Tag: Gender

Developing countries often prioritize the formalization of enterprises in their MSME development policies. The benefits of formalization include increased access to credit, higher productivity, and better social protection, while governments gain from a higher tax base. However, informality continues to persist despite these apparent benefits. This blog stresses on the need to modulate our approach to formalization of the informal economy and explores three principles on how the digital economy can enable this process.

Frontier Markets, headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan, was founded in 2011 by Ajaita Shah as a last-mile distribution solution for green energy products. Since then, Frontier Markets has evolved from a high-touch to a high-tech digital platform that works with rural women influencers across multiple states in India, adding vital products based on market demand.

This video highlights the hurdles women entrepreneurs face in a male-dominated industry, based on start-ups under the Financial Inclusion Lab accelerator program that work to support the LMI workforce. The Lab is a part of CIIE.CO’s Bharat Inclusion Initiative and receives support from some of the largest philanthropic organizations across the world. These include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, J.P. Morgan, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and the Omidyar Network.

MSC conducted research to understand how the low- and middle-income (LMI) segments cope with the COVID-19 pandemic in five countries. This report from Kenya offers a glimpse into their challenges, concerns, and new opportunities in these trying times.

Response to COVID-19 pandemic needs to be gender transformative so that fundamental gender issues like social norms, access to resources etc are addressed . Can digital solutions help?

DFS can help increase the use of financial services, catalyze women’s economic empowerment and promote the development of the overall economy. However, the adoption of DFS amongst the LMI, especially women has been limited. Considering the increasing need for digital payments, especially in the wake of restricted mobility that COVID 19 imposes, MSC attempted to understand what it takes to nudge low- and moderate-income (LMI) population segments to adopt DFS.