Project background

The Financial Inclusion for Refugees Project (FI4R) project was launched in 2019 by FSD Uganda and FSD Africa to support financial service providers (FSPs) to offer financial services to refugees and host communities.

The project is supporting three financial service providers (FSPs) Equity Bank Uganda Limited (EBUL), Vision Fund Uganda (VFU) and Rural Finance Initiative (RUFI) to offer financial services to refugees and host communities.

As the learning partner, BFA Global is conducting refugee financial diaries in Uganda to provide insights into the financial strategies employed by refugees over time to build their livelihoods and
manage their finances. The research covers refugees in Bidi Bidi, Palorinya and Nakivale refugee settlements.

The insights from this study aim to build the evidence base for financial service providers, humanitarian agencies and telcos to understand the financial lives of refugees in Uganda and to inform
stakeholders of the opportunities available in serving refugees across different contexts.