In 2014, Mastercard Foundation and UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) formed a partnership to try to replicate and scale a model that had found success in the Pacific region – taking a market development approach to increasing digital financial inclusion. Through the partnership, UNCDF was able to expand the Mobile Money for the Poor programme (MM4P) and test frameworks created in the Pacific in markets that were not yet “on the map.”

In 2014, all eyes were still on East Africa, particularly Kenya and Tanzania. To enlarge opportunities, the Mastercard Foundation and UNCDF chose to work in three other countries in West and Southern Africa – Benin, Senegal, and Zambia – all with very low digital financial services (DFS) usage rates.

What happened? The numbers tell a story of great success: Benin has seen DFS usage rates increase from 2% to 40%, Senegal from 13% to 29%, and Zambia from 4% to 44%. But lift under the “hood” of the numbers and you will see the lives of millions of people who are now financially included that weren’t five years ago.

For example, back in 2015, Birane was 19 and struggling to find work in his village on the outskirts of Nioro Du Rip in Senegal. Today, he is a young and well-established roving mobile money agent servicing rural villagers with the Intouch app. His diligence in handling other people’s money soon earned him the trust of villagers and allowed him to grow his customer base to a level that allows him to support himself and save for other activities in farming.

Meanwhile in Zambia, Elase was trapped in the cash economy with little options to save and transfer money safely. As she started using mobile money, she began to save in order to establish an agent booth. Today, she is a thriving mobile money agent managing four booths and several tellers. She was able to grow her business after receiving a non-collateral loan from FINCA, a project partner of the programme. She is growing as an entrepreneur and feels empowered in her professional and personal life, providing business advice to her clients and contributing to her household needs.

Pierrette in Benin tells yet another story of how digital finance can be a game changer for small entrepreneurs. “My business tripled” she says as she saved time and money by using her phone to place orders via WhatsApp, pay with her MTN mobile money account her suppliers in northern Benin, and repay her loan with ALIDé. She invested the money she saved into her business, which is now flourishing in front of her home in Cotonou and will soon expand to a new warehouse in Hévier, west of the capital city.

These three stories of change and growth unfolded as the MM4P programme implemented its market development approach. This approach looks at the entire DFS ecosystem to identify the issues and level of development of each component. It recognizes that interactions of financial service providers with customers rely on effective agent networks and well-designed products, in an environment supported by delivery infrastructure and enabling policies and regulations. To impact markets positively, MM4P generated new information and insights, built relationships and capacity, and invested in high-potential projects. The projects developed with Intouch, FINCA, MTN, and ALIDé are examples of the 80 projects and activities carried out in the past five years by the programme.

To celebrate and share the lessons learned from this five-year partnership, the Mastercard Foundation and UNCDF are hosting a two-day live learning event on Monday 2^nd and 3^rd December 2019 in Senegal. On the first day, participants join customers and partners in the field to hear stories of change and innovation in DFS. On the second day, the team presents the market development approach, then engages in discussions with partners from Benin, Senegal, and Zambia on the lessons they learned while working with the programme.

There is much more about the programme itself and the market changes it brought about in the reports being launched on 3^rd December in Senegal. We encourage you to read them to learn more.

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Read the reports “Growing digital financial inclusion in Benin”, “Growing digital financial inclusion in Senegal” and “Growing digital financial inclusion in Zambia”.