Region: Pacific Islands

MSC in numbers video is a short summary of our achievements as we complete 20 years in business.

MSC conducted a scoping mission for UNDP and UNCDF across Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and designed the 2014-2018 phase II of the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP). The project covered five Pacific island countries—Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, and Vanuatu. Our engagement allowed UNCDF and UNDP to secure an initial round of funding worth over USD 21 million for the program, while interventions under PFIP phase II have already benefited more than 500,000 Pacific islanders.

MSC supported the development of M-PESA. We participated in the project steering committee during the pilot test alongside Commercial Bank of Africa, Consult Hyperion, FSD-Kenya, and Safaricom. M-PESA was pilot tested as a solution for microfinance payments with Faulu Kenya, before it launched into the Kenyan market. MSC worked with a team from Safaricom to re-imagine the use-case, and refine the initial user interface after extensive testing with clients. We also monitored the pilot test and prepared material for agent training.

MSC conducts research on behavior, financing, and assesses development needs for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). We evaluate programs that aim to promote the MSME sector through landscaping studies and quantitative and qualitative methods based on market sizing and segmentation. MSC’s significant work on MSMEs spans a number of countries, including Bangladesh, India, Malawi, Uganda, and Rwanda, and Fiji.

Under the Microfinance Expansion Project (MEP) in Papua New Guinea MSC collaborated with women’s community groups to promote gender issues. Among other engagements, the project trained over 150,000 people, with women comprising a significant proportion of trainees.

MSC led a four-year-long intervention with the Central Bank of Papua New Guinea to build a microfinance sector in the country. We helped set up a risk share facility (RSF) that helps manage risks associated with MSE lending. The intervention reduced the turnaround time of individual loans to MSMEs from two months to eight days, while the average loan disbursed increased by 95% to USD 5,500.