Dear RFILC members,

We continually strive to provide and deliver you the quality resources in rural and agricultural finance, and it will continue to be our priority moving forward. We would like to start 2018 RFILC newsletter with the topic of Technology Outreach as many of our members have expressed interest in this particular topic. Technology interventions help financial institutions to reduce their cost, to increase customer reachability and in the better inclusion of underserved groups of peoples. Our suggestion for your reading is newly published report “Mobile Technologies and Digitized Data to Promote Access to Finance for Woman in Agriculture” that is produced by World Bank. This report provides the state of play of current and promising efforts that use mobile technology and digitized data to close the gap in access to finance for women in agriculture. The report also examines the regulatory environment around digital financial services and ways that regulators are working to increase responsible access to women.

Moreover, the second highlight is a joint report from the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and Institute of International Finance “Inclusive Insurance: Closing the Protection Gap for Emerging Customers”. This report details the factors spurring inclusive insurance around the world. It reveals how both traditional and new insurers are breaking open new markets and reaching underserved customers through the use of innovative technologies, business models, product design, and partnerships, enabled by effective regulatory environments. The report is based on extensive interviews with commercial insurers and insurance experts who are making inclusive insurance work as a successful business model. With insights from players at the frontlines, the report identifies the main challenges of providing insurance to lower-income populations, as well as the solutions companies are using to overcome them.

Finally, learning event “Customer Centricity: Enabling Financial Choices and Positive Outcomes for Low-Income Customers” jointly organized by the Social Performance task Forse (SPTF), Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), Leapfrog Investments, and Dvara (formerly known as IFMR Finance Foundation) will take place in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India from February 19 to 22, 2018. The goal of the event is to influence financial service providers, investors, and policymakers to adopt a business model that is based on understanding and serving the unique and diverse needs of poor people.

With best regards,

The RFILC editorial team