Market landscaping for agent lending and recruitment

• Sep 4, 2025
• 1 min

The female agent representative (FAR) research examines the barriers and opportunities to grow and retain female cash-in and cash-out (CICO) agents across nine emerging markets. Female agents play a vital role in the expansion of digital financial services, especially for women, yet remain underrepresented due to structural, operational, and cultural challenges.

MSC conducted a study to identify macro, meso, and micro variables and how these affected female agents. The study developed and tested hypotheses in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda. The study also informed strategies that can strengthen and diversify agent networks.

MSC led the end-to-end research process to design and execute diagnostics, develop and test key hypotheses, and engage with stakeholders to validate actionable strategies. The work included identification of market-specific challenges, revealing barriers to entry and retention, and formulation of evidence-based recommendations to increase the number and quality of female agents.

The findings from MSC’s study titled, “Breaking Barriers: A study on female cash-in-cash-out (CICO) agents and their potential to drive financial inclusion”, highlighted three key gaps: Financial support, gender data, and strategic recruitment. The research demonstrated that well-supported female agents can deliver comparable lifetime value to male agents to validate higher onboarding investments. Peer influence, tailored credit, improved onboarding, and community engagement emerged as critical levers for inclusive agent networks. These insights are now guiding strategic scale-up in priority countries.

The Gates Foundation commissioned this project.