Pitfalls Cover
article
Change Management Digital Transformation Digitization Costs Digitization Risks & Barriers Financial Service Providers Program Quality Project Design Project Implementation

Pitfalls in MFI Digitization: What They Are and How to Avoid Them

Published by
Stefan Staschen, Estelle Darie-Rousseaux, Mark Flaming & Gerhard Coetzee
2022
Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
View Resource

This blog series looks at the most common mistakes that microfinance institutions (MFIs) make when digitizing so that other MFIs can avoid them. The articles examine the common pitfalls of not getting the business case right, not listening to the customer, getting bogged down in technology, underestimating change management, and overlooking the regulatory environment.  

For a more detailed look at what we can learn from the experiences of MFIs that have digitized successfully, see the CGAP’s working paper Digitization in Microfinance: Case Studies of Pathways to Success.

Leave a Reply

View all comments

Related Resources

Read
Tool
Consumer Protection Data Privacy & Security Digital Transformation Digitization Planning
Data Risks
Tool
Consumer Protection Data Privacy & Security Digital Transformation Digitization Planning

Quickly Identifying Potential Data Risks

By Amos Doornbos
MERL Tech
2022

Quickly Identifying Potential Data Risks

This resource is designed to help development actors increase the effectiveness of digital tools and data, while reducing the risks and the potential for harm. We often assume that data protection is the job of informational technology (IT) specialists. IT has a role to play, but so does operations staff. Operations staff determine what data […]
Read
article
Digital Financial Services Digital Transformation Digitization Risks & Barriers Financial Inclusion
Overcoming distance
article
Digital Financial Services Digital Transformation Digitization Risks & Barriers Financial Inclusion

Overcoming Distance When Digitizing Informal Savings Groups

By Paul Damocha & Anna Ferracuti
UNCDF
2019

Overcoming Distance When Digitizing Informal Savings Groups

This article shares key findings from qualitative research conducted by UNCDF Tanzania and CARE International on the digital financial services (DFS) that are most appropriate for informal savings groups. The authors outline two key findings. First, while mobile money is appropriate for individual accounts, there are difficulties around the validation of group accounts. Also, agent […]