Digital and financial literacy for refugees and host communities in Tanzania

• Nov 1, 2018
• 1 min

Alongside Arifu and Fundación Capital, MSC received a contract from UNCDF to develop and pilot-test financial literacy programs for refugees in the oldest refugee camp in Tanzania, Nyarugusu. UNCDF piloted a program on refugee financial inclusion, within which MSC developed and tested digital and financial literacy programs for refugees. The program is slated for scale-up between 2018 and 2019, within which over 30,000 refugees and hosts would access the content to enhance their financial capabilities.

UNCDF contracted MSC (alongside Arifu and Fundación Capital) to develop and pilot-test financial literacy programs for refugees in Nyarugusu in Tanzania. Nyarugusu camp is the oldest refugee camp in the area. It hosts around 142,000 refugees, mainly Congolese and Burundians.

Nyarugusu has a vibrant economy within and outside the camp–characterized by savings groups, mobile money, and the creation of “common markets”, where refugees can trade with host communities on allocated days. This context made it ideal for UNCDF to pilot a program on refugee financial inclusion. MSC developed and tested digital and financial literacy programs for refugees. We developed a roadmap with concrete recommendations to scale up the program. At the time of writing, these programs would be delivered through in-person training, SMS, and tablets.

In the pilot phase, over 300 refugees in the Nyarugusu camp accessed the digital and financial literacy content. In the scale-up phase, planned from October, 2018 to May, 2019, over 30,000 refugees and hosts would be able to access the content to enhance their financial capability. By 2020, over 150,000 refugees and hosts would have accessed the digital and financial literacy courses to enhance their financial capabilities.