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Digital Financial Services & Branchless Banking
Ayani offers experience with digital financial services (DFS), mobile banking, agent networks and related technology, partnerships, research, assessment, implementation and evaluation.
Some of our recent projects in this area include:
- Assessing the business case to better serve female farmers through digital financial and non-financial services in three African countries;
- Seconding a Finance Manager to a pioneering electronic payments company operating for a period of one year. By the end of the project, the client was on track to serve 100,000 card users through 1,800 access points;
- Assessing the mechanisms to facilitate funds’ transfers by traders working across West African countries and currencies;
- Assisting a central bank with the implementation of branchless banking services in rural areas;
- Designing a mobile money rural savings product for groups and individuals, and providing technical support to financial institutions, agents and end users to deliver the products;
- Supporting a leading MFI to develop a business plan to offer a mobile money transfer service in collaboration with Airtel Money.
NEWS FROM THE FIELD
Ayani was invited to contribute to CGAP's FinDev Blog.
We reached out to select staff and partners in sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the role that alternative delivery channels, such as mobile money and agency banking, are playing during the Covid-19 crisis.
Ayani has been active in building the capacity of the Mozambican inclusive finance sector since 2010.
Beginning in 2017, Ayani collaborated with FARE and M-PESA to link rural savings groups with mobile money accounts—thereby enhancing their financial options and security.
SIGNATURE PROJECTS
Expansion of women's financial inclusion through digital financial services in Mozambique
Ayani is working with the Improving Women’s Access to Financial Services initiative, which has the objective of assuring access to financial and non-financial services to women. The project focuses on assuring access to sustainable savings and credit services from autonomous savings and loans groups, including the consolidation of existing groups as well as the reinforcement of service providers to promote appropriate innovations to low income populations in rural areas.
Within this context, Ayani is carrying out an assignment to reinforce and/or introduce linkages between women’s savings groups and mobile banking services offered by mKesh, M-PESA and other electronic money platforms, payment and transfer services. Ayani formulated a strategy, developed and is delivering training materials for agent networks, as well as TOTs for equipping end users to effectively access and use services. Ayani is also designing an M&E framework using results chain- and theory of change- based internationally recognized standards for a private sector development monitoring system.
Assessing the business case to better serve female farmers through digital financial and non-financial service in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania
Ayani was hired by AGRA to undertake a business case analysis of AGRA partners’ proactive inclusion of women smallholder farmers in delivering agribusiness and agricultural finance products in African countries. The objective of this assignment was to identify costs and benefits of adapting approaches, product features, marketing, and delivery channels that overcome barriers facing women and that will attract female farmers to enrolling and using (digital) financial and non-financial services more. The Ayani team assessed services and solutions delivered to smallholder farmers via 5 case studies in three African countries and a learning event to improve solutions for women farmers. The project included in-depth Digital Financial Services (DFS) institutional assessments, strategy reviews, and cost benefit analysis to provide the improved digital services to the target segments. The assignment culminated with a Learning Event that brought together 57 participants including the AGRA Financial Inclusion Team, case study partners and other stakeholders in November of 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Learning Event provided an opportunity to share findings from the 5 case studies and engage the broader stakeholder community in a discussion about enhancing women’s economic inclusion and improving access to digital solutions for female smallholder farmers.
Seconding an electronic payment company in West Africa
Ayani seconded a Finance Manager to a pioneering electronic payments company operating for a period of one year. FERLO’s platform supports transactions between consumers and a range of transacting parties, such as financial institutions, employers, merchants, individuals and the government. By the end of the project, FERLO was on track to serve 100,000 card users through 1,800 access points.