Vaccine-derived polio outbreaks were rising across Africa, yet vaccination campaigns faced significant challenges. In the first quarter of 2020, nearly half of the polio campaigns in the WHO’s Africa region were postponed or disrupted due to payment delays for campaign workers. Many countries continued to rely on public finance management systems (PFMS), which often led to inefficiencies. Digital payments emerged as a potential solution to streamline payments for health workers and build a broader tech-enabled ecosystem for vaccination campaigns.
MSC assessed four African countries—Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Sudan—to evaluate their readiness for biometric-enabled digital payments for polio campaign workers. MSC used its digital readiness assessment (DRA) framework to examine infrastructure readiness (digital identity, payment systems, agent networks, and digital ecosystems) and program readiness (digital beneficiary databases and program design). The study also analyzed financial inclusion indicators, health worker density, and existing payment methods to recommend a holistic government-to-person (G2P) payment approach.
MSC provided key recommendations to optimize public financial management (PFM) processes through digital architecture. Immediate recommendations sought to strengthen existing systems, institute KYC processes, and facilitate cash-in and cash-out (CICO) networks to ensure smoother payments. Long-term recommendations emphasized the development of digital foundational IDs for health workers, which could link bank accounts to digital identities, and the integration of an interoperable payment system with the national payment switch.
The study provided a strategic roadmap for each country to transition toward efficient digital payment mechanisms, ensure timely compensation for health workers, and strengthen the vaccination ecosystem. The initiative enabled secure and transparent digital transactions to enhance polio campaign effectiveness and lay the groundwork for future health interventions in Africa.
We conducted a global landscaping study to identify key barriers and investment opportunities for closing the gender digital divide and advancing women’s digital inclusion.
MSC conducted this study to understand the barriers that sustain the gender digital divide. Through extensive research and stakeholder consultations, MSC mapped over 100 public and private sector interventions and synthesized insights from 160+ publications. The study included deep dives in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal to uncover six key barriers and 33 sub-barriers to women’s digital access.
MSC provided actionable recommendations to help the Gates Foundation prioritize investments, shape its digital connectivity strategy, and identify high-impact opportunities to sustainably bridge the digital divide for women and girls worldwide.
The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
We use innovative research methods like financial diaries, to design digital financial solutions that are rooted in women’s lived realities. Through deep behavioral insights and real-time tracking of financial lives, we help partners close the gender gap in access, usage, and agency across diverse contexts.
In Bangladesh, MSC partnered with UNCDF to analyze how women use mobile financial services and uncover the barriers to meaningful usage. Despite increasing account ownership, many women remain passive users due to low digital confidence, restrictive social norms, and limited perceived value. Using MSC’s Gender Centrality Framework and behavioral analysis, the research revealed useful strategies to improve financial literacy, shift norms, and build trust. The findings led to targeted recommendations for financial service providers and policymakers, paving the way for more inclusive digital financial products that meet women where they are.
In Kenya, MSC collaborated with the Gates Foundation to support women-led micro and small enterprises in open-air, cross-border markets. Through an intensive financial diaries study, MSC identified key barriers to digital financial service adoption, such as a lack of tailored solutions, trust gaps, and poor user experience. Working closely with financial institutions and women entrepreneurs, MSC co-developed and tested digital product prototypes, directly informed by women’s real-life cash flows and constraints. The project has not only shaped the Gates Foundation’s strategy in Kenya but also provided a scalable model for advancing women’s digital inclusion in similar markets across East Africa. Together, these programs demonstrate how financial diaries and user-centered design can bridge the gap between product intent and women’s actual needs, driving sustainable, inclusive financial ecosystems.
Despite the availability of 80+ social protection programs (SPPs), particularly for women, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups, last-mile access remains limited due to information gaps, poor grievance resolution mechanisms, and accessibility challenges. MSC identified and addressed barriers limiting last-mile access to these social protection programs.
We conducted an action research study to improve awareness and accessibility to Indonesia’s 80+ social protection programs (SPPs), particularly for women, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups.
MSC evaluated the role of microfinance institutions and civil society organizations as key outreach channels, assessing their capacity to serve as gender-inclusion-responsive actors. Through a blend of secondary research, field surveys, and stakeholder consultations, MSC developed an inclusive operating model and provided strategic recommendations to strengthen frontline delivery. The project applied GEDSI principles to help break down systemic access barriers and enable equitable SPP uptake across underserved communities.
Opportunity International Australia (OIA) commissioned the project.
Women-led micro and small enterprises (WMSEs) operating in cross-border trade and open-air markets in Kenya play a vital role in the local economy but face persistent barriers to adopt digital financial services (DFS). From low digital confidence and limited access to products, to institutional neglect of their specific needs, these barriers slow down women’s financial inclusion and economic growth.
MSC led an action research initiative to address these challenges by co-creating tailored DFS solutions for these underserved segments. The project was structured around three key activities:
- Identifying barriers to DFS adoption through in-depth research across the demand and supply sides: We investigated the obstacles that prevent women entrepreneurs from adopting digital financial services. We gained insights from both the demand and supply sides to pinpoint specific challenges. The ‘financial diaries’ methodology was used for the research to record and analyze how these women manage their business finances.
- Designing and prototyping women-centric financial products in collaboration with institutions like Equity Bank and KWFT: Based on the research, we designed prototypes of digital financial products tailored to women-led businesses’ unique needs, ensuring they are accessible and user-friendly.
- Pilot testing the solutions with WMSEs: To refine offerings and generate useful insights for wider adoption
These pilots revealed how digital finance can support income stability, business growth, and financial resilience for women entrepreneurs in informal markets. Insights from this project directly informed the Gates Foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor (FSP) team, supporting their Vision 2030 goals to expand women’s meaningful access to and use of DFS across Kenya and other focus regions.
The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
MSC is supporting the Government of Bihar to promote sustainable, gender-inclusive aquaculture by enabling women’s participation in this diversified livelihood stream.
Through the JSPVAT initiative, the program aims to improve the livelihoods, nutrition, and empowerment of fisherwomen and men, particularly women’s self-help groups (WSHGs) and smallholders. Despite aquaculture’s strong potential, women continue to face structural barriers, limited market access, and constrained roles beyond production.
To address these challenges, MSC conducted in-depth research to assess women’s empowerment within aquaculture households. Based on these insights, we co-designed a suite of interventions which included:
- Layered trainings on fisheries, gender, and nutrition
- Ecosystem development for improved inputs
- Financial access through schemes and funds
- Gender-intentional policy recommendations
- Social and behavior change tools to shift gender norms around women’s roles in aquaculture, intra-household decision-making, and attitudes towards market-facing roles.
Through the program, 88% of Women Fish Producer Group (WFPG) members and 82% of private pond owners have adopted advanced aquaculture practices, leading to a 33% increase in pond productivity for WFPGs. Additionally, over 96% of WFPG members now actively participate in household decisions, particularly in selecting and preparing meals, which has improved access to nutritious fish-based diets. The program has empowered women economically, with 30% of women in treatment households becoming sole decision-makers in commercial aquaculture activities, a substantial increase from the control group. These efforts have not only boosted incomes and food security but also contributed to greater gender equality within the sector. This model has immense potential for replicability.
The project was commissioned by the Gates Foundation.
