This study provides a detailed country-level view of the impact of COVID-19 on CICO agents in Senegal and the strategies they adopted to cope with the pandemic. It further provides recommendations for policymakers and financial service providers to support them.

The activities of many entrepreneurs in Senegal require financial flexibility that banks and microfinance institutions find difficult to provide. Life would be much easier for people like Abdoulaye, if financial institutions were to partner with money transfer companies to create digital profiles and develop an alternative credit history to extend them credit. Read Abdoulaye’s story.