INNOVATION FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Is Financial Inclusion Really Impacting the SDGs? This New Research Approach Could Offer an Answer
February 19, 2019The need for a better measurement approach was the impetus for establishing the Impact Pathways project, pioneered by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) with conceptual and technical support from BFA. This project embraces a “pathways” approach to unpacking the felt benefits and development outcomes experienced by users of financial services. The key goal behind this approach is to take into account the whole set of financial products that low-income customers use, to understand all the ways they might use each of them, and to assess the benefits that they experience. This comprehensive assessment might ultimately help detect any improvement financial services have on a range of SDGs.
Realities from the ground; Designing financial services around the ‘Wantok’ culture in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea
January 15, 2019Up until 2017, only 10% of the population in the Highlands were using formal financial services. Westpac believes that understanding people, their culture, values, and the way things work for communities and linking those insights to the design of financial services can greatly improve the uptake and usage of those services. The ‘Choice Wantok’ savings account that Misa uses is a re-engineered bank account from Westpac to test new financial services that are tailored to the needs of lower income Highlanders.
