Country: Sierra Leone

Climate finance innovation for Africa

The African continent presents a massive investment opportunity for investors to advance climate solutions in the coming decade, however, a set of barriers to finance have stifled requisite investment to date. In this new report, in collaboration with Climate Finance Innovation for Africa and Climate Policy Initiative, we provide a framework for how innovation in financing structures can leverage strategic deployment of public capital to ‘crowd-in’ private investment at levels not yet seen.

This paper focuses primarily on climate mitigation, which represents the largest investment opportunity for private investors. We refer audiences focused specifically on adaptation to the work done by the Global Center on Adaptation and Climate Policy Initiative on Financial Innovation for Climate Adaptation in Africa.

Unleashing the power of data to transform businesses

Posted on by Kihingu Inc

Low-income earners, women, and youth who have traditionally been locked out of the financial system are no longer invisible. The advent of mobile money and uptake by this market segment has created data footprints that enable financial service providers (FSPs) to analyse their financial needs. In addition, external research carried out by governments and donors is free and publicly available. This research data is instrumental in enabling financial service providers to obtain a better understanding of clients that they have had no previous interactions with.

The Data Management and Analytics Capabilities (DMAC) project implemented in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia sought to demonstrate the case for the use of data in the product development cycle of banks, insurance companies, and fintechs. Learnings and lessons from the project implementation have been developed into a toolkit that acts as a guide for FSPs seeking to derive maximum value from their internal data, externally available research data and other third-party data, in order to improve their service offering to new and existing clients.

Read more on how to use data to transform financial services here.,

IDRC and FSD Africa enter into a partnership to deepen financial inclusion using big data analytics

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER

Nairobi, Monday 17th July 2017 – Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Deepening Financial Inclusion Using Evidence Based Decision Making’ project.

Digital finance services are increasingly becoming a critical asset for financial service providers (FSPs) within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Digital finance adoption is enabling these providers to improve their operating effectiveness and their service delivery to customers. Digital delivery channels are increasingly becoming a cost-effective method of enabling FSPs to reach a broader clientele. Further, there is a growing realisation within the financial sector that insights derived from analysis of FSPs internal data and big data leads to improved customer value propositions. Hence, it enables FSPs to provide relevant financial services to financially excluded market segments whi low-income women.

The project seeks to demonstrate to FSPs the benefits of using data to make evidence based decisions.  This will involve: i) building the capacity of FSP staff to use data to make evidence based decisions; ii) demonstrating the business case for FSPs to utilise internal data and big data to develop financial products that address the financial needs of different customer segments within their operating environments; iii) building the capacity of local research and data analytics communities to provide data handling support to FSPs; and iv) developing a toolkit that will provide guidance to FSPs seeking to use internal and external data to make evidence based decisions.

Paul Musoke, the Director Competitive Strategies at FSD Africa said: “We are pleased to be partnering with IDRC in this exciting journey. The most significant trend affecting the financial sector today is digital finance services, changing the way products are delivered at scale. With growing digital footprints driven bye mobile phone and internet, poor and excluded people are becoming less anonymous. Coupled with the exponential increase in data that provides deeper insights into how people manage their financial lives, data management and analytics capabilities are going to be imperative for the sustainability of FSPs going forward. The opportunities it offers to profitably reach excluded segments previously regarded as un-bankable, with relevant products at scale are truly exciting.’’

“This pioneering work with FSD Africa will make the business case for investing in data use and analysis, which will hopefully lead to the development of innovative financial products and services better suited for women. By helping service providers better understand women’s needs and the key barriers they are facing, we believe the gender gap in access to finance can be reduced. We know that when women have control over their finances, they are empowered to make better decisions for themselves and their families. We are confident s partnership will contribute to maximising the impact of financial inclusion in a way that fosters opportunities for women and the poor,’’ said Martha Melesse, Senior Program Specialist in charge of the project at IDRC.

The project will cover at least three (3) countries; Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Zambia and will run for a duration of 30 months.

It is our conviction that using data analytics to develop insights into customer preferences will be a powerful spur to game changing product innovation that will have a big impact on people’s lives within SSA.

Notes to Editors

About IDRC

As part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development effort, IDRC invests in knowledge, innovation, and solutions to improve lives and livelihoods in the developing world. Bringing together the right partners around opportunities for impact, IDRC builds leaders for today and tomorrow and helps drive large-scale positive change.

For more information about IDRC’s recent activite subscribe to IDRC’s bulletin and visit:

Twitter: @IDRC_CRDI

LinkedIn: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IDRCCRDI

Website: www.idrc.ca

 

About FSD Africa

FSD Africa is a non-profit company which aims to increase prosperity, create jobs and reduce poverty by bringing about a transformation in financial markets in SSA and in the economies, they serve. It provides know-how and capital to champions of change whose ideas, influence and actions will make finance more useful to African businesses and households. It is funded by the UK aid from the UK Government

For more information about FSD Africa’s activities and current updates follow our social media platforms:

Twitter: @FSDAfrica

Linkedin:  Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa)

Website: www.fsdafrica.org

Email: shakila@fsdafrica.org

FSDA’s credit market development programme: the programme in brief

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER

FSD Africa launched a new Credit Market Development Programme (CMDP) in July 2016. The Programme, which will run for three years, aims to support the development of credit markets across sub-Saharan Africa that are efficient, inclusive and maintain high standards of market conduct in order to expand quality access to retail and SME consumers. The development of effective credit markets will, in turn, contribute to financial sector development, economic growth and job creation. The rate of credit market growth depends on a number of factors. At a country level, credit markets are often undermined by weak regulatory frameworks, low levels of enforcement and insufficient market infrastructure. Such weaknesses breed predatory lending practices and increasing levels of debt stress which, if left unattended, result in increased risk to consumers. In creating an effective legal and institutional framework that supports robust market growth, it is necessary to strike a realistic balance between increased and more inclusive credit supply on the one hand and effective oversight over market conduct and consumer protection on the other.