citizens, particularly the […]