This tool is designed to improve digital savings group (DSG) implementers’ understanding of the impacts of digitization on groups and their members using gender-sensitive indicators and monitoring approaches. The tool includes sample indicators and a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework.  This tool is a part of the Digital Savings Group (DSG) Toolkit: Tools to Support […]

This tool is designed to help DSG implementers ask technology providers the right questions about their data security policies and protocols, with the goal of protecting the data privacy rights of DSG members.   Digital solution providers (e.g., fintech companies) are de facto custodians of group and member data, which can be prone to hacking, manipulation […]

This article summarizes the findings from the Feed the Future Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE II) project in Ghana, focusing on the impact of the project on Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and women’s empowerment. In partnership with the Mobile Telephone Network (MTN), ADVANCE II registered four VSLAs in Ghana’s northern region […]

This learning brief offers critical reflections on whether a savings group in the Uganda refugee response is ready to go digital, on the objectives for pursuing digitisation/digitalisation, and on key challenges in making the shift. The brief was developed by Uganda Learning, Evidence, Accountability, and Research Network (U-Learn) in collaboration with the Uganda Inter-Agency Cash […]

This special report, by AFI’s Digital Financial Services Working Group, examines the role of digital financial services (DFS) in enhancing and sustaining the access, use, and overall quality of financial services for women. The report includes a comprehensive analysis of the current body of knowledge and case studies of countries that have accelerated DFS policy […]

This article discusses the main findings from a qualitative assessment of Savings at the Frontier (SatF) projects in Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, implemented in 2015-2022 and funded by the Mastercard Foundation. The program sought to bridge the gap between formal financial services and informal savings groups, enabling members to access the financial services that best […]

This checklist is designed to help implementing organizations gauge their own preparedness to digitize savings groups and to do so in a gender-responsive manner. The checklist will help implementers understand what they need to do to take on the technology, identify required training and support and address gender considerations in digitization projects. These include strategies […]

This tool includes sample job descriptions (JDs) for key digitization project staff with a focus on knowledge, skills and abilities related to mobile and digital technology as well as gender integration. The tool includes both “Roles and Responsibilities” and “Qualifications,” which can be added to existing JDs to ensure they have adequate skills to support […]

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. […]