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January 2020
From the editor
Dear RFILC members,
We would like to start the January edition of our newsletter with a newly published report titled: “Zooming in on Informal Savings Mechanisms in Zambia”. This study on informal savings mechanisms (ISMs) and their users, was carried out in 2019 by the Savings at the Frontier programme (a partnership between Mastercard Foundation and Oxford Policy Management) and Financial Sector Deepening Zambia in three provinces of Zambia. It is a qualitative rather than quantitative study, it was not designed to answer questions such as how many users of ISMs there are or how much they save, but rather why specific savings decisions are made. The report provides readers with several new insights regarding ISM users, how they perceive informal savings groups and formal financial service providers, and what drives their decisions to use one particular service instead of another.
The second highlight of the month is a report by the Pakistan Microfinance Network and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) titled: “Warehouse Receipt Financing: Tackling Financial Needs of Smallholder Farmers in Pakistan”. The study focuses on four non-perishable crops: wheat, maize, cotton, and rice. Its overall aim is to investigate the potential of warehouse receipt financing (WRF) for smallholder farmers in Pakistan, as well as to provide key information on the current landscape in this regard. The report illustrates the key barriers to farmers’ increased participation in WRF, while also providing concrete recommendations and proposals that could stimulate WRF usage and development in this context.
Finally, we would like to remind members of RFILC of the upcoming global conference on “The Future of Savings Groups” which will take place in Durban, South Africa on March 10-12. The conference is organized by the SEEP Network with support from the FinMark Trust and SaveAct. The event offers a platform for attendees to connect, engage and learn from each other about the challenges and opportunities they face in supporting savings groups worldwide. This highly interactive and demand-driven event will bring together practitioners, private sector actors, donors, and public sector representatives from around the world. Participants will converge to share lessons learned, evolving practices, and innovative ideas through peer learning sessions, plenaries, an innovation challenge, and a technology fair. To register, please, click here.
With best regards,
The RFILC Editorial Team
- Certified Expert in Agricultural Finance
- Certified Expert in Risk Management
- Certified Expert in Microinsurance
- Microinsurance Master Accelerator Program
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- China’s Long March to a Cashless Future: Regulatory Responses to DFS Innovation and the Challenges of Rural Distribution
- Experiences in Gender-Sensitive Solutions to Collateral Constraints
- Outcomes of Microcredit Provision to Syrian Refugees
- Warehouse receipt financing: Tackling financial needs of smallholder farmers in Pakistan
- Zooming in on Informal Savings Mechanisms in Zambia
- Jeff App, the ‘Tinder for Loans’, Raises EUR 150 K to Boost Financial Inclusion in Southeast Asia
- China’s Ant Financial Applies for Singapore Digital Banking License
- Partnership to Drive Rural Development in Latin America Through Technology and Smart Farming
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- Ethiopia and IFAD to increase access to financial services in rural areas threatened by climate change