Despite ongoing efforts to serve the world’s 450 million smallholder households—the largest client segment by livelihood of those living under $2 a day—little is known about their financial needs and desires.

That is why we believe that a human-centered approach can play a crucial role in providing insights into how to design digital financial products and services for smallholders. HCD is a process built on learning directly from customers in their own environments. The process challenges financial providers to understand, create, evolve, and test possible solutions and repeat the cycle for as many times as it takes.