Now reading: The tip of the (data) iceberg in Uganda

Financial Inclusion


Whether it is digital payments, resilience for MSMEs or financial integrity, much of our work is underpinned by the desire to create more inclusive financial systems and services. Cenfri has successfully implemented several multi-year financial inclusion programmes:

Making Access to Financial Services Possible or MAP (in partnership with UNCDF and FinMark Trust)
insight2impact or i2i (in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation)
Risk, Remittances and Integrity or RRI (with FSD Africa)
Remittance Access Initiative (with IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances)

Our view is that while financial inclusion targets (such as the percentage of adults with a bank account) are valid, they don’t tell you much when tracked in isolation. It is important to understand whether people use their financial services, and if so, whether this enables them to meet their needs. We have developed six financial inclusion measurement frameworks that outline this expanded understanding of financial inclusion.

Digital Transformation & Data

The tip of the (data) iceberg in Uganda

Faith owns a small fruit-selling business in Uganda. Like most small business owners in Uganda, Faith started her enterprise with her own income and lacks access to finance to grow beyond the few fruit stalls she owns. She doesn’t keep full financial records and lives most of her life informally

Financial Inclusion

MAP Madagascar diagnostic and roadmap to financial inclusion

MAP Madagascar 2017 found that the island state has a largely agrarian population vulnerable to the extremes of nature: 72% of adults depended on agriculture, more than 4.2m adults experienced a climate-related shock in the preceding year, and at least 40% reported being uncertain about whether they will have food

Digital Transformation & Data

DataHack4FI – Data innovation competition

The Datahack4FI innovation competition in Rwanda. insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.

Digital Transformation & Data

Zambia DataHack4FI Hackathon

Highlights, Friday 24th – Sunday 26th March 2017. insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.

Digital Transformation & Data

Deriving value from spatial data

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

#IWD2018 : Remittances in SSA
Digital Transformation & Data

Client Insights focus note

Alternative data sources and analytical methodologies. The focus of this note is on the increasing adoption by the private sector of alternative data sources and analytical methodologies for financial service provision. It highlights the major trends that are contributing to this increasing adoption and their relevance for financial inclusion. insight2impact

Financial Inclusion

Save me from myself

Exploring the disconnect between providers and consumers of savings products in Zambia “Yes, I do save. I have a bank account in Kabwe, two hours away.” “Why so far away when there are banks here in Chisamba?” “It keeps me disciplined! I know that if I have to travel two

Digital Transformation & Data

Farming for data in Kenya

Thoughts from the first event in the #DataHacks4FI meet-up series in Nairobi In Kenya, agriculture is the second largest contributor to GDP and the largest supporter of livelihoods. 75% of the labour force in Kenya is employed in agriculture and 33% of all adults derive their main source of income