I’m pleased to share an article recently written by Ignacio Mas, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation are supporters of the MMU Programme and similarly strong advocates for savings. That is, they see the immense social impact that could be realized by leveraging the consumer uptake of mobile money – and the supporting agent network infrastructure – to improve the savings landscape in developing markets.
As Ignacio describes, savings is a challenge: just a quarter of households in developing markets have savings with formal financial institutions. In this article, the key elements in the savings discussion are described as a means of determining how we can deliver low-balance savings services sustainably to poor people. Read the article for an analysis of the four key elements that underpin the viability of formal micro-savings offerings: the competition from informal savings mechanisms, the importance of formal trust-building through branding and marketing, the problem of distribution, and the complementarity between savings and payment services.
To view the article, click ‘full screen’ below.
