Tag: Digital credit

This blog examines the Kenyan government’s policy reforms to allow entrepreneurs better access to affordable and convenient credit. It specifically looks at how the government’s financial inclusion fund—the Hustler Fund—promises to improve the financial health of MSMEs.

MSC strives to design better products and processes for our clients and evaluate the social value they create. Yet we cannot afford to consider the entire customer base of our clients as a single entity. MSC uses customer segmentation to account for nuances and differences in human behavior. We have worked with different clients to help them understand their customer’s banking needs, financial behavior, and creditworthiness. This blog presents our experience and lessons from our customer segmentation work to address clients’ needs.

MSC conducted a deep-dive analysis of the digital credit users in India, Indonesia, and Kenya to assess the impact of digital credit on their financial health. The analysis presents the insights from the assessment and recommends actionable interventions at the level of providers, regulators, and policymakers to enhance the financial health of digital credit users.

The waves of digitization and technological advancements have led to the opening of MFS accounts for 60% of the population in Bangladesh. The country now boasts more than 1.1 million agents. Despite the widespread use of MFS and internet access, only 9.1% of people access the formal credit system. Digital credit can be a stepping-stone in Bangladesh due to the lower cost of delivering credit through digital means, combined with the mass digital readiness of consumers. Several solutions have emerged from banks, NBFIs, FinTechs, MFSPs, MFIs, and development partners, such as City Bank’s “Nano Loan” product pilot to Prime Bank’s loan product for blue-collar workers. Together, stakeholders are trying to forge partnerships to address problems around access to credit and social development in Bangladesh.

Financial institutions have a clear opportunity to enhance access to formal financial services for MSMEs. Let us examine from this blog whether digital approaches can give the needed access to MSMEs.

This blog captures the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on farmers in Kenya and their coping mechanisms. The blog further explores how the government is supporting the sector with relief measures, and what more needs to be done by the public and private agencies to help the sector recover.