There are several steps in the data value chain which spans the entire journey from raw data to value creation within an organisation. 

The data value chain starts with data, then analytics are applied to generate insights, the insights are applied to business functions, which results in impact. This impact can be in the form of increased firm value (increased revenue, decreased profits, improved customer experience) and/or impact on expanding financial inclusion. These two do not necessarily go hand-in hand. However, the sweet spot i2i is seeking to find and catalyse is the intersection between the two. This report explores and unpacks two critical elements in the data value chain; data sources and analytical methodologies.  

Data and analytical methodologies, of varying degrees of complexity, have been, and always will be, applied within financial service business decision-making.

Over the last several decades, there have been emerging new data sources and analytical methodologies allowing financial service providers to better understand customers and make more informed decisions.  

This report serves as a landscape scan of those available, with a particular eye on emerging data sources and analytics used in decision-making.

Although major innovations in data sources and techniques have taken place, it is anticipated that even more novel analytics will emerge in the future. The question remains to be explored whether these new data sources and analytics will close the gap for financial access or define the new frontier for exclusion. The third report in this series will uncover the applications of these insights, generated through the analytics, to derive value, and the fourth report will discuss the larger impact of these trends on financial inclusion. 

insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.