This article discusses the 2021 edition of the Global Findex, the worldwide measurement of financial inclusion published by the World Bank Group. Specifically, the article highlights two major trends in the data: the growth in digital payments during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship between digital payment adoption and the use of other financial services. […]

This webinar, recorded on June 23, 2022, explored key trends and considerations in the digital savings group (DSG) space and launched the DSG Hub. It also showcased three new resources developed for the DSG community: DSG Glossary: Key Concepts and Terms, DSG Technology Solutions Overview, and DSG Toolkit: Tools to Support Safe and Gender-responsive Digitization […]

This half-day workshop brought together key refugee response actors – including digital and financial service providers, policy makers, donors, implementers and humanitarian actors – to encourage stock-taking of the digital savings groups landscape in the Uganda refugee response, and foster critical reflection. The event was organized in April 2022 by UNCDF, the Uganda Inter-Agency Cash […]

In this short interview, Tamrat Abera explains how Mercy Corps is piloting an app from Jamii.one to digitize the record-keeping in savings groups in Ethiopia. He explains the pilot objectives, the current status of the pilot, key challenges and lessons, and plans for the next 12 months. This is the first in a short series […]

This article explores evidence which shows that women are more likely to experience most risks identified in CGAP’s typology of 66 DFS consumer risks than men. CGAP observes that long-standing digital financial service (DFS) risks are not only getting worse, but new risks are emerging every year, and women are more vulnerable to DFS risks than […]

This case study examines two digital savings group solutions – Mvend and SAVE – promoted within UNCDF’s REFAD program in Rwanda. These solutions were adopted by REFAD partners to expand financial inclusion and improve resilience in refugee camps and host communities in Rwanda. The case study discusses some of the successes, enablers, and impediments on […]

This learning brief examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s savings groups in diverse African contexts and explores how the shift to digitization impacted these groups and their members. Conclusions indicate that women’s savings groups contributed to resilience to economic challenges associated with the pandemic. For example, households with a female member in […]

This document is one of three research briefs that highlight key insights from a study of digital savings groups (DSGs) conducted in rural Tanzania from August 2019 through February 2020. The research was conducted by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) working with savings groups supported by PCI and their Women Empowered (WE) […]