Soil Health Cards (SHC) had been a key component of pilots on the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) or Aadhaar-enabled Fertiliser Distribution System (AEFDS) pilots across India. The Indian government had entrusted MSC to support and scale up the pilots from the start. SHCs inform farmers about the appropriate use of fertilizer and nutrients for crops. The use of SHC was supposed to influence the decision of the farmers while buying fertilizer. We discovered that farmers were not at all influenced by SHC while buying fertilizers, as they were either not aware of it or did not find it useful.

MSC conducted a human-centered design-based research to understand the factors that influenced farmers when they applied fertilizers to their fields and their perceptions about SHC. The research explored channels to inform farmers about SHC and identified the nudges that change farmers’ behavior. We used the insights derived from the research to design an outreach campaign that the district authorities used to increase the uptake and usage of SHC among farmers.

A leading advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) used our insights to design the campaign, comprising informative radio jingles and posters. This was test launched in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. MSC’s interventions led to farmers using SHCs actively in Krishna district—at the time of writing, this was the only district in the country to do so.

MSC partnered with HDFC Bank to broaden and deepen its large and growing portfolio of rural and agri-business loans. In addition, the bank sought greater outreach to the bottom-of-the-pyramid markets.

MSC supported the bank through a range of interventions. These started with the design, development, and implementation of a below-the-line (BTL) communication and marketing strategies for rural and agri-banking. The MSC team then designed BTL marketing collaterals that covered visual aids, signage, and point-of-sale material for HDFC agency points to communicate key messages tailored to the target segments. We also developed a mobile-van campaign for rural coverage. MSC and HDFC Bank teams and agents jointly executed marketing campaigns in select districts of Uttar Pradesh in India.

By 2018, 53% of the branch and agent network of HDFC Bank was semi-urban or rural. HDFC Bank had introduced several products for the rural segments, such as agri-loans, cattle loans, tractor loans, Kisan (farmer) credit cards, small working capital loans, and small savings and micro-insurance products. These were exhibiting rapid year-on-year growth, while 83% of the retail customer transactions occurred through Internet or mobile banking and only 8% through branches.

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation commissioned MSC to support Maitreya, a nascent non-banking financial company that focuses exclusively on microenterprise lending in India. MSC worked to help Maitreya refine and grow its microenterprise-lending product, and developed a product marketing and financial literacy tool. This tool would not only attract customers but also ensure brand engagement and develop Maitreya’s financial capability.

MSC created a story around a character with whom micro-entrepreneurs can relate to—Amol. Like other micro-entrepreneurs, Amol did not fully understand the sources of credit, the importance of credit score, and managing business records. We ensured that the story of Amol was available on the media of choice for Maitreya customers to allow them to engage at their own convenience. These media included platforms, such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Maitreya customer mobile app, the Maitreya website, and the smartphones of Maitreya field staff.

MSC also built systems so that the tools lead to real behavior change. We developed aids to check progress on financial capability development, distributed Maitreya-branded collaterals, such as cashbooks to encourage customers to develop a habit of maintaining business records, and integrated product market and financial capability with a regular loan monitoring process to ensure positive reinforcement of the message. We conducted training sessions with the management as well as field staff on the use of the tool. The tool helped Maitreya develop brand recognition among the target communities—which was critical in a market dominated by large, established brands. The tool is now widely used and available to all the Maitreya customers.

MSC delivered digital transformation training to banks and microfinance institutions in Myanmar and Vietnam, which saw attendance from representatives of more than 30 institutions. MSCs digital transformation training course helps MFIs and banks understand the digital transformation process, the strategic and operations-related impact on the institution, and the nuances of digital transformation including the strategic planning, digital transformation of products, processes, channels, and technology, risk management, and project and change management.

MSC designed the course specifically for directors and chief executives, such as CEOs, CFOs, CTOs of financial institutions who are involved in high-level business strategy and have actively considered digital transformation and implementation of digital financial services. The facilitators introduce approaches for digital transformation that MSC developed during practical work over a decade in South and South East Asia, and East Africa. At the time of writing, IFC had plans to roll out the course across Africa in 2018-19.