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Building Rural Digital Ecosystems, One Small Payment at a Time

New research shows that digitizing everyday payments as person-to-person transfers can be a sustainable way for providers to reach customers in rural areas.

How Ghana Became One of Africa’s Top Mobile Money Markets

Mobile money account ownership tripled in Ghana from 2014 to 2017, making the country one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in Africa. How? Smart regulations played a key role.

Building Rural Digital Ecosystems: A New Role for Agribusinesses?

Bringing digital finance to the rural poor will require financial services providers to work more creatively with agribusinesses that have extensive experience serving last-mile clients.

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.

FinTech Partnerships: Choose Carefully, Then Evolve

FinTech startups in developing markets are leveraging partnerships to reach customers as diverse as women's savings groups, dairy cooperatives and smallholder farmers.

FinTech for the Poor: Not All Virtual, Not All Apps

FinTech isn't always about rolling out a dazzling new smartphone app. In places where USSD phones are the norm, it means something quite different.

Mapping Africa’s Latest Innovations in Digital Finance

CGAP received nearly 200 proposals from digital financial services providers across Africa interested in piloting new products. A look at those proposals — from 30 countries — shows that innovations are spreading beyond hot spots like Kenya.

Can User-Friendly Payment Methods Improve Repayment Rates?

When PEG Africa piloted more user-friendly mobile payment methods for its pay-as-you-go solar customers, users started paying more often and in significantly higher amounts than other customers.

What Keeps People from Paying with Their Phones?

To find out why more people aren't going digital in Ghana, CGAP partnered with pay-as-you-go solar company PEG Africa and mobile network operator Tigo Ghana.

Daily Energy Payments Powering Digital Finance in Ghana

New evidence from Ghana suggests that pay-as-you-go solar customers are becoming more active mobile money users.

Future of Mobile Money for Cocoa Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana

New research from the World Cocoa Foundation explores the potential of mobile money to enhance cocoa farmers’ livelihoods in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and paints a detailed persona of customers at the frontier of widespread adoption.

The Role of Financial Services in Reducing Hunger

Many of the world's 1.5 billion smallholder farmers lack access to basic financial services, leaving them vulnerable to shocks and prone to low-risk, low-return investments. Improving access to financial services can help farmers increase household income and food security.

How Ghana Set Its Rules on Interest Payment on e-Money Accounts

Soon, customers in Ghana will earn interest on their mobile money wallets. How did Ghana do it differently than Tanzania, the first country where a mobile money service paid out interest?

In Ghana, DFS Helps Spur 41% Increase in Financial Inclusion

The digital financial services sector in Ghana is changing for the better, and mobile financial services are finally breaking through in the country.

New Data Finds Mobile Money "On the Cusp" in Rwanda and Ghana

New data provides the most comprehensive picture yet of digital financial services (DFS) access and usage in Ghana and Rwanda.

The Graduation Approach: What’s Next on the Research Agenda?

Results from an in-depth impact study on the Graduation Approach were strong. As Graduation programs are scaled up in India, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and elsewhere, what should researchers study next?

Ghana: DFS Taking Off Amid New Regulations and Market Momentum

Ghana looks increasingly poised to assert its regional leadership in digital financial services in West Africa.

Regulation and Innovation: Hand in Hand?

The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority just launched a new approach to dealing with the natural tension between consumer protection, innovation, and ensuring financial inclusion. Project Innovate is the UK's answer to supporting innovation where it could genuinely improve the lives of consumers.

Regulating for Inclusive Insurance Markets in Ghana

Tremendous gains have been made in Ghana's microinsurance market in recent years. Here's what the National Insurance Commission of Ghana, along with the German Development Corporation, did to help develop the market - and what challenges lie ahead.

Understanding Customers for Financial Innovation in Ghana

The branchless banking market in Ghana is promising but has not gained traction as expected. CGAP and Tigo Cash decided to collaborate in order to better understand what’s preventing Ghanaian customers from actively using mobile money.