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Anup Singh
Associate Director
Anup Singh leads MSC’s regional office in Anglophone Africa and heads the Helix Institute based in Nairobi, Kenya. With 16 years of experience, his expertise includes the digital transformation of financial institutions, digital readiness assessment of social protection programs, digital credit scoping, design and policy, training programs, and FinTech mapping, scoping, and policy design.
Anup has advised more than 150 institutions, including governments, FinTechs, financial institutions, investors, and multilateral organizations in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and South Africa in the African continent, and India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar, China, Papua New Guinea in the Asian continent. He has also trained at the Boulder Institute of Microfinance, Italy, in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
A few examples of his recent work are as follows:
- Quality and usage of digital financial services by open-air market and cross-border women traders in Kenya for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2021-23)
- Assessment of best practices in digital credit by micro-entrepreneurs for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2022)
- Landscaping of agent lending and recruitment practices for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2022)
- Development of East Africa strategy 2022-30 for the Financial Services for the Poor (FSP), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2021-22)
- Assessment of agent network management in Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique for GSMA. (2021-22)
- Research on personal financial investment and wealth management for FSDU in Uganda. (2021)
- Technical assistance to the Financial Technology and Service Providers Association (FITSPA) members to comply with the NPS Act and regulations for FSDU in Uganda. (2021)
- Strategy and digital transformation plan for SMFI-Shabelle Bank funded by Mercycorps in Ethiopia. (2021)
- Conducted an assessment of additionality and customer protection risk of the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) for CDC. (2021)
- Development of Awash Bank’s digital financial services strategy and implementation plan funded by Awash Bank in Ethiopia. (2020-22)
- Development of an Integrated Farmer Services platform investment for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Rwanda. (2020)
- Strategy development for the CRDB Foundation to focus on corporate social responsibility activities for CRDB Group in Tanzania. (2020)
- The feasibility of building an interoperable state-wide digital payment infrastructure funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Kaduna state, Nigeria. (2020)
- Formulation of the proof of concept for Responsible Digital Transformation Lab (ReDiLab) funded by AFD across the globe. (2020)
- Feasibility study for the transformation of BRAC Liberia and BRAC Sierra Leone to deposit-taking institutions funded by BIHBV. (2020)
- Design thinking to refine personal retirement programs for the mass market funded by ICEA LION in Liberia and Sierra Leone. (2020)
- Development of customer journeys and wireframes for the product roadmap of the Rwanda National Digital Payments Strategy, funded by Access to Finance Rwanda: Led the team that built the user journey and interface for the Rwanda National Digital Payments Strategy. (2019-20)
Posts by Anup Singh
Coping with COVID-19 – A demand-side view from Uganda
MSC conducted a research study to assess what the low- and middle-income (LMI) segments in Uganda understand about COVID-19 in terms of awareness, preventive measures being taken, gender dynamics at play in their households, and the use of digital financial services during this time. We present our findings in this report.
Jul 9, 2020
Perspectives on shared agent networks from emerging economies
Shared agent networks help providers to reduce the cost of platform management and maintenance, agent training and monitoring, as well as improved liquidity management – particularly in fully interoperable environments. Read more about how formal and informal shared agent networks are helping to deepen financial inclusion in emerging markets.
Jun 30, 2020
The shared agent network in Uganda
The Uganda Bankers Association had launched a shared agent network in the country. Over the years, the network has made progress to ensure the distribution of financial services for banks, including those without agent networks. However, the network still faces challenges that need to be addressed to make the agent banking experience seamless.
Jun 29, 2020
A crisis is a terrible thing to waste: Let us design a social security program for gig workers!
This blog highlights the need for a social security program for tech platform based gig workers, a subset of informal workers. We highlight the unique features of gig workers, and the enabling technology and formal financial ecosystem that can fulfil the promise of a safety net for gig workers. We also highlight the role of the government in regulating and financing such a scheme.
May 21, 2020
Same problems, same inequalities: Women in the digital gig economy
The digital gig economy in Africa has quickly gained prominence over time and continues to enhance opportunities for youth and women. Some of MSC’s recent research work in Kenya indicates increasing participation of women, especially in the blue-collar digital gig economy though there remains a gender disparity in women’s participation in this sector.
Mar 11, 2020
Where are the women in the digital credit bandwagon? Lessons from Kenya
This blog sheds light on how women are placed in the digital credit bandwagon in Kenya . Along with highlighting three key insights, the blog also establishes the business case for focusing on women as an important customer segment.
Sep 23, 2019
Making digital credit truly responsible- Insights from analysis of digital credit in Kenya
Based on MSC’s comprehensive study of the state of the digital credit landscape in Kenya (2019), this report highlights some positive signs and some persistent problems, as well as opportunities to improve products and consumer protection.
Sep 18, 2019
Isvary Sivalingam, Olivia Obiero, Evelyne Matibe, Rahul Chatterjee, Karthick Morchan, Anup Singh and Leonard Kambona
Sep 18, 2019
Isvary Sivalingam, Olivia Obiero, Evelyne Matibe, Rahul Chatterjee, Karthick Morchan, Anup Singh and Leonard Kambona
Making digital credit truly responsible
This video highlights the key changes in the digital credit landscape in Kenya between 2016 and 2018. It also touches upon the core challenges and emerging concerns in this sector.
Sep 17, 2019