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The Rural Finance Working Group presents the study: “Policy guidelines for donor support to member-owned financial institutions in rural Sub-Saharan Africa”
This study by the Rural Finance Working Group proposes separate policy guidelines for saving groups and financial cooperatives as both require specific expertise. The Rural Finance Working Group was formed under MicroNed and has been led by Terrafina Microfinance.
This inventory of technology report gives an overview of 34 geodata applications and their potential added value for inclusive finance. The report states that for a long time the application of solutions involving satellite data was considered only appropriate for large, commercial farms but thanks to advances in mobile communication, availability of free data and the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) Facility satellite applications become feasible for smallholders in developing countries. The main areas in which geodata can support financial inclusion are:
1. Support for financial operations,
2. Improving agricultural performance,
3. Provision of historical records,
4. Risk management.
In light of a growing demand for food, smallholder farmers are crucial in supplying the world with sufficient food. In order to achieve this much needed growth, access to affordable and appropriate finance is key for smallholder farmers. On the other side, financial institutions see agriculture lending as risky and costly and do not easily lend to smallholder farmers. A study commissioned by NpM showed that lack of understanding of agriculture at the financial institution’s level leads to overestimation of the risks and costs involved. At the same time new technologies and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are now being used to boost production. ICT information systems are able to address knowledge gaps at farmer level. New ICT solutions in banking assist to reach out to remote rural areas and new groups of smallholders. Through ICT applications in banking, costs of financial service delivery have reduced while outreach has improved. How can these developments in agriculture on the one hand, and finance on the other, be combined to improve finance for smallholders to the required levels?
Lack of access to financial services can represent a major impediment to income opportunities and economic welfare of individuals, particularly for the poor and vulnerable, and those engaged in the informal economy. Affordable access to financial services can help refugees cope with negative shocks, reduce exposure to risk, and stimulate economic activity at community levels.
In order to develop more inclusive financial markets, it is necessary to address the specific constraints in each context that prevent an efficient match between demand and supply of financial services, limiting access, use and quality of available services. While legal and policy barriers remain, the biggest constraint to increased financial inclusion of refugees is a familiarity gap between refugees and FSPs, fuelled by ingrained stereotypes and preconceived ideas. The support system around FSPs, while growing, remains fragmented, and many FSPs continue to be constrained by a lack of (easy) access to the information, guidance and support needed to identify, assess, and potentially serve refugees as customers.
This state of play paper aims to provide a brief overview of the global potential market scope of refugees and review the progress to improve access to finance by refugees in the past few years. Remaining barriers are briefly described, including policy clarity, relevant information, legal barriers, and funding. This list of gaps is by no means complete but it is hoped that the International Conference Finance for Refugees – Making it Work can contribute to filling the void.
Lack of access to financial services can represent a major impediment to income opportunities and economic welfare of individuals, particularly for the poor and vulnerable, and those engaged in the informal economy. Affordable access to financial services can help refugees cope with negative shocks, reduce exposure to risk, and stimulate economic activity at community levels.
In order to develop more inclusive financial markets it is necessary to address the specific constraints in each context that prevent an efficient match between demand and supply of financial services, limiting access, use and quality of available services. While legal and policy barriers remain, the biggest constraint to increased financial inclusion of refugees is a familiarity gap between refugees and FSPs, fuelled by ingrained stereotypes and preconceived ideas. The support system around FSPs, while growing, remains fragmented, and many FSPs continue to be constrained by a lack of (easy) access to the information, guidance and support needed to identify, assess, and potentially serve refugees as customers.
This state of play paper aims to provide a brief overview of the global potential market scope of refugees, and review the progress to improve access to finance by refugees in the past few years. Remaining barriers are briefly described, including policy clarity, relevant information, legal barriers, and funding. This list of gaps is by no means complete but it is hoped that the International Conference Finance for Refugees – Making it Work can contribute to filling the void.
Experts, investors, and practitioners gathered to explore the potential of geodata for inclusive finance and food security at the NpM expert meeting. Guest speakers from different sectors – financial inclusion, agriculture, and geospatial information – shared their know-how and four practitioners presented their geodata projects. This led to a lively discussion which NpM will follow up on.
This assessment of the status of greening inclusive finance across the members of the Dutch Platform for Inclusive Finance (NpM) has been undertaken by Enclude in order to determine which next steps should follow the 2015 signing of the Letter of Intent. The Letter was presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, detailing the shared intentions of the NpM members to make policies and practices more green.
In a final workshop (14 September 2016) in which the draft findings of this survey were presented to the NpM members, it was agreed to ask NpM’s coordination and facilitation of the following next steps:
1. The definition of Green Inclusive Finance.
2. Risk return perspective vs. opportunities.
3. Case development: seen from triple value creation.
4. The role of technology.
5. More aligned indicators.
6. Regulations.
7. Awareness raising and needs identification.
La NpM a sélectionné 14 projets financés par NPN ou AgriProFocus (APF) en Éthiopie, au Mali, au Rwanda et en Ouganda pour la manière innovante dont l’accès au financement a été créé pour les petits exploitants, montrant qu’une totale collaboration est fondamentale. Dans cette étude, des projets ayant déjà fait leurs preuves ont été sélectionnés. Le projet de recherche a été élaboré avec ICCO Terrafina Microfinance (TMF), Agriterra, la plateforme européenne de la microfinance (e-MFP), le Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) et l’Université et le Centre de recherche de Wageningen (Wageningen UR). La Food & Business Knowledge Platform (F&BKP), la NpM et l’APF ont financé l’étude.
La NpM a sélectionné 14 projets financés par NPN ou AgriProFocus (APF) en Éthiopie, au Mali, au Rwanda et en Ouganda pour la manière innovante dont l’accès au financement a été créé pour les petits exploitants, montrant qu’une totale collaboration est fondamentale. Dans cette étude, des projets ayant déjà fait leurs preuves ont été sélectionnés. Le projet de recherche a été élaboré avec ICCO Terrafina Microfinance (TMF), Agriterra, la plateforme européenne de la microfinance (e-MFP), le Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) et l’Université et le Centre de recherche de Wageningen (Wageningen UR). La Food & Business Knowledge Platform (F&BKP), la NpM et l’APF ont financé l’étude.
