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Ghana: DFS Taking Off Amid New Regulations and Market Momentum

Ghana looks increasingly poised to assert its regional leadership in digital financial services in West Africa.

Consumer Risks and Rewards Amid Increased Competition in Kenya

In Kenya, product development and the growth of agent networks are moving in the right direction to provide customers with more options, but we must also remain mindful of the risks these developments pose to customers.

Cutting the Cost of Remittances

For migrant workers, the costs of remitting money remains high. However, three trends that could disrupt the remittances status quo are emerging.

Building Resilient Households in Burkina Faso

Freedom from Hunger conducted a 7-month project using the diaries of rural households in Burkina Faso to gauge how formal, non-formal and informal financial products affect household resilience.

myAgro, HCD, and Supporting Smallholder Savings in Senegal

myAgro, CGAP, and IDEO.org are partnering to use human-centered design to further align product offerings in Senegal with smallholders’ behaviors, needs, and aspirations.

A December Bonus for Mozambican Farmers

In the Smallholder Financial Diaries, currently underway in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Pakistan, a detailed view of the seasonal cycles that govern smallholder farmer’s lives is becoming clearer.

Cocoa Producers in Côte d’Ivoire: Cash vs. Digital

Branchless banking presents an enormous opportunity for smallholder cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire, a client segment that contributes to up to 10% of the countries GDP.

Savings Groups Fuel Digital Design for Smallholders in Rwanda

Interviews with over 75 farmers, banking officials, traders, co-ops, and savings groups in Rwanda offer key insights to drive the design of new digital financial services and products.

Four Ways Energy Access Can Propel Financial Inclusion

Now that mobile money platforms have become widespread, the private sector is using these services to power the delivery of additional services, such as pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar energy.

Financial Innovation and Solar Power: Conquering Energy Poverty

Early evidence suggests that more people can get electricity with the help of financial innovation. There are two key ways financial innovation is expanding access to electricity around the world.

Which Markets are Ready for Digital Finance Plus?

Innovative businesses are leveraging Digital Finance Plus to link poor communities with essential services. The success of these businesses is driven by multiple market factors. We explore which factors matter most based on a framework CGAP developed with McKinsey.

Geography Matters When Talking about Smallholders

As a smallholder, geography not only determines the climate of your village and the farm-readiness of your land, but also plays a role in determining how well-connected you are to irrigation, inputs like seeds and fertilizer, buyers, markets, and training.

Smallholder Households: A Financial Inclusion Imperative

A new Focus Note provides early insights into the Smallholder Households Financial Diaries project and highlights how smallholders weave together agricultural and nonagricultural sources of income to meet their needs.

Top 10 Things to Know About M-Shwari

CGAP’s latest Forum publication explores M-Shwari and examines what a critical gap it fills for Kenyan households. We highlight 10 facts about M-Shwari that mobile money watchers should know.

6 Insights Driving Digital Design for Smallholders in Zimbabwe

IDEO.org designers have traveled across Zimbabwe to gain an important understanding of the lives and aspirations of Zimbabwe’s smallholder households.

"It's About Life," Not Just Agriculture

Agriculture is just one of many sources of income for smallholder farmer households. This post focuses on how one family that has dealt with multiple unexpected financial demands and diverse sources of income.

Econet Embraces HCD to Develop Digital Ecosystem for Smallholders

Recognizing the importance of serving smallholder families, Econet Wireless Ltd is investing in financial products and services that overcome the numerous challenges that they face.

Fraud in Uganda: How Millions Were Lost to Internal Collusion

Kampala’s Anti-Corruption Court is at the epicenter of a major mobile money fraud. The very public nature of this case will hopefully lead to some positive outcomes among industry actors in mobile money markets around the world.

Mobile Money Moves Forward in Uganda Despite Legal Hurdles

Despite unfavorable financial sector laws, Uganda is among the most successful countries in Africa with regards to mobile financial services (MFS).

How Tanzania Established Mobile Money Interoperability

Tanzania’s mobile money industry is flourishing. With a new set of standards governing person-to-person payments across multiple networks, it’s now evident that interoperability is here to stay.