Rajiv Srivastava, UP Mandi Parishad, explains how MSC has worked hard to implement the eNAM program in Kannauj APMC successfully. MSC’s effective implementation of the program will benefit both farmers and traders. Dr. Pawan Bakhshi, India Lead, Financial Services for the Poor at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation speaks on the changes MSC’s services have brought about in social welfare payments to the poor in India and in solving the challenges of making the Indian government’s DBT program operational.
Blog
eNAM platform to digitize the marketing of agricultural produce in India
The Government of India launched the Electronic National Agriculture Market or eNAM platform to enable trading of primary agricultural produce. The platform connects 585 agricultural markets (or APMCs) through an online platform. MSC has been supporting the central and the provincial governments in the design, policy reforms, and implementation of the eNAM program.
MSC undertook an extensive study of physical and electronic agricultural markets across multiple states and markets. MSC supported the government in the state of Uttar Pradesh to improve the functioning of eNAM across several APMCs. We worked with the government to implement our recommendations and to support operational and policy-level changes in the state.
MSC also created a blueprint to improve the design and implementation of electronic agricultural markets across India. Many of the design improvements were accepted and implemented. From 2016 to 2018, over 10 million farmers and 150,000 traders or commission agents had registered on the eNAM platform across India. The cumulative volume of electronic trade on eNAM had crossed about INR 482 billion (USD 6.5 billion) by September 2018.
Research for evidence-based policymaking
MSC’s strong field team and our analytical approach in making evidence-based policy have been able to shape and expand the horizon of policymakers. Our expertise feeds into how policymakers can frame policies towards better financial inclusion in the context of digital governance for the larger benefit of beneficiaries in the country. Anit Mukherjee, policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, expands upon this idea in this video.
Making digital credit truly responsible
This video gives a brief highlight of what we have learned so far about digital credit in Kenya over the last 7 years.
Becoming MSC: A brand new look
At MicroSave, we continue to solve problems related to social, financial, and economic exclusion around the world. The changing nature of the markets we work in and the opportunities provided by the digital age have encouraged us to reinvent ourselves. As MSC (MicroSave Consulting), we now feature a fresh new brand mark that reflects our commitment and expertise better. The brand mark—the “rays”—depicts our mission to develop enabling ecosystems, give strategic advice, and provide actionable operational assistance. See the full story in the video.
From MicroSave to MSC: A journey of 20 years
For over two decades, MSC has been at the forefront of financial inclusion advisory for a range of clients. We are experts in SMEs, digital identity, sustainable agriculture, WASH, youth, skills, gender, education, and refugees, among other areas. We work with microfinance institutions, banks, leading mobile network operations, policymakers, regulators across Asia and Africa, alongside donor agencies globally.
We helped transform Equity Building Society into a multinational digital bank. We sat at the steering committee for Safaricom in Kenya and worked on the initial pilot testing for the hugely popular M-Pesa service. In India, we continue to work with the Indian government to realize its government-to-people payments and financial inclusion strategy that touches the lives of 700 million-plus people. See the full story in the video.