The CRAg working group seeks to address three broad inter-related aspects of agri-food systems:
- Integration and coordination in value chains: This is a central problem in developing economies, characterized by numerous smallholder farmers and businesses with poor communication, weak physical infrastructure, and ineffective formal institutions.
- Diffusion of innovation across value chain participants: Even where innovations are ostensibly well-engineered for the context, frameworks of understanding, values, and risk perceptions play a significant role in shaping the diffusion of innovation and hence the adoption of productivity and resilience-enhancing technologies.
- Financing innovation end-to-end: The transformation of agri-food systems generally requires upfront investment and dealing with the problem of the inherent risks posed by change. Smallholders and small-scale firms in agri-food systems are frequently especially constrained in their ability to raise the finance to enable a shift from business-as-usual.
MSC helped the Government of India design and develop AgriStack as a digital public infrastructure (DPI) with a collection of registries, datasets, APIs, and information technology systems enabled by common policies, standards, and guidelines. It can open up data in agriculture that can enable governments and the private sector to develop small-scale producer-centric services and solutions. MSC is collaborating with India’s Government of Bihar on the Integrated Digital Farmer Services (DFS) platform, a comprehensive digital agriculture solution to offer holistic services and support to small-scale producers. These programs intend to bridge information gaps, reduce risks, empower small-scale producers with skills, knowledge, and information, and enhance their incomes and resilience.
MSC has designed a global signature program intended to empower women-led businesses (WLBs) in India, Nepal, and Vietnam. The initiative seeks to improve livelihoods and income for female entrepreneurs, enhance their financial health through stronger digital footprints, expand access to formal financial services, and improve market linkages. As part of this effort, MSC developed ‘Sangini Konect’ in India—an interactive platform that provides training materials, learning tools, and mentorship support to help women-led businesses grow, become digitally adept, and access vital financial products.
In partnership with the MetLife Foundation, MSC led the conceptualization and execution of this program. We designed tailored training modules, developed mentorship frameworks, and facilitated digital and physical market linkages. The team worked closely with local ecosystems in India, Nepal, and Vietnam to identify and onboard women entrepreneurs, ensuring that the interventions addressed their specific business needs. By building Sangini Konect, MSC created a platform that not only offers business support and financial literacy but also fosters a collaborative community where female entrepreneurs can learn from one another’s experiences and successes.
The program has successfully engaged thousands of women entrepreneurs across India, Nepal, and Vietnam, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to scale their businesses. It has fostered better financial literacy, enhanced digital capabilities, and offered new market opportunities. It has ultimately contributed to greater financial resilience and economic empowerment among WLBs. Sangini Konect, in particular, stands out as a dynamic platform that continues to guide women-led enterprises in India, serving as a model for similar initiatives in the other two countries.
The MetLife Foundation commissioned this project.
MSC in partnership with CGAP conducted a research on the role of mobile money providers and their agents in protecting customers data. This research identified responsible practices employed by mobile money agents and providers to safeguard customer data, particularly for female agents and customers. It examined factors that enabled agents to manage customer data responsibly and assessed the alignment of consumer protection standards with mobile money guidelines in Uganda. The MSC team conducted qualitative research with customers, agents, and mobile money providers. The study intends to strengthen data protection policies, agent practices, and providers’ support to build a responsible mobile money ecosystem in Uganda.
Indonesia’s high internet penetration rate makes it an attractive market for digital financial services. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) regulates banking, capital markets, and non-bank financial sectors. OJK and regulated entities can benefit from powerful tools for oversight and compliance, with emerging technologies, such as AI and big data analytics.
In 2019, OJK launched a strategic roadmap for RegTech and SupTech implementation with support from the Gates Foundation’s RegTech Lab and MSC. The roadmap outlined OJK’s vision and priorities to accelerate the development of Regtech and Suptech ecosystem in Indonesia. Additionally, MSC also helped OJK build and test two SupTech solutions to strengthen consumer protection in the financial services sector. OJK oversees 2,500+ institutions. It has been witnessing a rise in consumer complaints, particularly related to digital financial services. MSC collaborated with OJK to build a tool to automate the analysis of consumer sentiments on social media and an omnichannel chatbot that consumers can use to make complaints to OJK. These initiatives are instrumental in raising OJK’s capacities to monitor and supervise the efficient delivery of digital financial services and are a key SupTech priority of the future.
A notable development in Indonesia in recent years has been the rapid growth of FinTech lending, especially for microenterprises. While the number of female borrowers has increased, instances where women fall prey to predatory lending practices by FinTech lenders have risen. MSC, in collaboration with the University of Indonesia, conducted a study to examine the risks faced by women in the online lending ecosystem. The research involved in-depth interviews with female victims who had experienced harassment from both legal and illegal digital credit providers. The research team also conducted interviews with representatives from the Indonesian Joint Funding Fintech Association (AFPI), the Indonesian Sharia FinTech Association (AFSI), and key stakeholders from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the Task Force Investment Alert (SWI), Kominfo, KPPPA, and the Cyber Crime Unit-Polda Metro Jaya. These interviews intended to gather perspectives from business actors (FinTech association representatives) and policymakers. The study provided valuable insights into the challenges and harassment faced by women at every stage of accessing loans from digital lenders, from sourcing to defaults. Additionally, the report presented recommendations to strengthen the regulatory and policy framework to protect female consumers and enhance responsible digital credit practices.