Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDP) Programme

Overview

Abstract

The programme promotes the development and delivery of financial services for refugees and other Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDP) communities in Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC. The services developed are intended to link directly into survival and livelihood strategies of these communities and help shift the paradigm from humanitarian-based to market-based solutions. It also promotes the financial inclusion amongst host communities.

Results

  1. Financial inclusion of 300,000+ refugees and FDPs H
  2. Increased resilience and welfare enhancement
  3. Creation of 50+ direct jobs
  4. Income generation
  5. More affordable, convenient and competitive financial solutions developed for refugees and FDPs
  6. Replication in other settlements and countries
  7. Policy and regulation changes to facilitate the registration of refugees and FDPs
  8. Additional funds mobilised to support refugee interventions

Project Details

Project Title

Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDP) Programme

Implementing Partner

Equity Bank Uganda Limited, Rural Finance Initiative, Vision Fund Uganda Limited, Equity Rwanda Limited

Donor(s)

FCDO

Value (in £)

593,411

Implementation Period

2017 - 2023

Countries Covered

Rwanda, Uganda, DRC

Project Description

The programme promotes the development and delivery of financial services for refugees and other Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDP) communities in Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC. The services developed are intended to link directly into survival and livelihood strategies of these communities and help shift the paradigm from humanitarian-based to market-based solutions. It also promotes the financial inclusion amongst host communities.

Target results

  1. Financial inclusion of 300,000+ refugees and FDPs H
  2. Increased resilience and welfare enhancement
  3. Creation of 50+ direct jobs
  4. Income generation
  5. More affordable, convenient and competitive financial solutions developed for refugees and FDPs
  6. Replication in other settlements and countries
  7. Policy and regulation changes to facilitate the registration of refugees and FDPs
  8. Additional funds mobilised to support refugee interventions

Progress

The DRC project was discontinued after the seed funding in 2019 following change of strategic focus.

The Uganda project ended in March 2022 and had achieved the following:

  1. 26,300+ customers accessing loans, 73% of which are female
  2. Cumulative loans amounting to £1.9 million ($2.25million)
  3. 262 bank agents recruited across refugee settlements, 15% of which are women
  4. 93,300+ households registered on Equity Bank Uganda’s digital platform (average household size of 8)
  5. 65,484 households receiving digital payments through Equity Bank Uganda
  6. Equity Bank Uganda made payments worth UGX 10.8 Bn (£2.2m) during the January – March quarter of 2022
  7. 8 humanitarian agencies used Equity Bank Uganda’s platform for disbursements

The Uganda project also provided useful research outputs including a baseline survey of refugee and host communities, 4 series of financial diaries and an endline survey at the end of the project. All the project partners are continuing with their services to refugees.

The Equity Bank Rwanda project has been extended to March 2023. As at December 2022, the bank had opened 54,300 accounts for refugees, with 23,780 accounts having savings. The bank had facilitated 62,000 remittance transactions.

Updated: March, 2023