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2 Financial Services That Increase Smallholders’ Food Security

Evidence from around the world shows that savings and insurance help smallholder farmers to reduce hunger and manage production risks.

3 Ways Financial Inclusion Improves Women’s Food Security

There is evidence that financial inclusion improves food security for women in at least three ways.

Digital Payments Matter More for Public Services: 3 Reasons Why

Water utilities and other public service providers can benefit in at least three ways from digital payments.

Digital Credit Helping to Put Kids in Classrooms in Cote d'Ivoire

By partnering with farmers’ cooperatives to offer an innovative digital credit product, Advans is seeing high repayment rates and having an impact on school attendance in rural Cote d'Ivoire.

Growth vs. Sustainability: Credit Risk in PAYGo Solar

Rapid customer growth in pay-as-you-go solar can come with a cost: too many customers that don’t repay. Is it time to focus on reducing credit risk? To better understand the realities and challenges of running a PAYGo credit operation, we recently spoke with the people who live with it: heads of credit and risk at PAYGo solar companies, equity investors and creditors.

How Bangladesh Digitized Education Aid for 10 Million Families

In just months, Bangladesh digitized financial aid payments for education to millions of families. What can other countries learn from this rapid transition to digital payments?

A Digital Platform to Manage Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses

The M-TIBA mobile health wallet combines savings, remittances and other digital financial services to help low-income customers cover health care expenses.

Off-Grid Solar Company Helping Customers Pay School Fees

In Africa, some of the most innovative ideas in education financing are coming from an unlikely source - an off-grid solar company.

The Case for Off-Grid Solar Companies as Mobile Money Agents

Off-grid solar companies could boost revenue and reach more low-income customers by becoming master mobile money agents in remote areas.

Remote Lockouts: The Dark Side of Pay-as-You-Go Solar?

Lockout technology has enabled creditors to help poor people finance solar systems and light their homes, but it’s not very popular with consumers.

An Innovator’s Dilemma: Teaching Mobile Payments

The hard work of educating customers about mobile payments is increasingly falling to start ups offering services like water and solar. In Ghana, Safe Water Network is showing how this can be done in partnership with providers.

Pay-as-You-Drink: Digital Finance and Smart Water Service

A pilot in Ghana is showing that the pay-as-you-go solar model can be adapted to change how water is delivered to poor customers.

A Digital Finance Prescription for Universal Health Coverage

Digital finance is just beginning to realize its potential in the health care sector. Take a look at some early examples of how digital financial services are contributing to the goal of universal health coverage.

Water, Water Everywhere, Costs More Than You Might Think

Digitized water credit can help poor families overcome the often high upfront costs of connecting to safe water and sanitation systems, helping them to lead healthier lives.

How Can Pay-as-You-Go Solar Work for Poor People?

Averaging $0.40 a day, pay-as-you-go solar energy is affordable for many people — but not everyone. We looked at the costs and benefits of several tactics providers have used to make solar affordable for low-income households.

Keeping the Lights On: Repayment Challenges in PAYGo Solar

Research in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania reveals some of the top reasons pay-as-you-go solar borrowers stop repaying their loans.

Flexible Finance: What Can We Learn from PAYGo Lenders?

Pay-as-you-go solar lenders have developed a uniquely flexible financial product that benefits low-income customers with erratic incomes.

Stuff Matters: Rethinking Value in Asset Finance

What's the value of lighting a home? For many low-income pay-as-you-go solar customers, it is not necessarily about saving money or generating income.

Are PAYGo Solar Companies a New Type of Microfinance Institution?

Are PAYgo solar companies a new breed of microfinance institution (MFI)? Many are engaged in a number of MFI-like activities and could benefit from lessons learned in the more mature MFI sector.

Schools in Africa Aren’t Taking Advantage of Mobile Money – Why?

Mobile money can make paying school fees easier and cheaper, so why aren't more schools adopting it? Part of the solution could involve a simple app for inexpensive smartphones and tablets.