In 2014, Vitas launched a special needs loan program in Iraq, made available to people with disabilities (PwDs), particularly youth. The loan amounts range from US $100 to $3,000. Our current portfolio of almost $200,000 includes nearly 300 clients.
<h3>What was the need for a product to reach this segment?</h3>
We realized that there were huge negative misperceptions around and persistent stigmas associated with PwDs. People who are blind, deaf, partially paralyzed, have missing limbs, or have other special needs were mostly excluded from parts of society. Successive governments have failed to address the problem and the stigma has remained. We believe that PwDs have tremendous potential to be productive contributors to their communities, yet they are not given the tools to do so. Furthermore, natural disasters and conflicts create even greater numbers of PwDs, rendering this problem more acute. However, with a tailored approach to provide support, we believe that many PwDs can reach their full potential and become active and vigorous social and economic participants.
<h3>Young PwDs</h3>
According to the World Health Organization, during the years of war and the various disasters that have followed, the number of PwDs in Iraq has now reached approximately 2 million. A significant number of these are youth. It was vital for us to recognize disabled Iraqi youth as an opportunity rather than a problem. Contrary to the commonly-held belief that PwDs cannot be good clients because of their perceived inability to work, our experience has proven that PwDs do make good clients.
<blockquote>Contrary to the commonly-held belief that PwDs cannot be good clients because of their perceived inability to work, our experience has proven that PwDs do make good clients.</blockquote>
<h3>What is the impact?</h3>
The current political environment in Iraq leaves PwDs completely neglected by the government. Since launching our product two years ago, we are proud to report that the results are extremely encouraging. There has been a positive increase in social capital overall, such as improved self-esteem for PwDs and pride among members who have supported them. More importantly, we have been able to work toward changing social perceptions.
<h3>Scalability</h3>
Vitas’ outlook toward financial inclusion for PwDs is to increase the special needs loan outreach by implementing improved processes and tools, training staff to increase awareness, and continuing to organize and sponsor initiatives aiming at supporting these important members of our society. We want to establish strategic partnerships with various government institutions such as the Ministry of Social Affairs, civil society and local associations, to reach larger numbers of PwDs, and empower them to generate their own incomes and improve their standard of living.

There is a double social impact in changing harmful and ill-informed biases and unlocking the potential of PwDs to live full and productive lives. Given our experience in Iraq, we feel there is an opportunity to offer similar products across the Middle East. To this end, we have also renewed our focus on offering employment opportunities to PwDs at our subsidiaries. Breaking down this entrenched stigma takes time, but it is critical to fulfil our mission that all people should have access to the financial tools they need to improve their lives and become full social and economic participants within their communities.

<em><strong>Read about CFI’s work on the topic of PwDs <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/about/what-we-do/financial-inclusion-for-persons-with-disabilities/">here</a>.</strong></em>

Why We Serve People with Disabilities: Lessons from Iraq

<h1>Why Benchmarking Matters</h1>
<h5>HOW DO WE KNOW WE'RE BEING EFFECTIVE?</h5>
Achieving financial inclusion requires continuously evaluating how well the industry is progressing and how far we still have to go. Benchmarking activities help us measure progress and identify priorities for research and action. To reach 3 billion people who are left out of or poorly served by the financial sector, a full understanding of progress and setbacks is essential.

&nbsp;
<h1>Approach</h1>
<h5>INDEPENDENT AND CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE</h5>
We are committed to keeping the industry focused on financial inclusion that benefits consumers. CFI assesses public industry data, like the <a href="https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/">Global Findex</a> and the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/reports/233399/gallup-global-financial-health-study-2018.aspx">Gallup Global Financial Health Study</a> with an independent and critical eye, shining a spotlight on where action is most needed. We also participate in joint benchmarking exercises with partners to examine specific aspects of the sector, like the regulatory environment or risk perceptions. In all our benchmarking and research endeavors, we are keen to reality test prevailing narratives, ask tough questions and shine a light on overlooked trends.

&nbsp;
<h1>Results</h1>
<h5>WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED?</h5>
<h2>Benchmarking the Enabling Environment</h2>
Together with partners, CFI sponsors and contributes to the Global Microscope—a project led by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Intended to benchmark the enabling environment for promoting financial inclusion, the Microscope assesses the institutional and regulatory ecosystem based on selected indicators across over 50 developing economies. We have helped the Microscope evolve from a study of microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean into a global study of the broader financial inclusion ecosystem. Additionally, we also look at new indicators on the enabling environment for digital financial services.

With 2018 marking its eleventh edition, the Microscope is one of the few benchmarking tools in the financial inclusion sector that spans a decade or more. Regulators across the world use its scoring and rankings as yardsticks for their own performance. Investors also consult the study when considering investment strategies. Many countries are cognizant of where they stand in the global rankings and are motivated to improve.


Benchmarking Financial Inclusion Progress

<em><a href="http://smartcampaign.org/"><img class="alignright wp-image-20925" style="border:0 solid #000000" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/sc.png" alt="" width="309" height="199" /></a>&gt; Posted by the Smart Campaign</em>

The Smart Campaign is thrilled to announce that a new milestone for client protection in microfinance has been reached: there are now 50 financial institutions that have been awarded <a href="http://smartcampaign.org/certification/">Smart Certification</a>, recognizing their commitment to fair client treatment and responsible practices. In total, these institutions serve roughly 25 million clients.

The threshold was crossed with a handful of recent certifications – Fortis Microfinance Bank and Grooming Centre in Nigeria; Banco ADOPEM in the Dominican Republic; Fundacion Paraguaya in Paraguay; Pro Mujer in Nicaragua; and AgroInvest in Serbia. Each of these institutions worked over a several month process to assess and upgrade their operations to meet every one of the indicators signifying strong consumer protection practices.

Grooming Centre and Fortis Microfinance Bank collectively reach over a half million clients. Founded in 2006, Grooming Centre operates in 22 states in Nigeria with a network of 376 branches. Grooming Centre offers a range of financial services, including savings and credit, small business loans, agricultural loans, and clean energy financing. Fortis Microfinance Bank, along with offering financial services, provides clients with business support in areas including management, marketing, and administration.

<a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/el-dia-impreso-smart-campaign-pag-10.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-20929" style="border:0 solid #000000" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/el-dia-impreso-smart-campaign-pag-10.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="315" /></a>Banco ADOPEM is known in the Dominican Republic as “The Women’s Bank”, as 70 percent of their active clients are women. Ninety-four percent of these women are considered to be economically vulnerable. Banco ADOPEM showcased their status as a newly-certified MFI in an ad in <em>El Dia</em>, one of the most-circulated newspapers in the Dominican Republic, as shown in the image at right.

Fundacion Paraguaya fully integrates the <a href="http://smartcampaign.org/about/smart-microfinance-and-the-client-protection-principles">client protection principles</a> into its practices, while also pursuing the inclusion of historically marginalized populations. CFI is currently working with Fundacion Paraguaya on the <a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2016/02/26/disability-inclusion-progress-in-india-ecuador-nigeria-and-elsewhere/">institution’s disability program</a> to serve more people with disabilities, and the institution was instrumental in helping the Center develop a <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd">Framework for Disability Inclusion</a>.

Pro Mujer in Nicaragua was Pro Mujer’s first expansion outside of Bolivia. Pro Mujer began Nicaragua operations in the poor neighborhoods around Leon and Chinandega and today serves women across 11 municipalities.

<a href="http://www.agroinvest.rs/agroinvest/index.php/en/where-we-work/serbia-agroinvest-fund">AgroInvest Serbia</a> is an affiliate of VisionFund and began work in Serbia in 2001. It focuses primarily on agricultural lending but also disburses other types of enterprise loans.

The Fundacion Paraguaya, Pro Mujer, and AgroInvest Serbia networks' (Accion, Pro Mujer, and VisionFund are members of the <a href="http://microfinanceceoworkinggroup.org/">Microfinance CEO Working Group</a> (MCWG)) participation in the certification program was assisted by the <a href="http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/home">International Finance Corporation</a> in partnership with the MCWG.

The Campaign would like to congratulate all the certified institutions.

<em>For more on the Smart Certification, you may enjoy hearing the CEOs of certified institutions talk about the certification process and its importance for their institutions and the sector in this video: the full version is </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZqC2R0PBts"><em>here</em></a><em>, while an abridged (90-second) version is </em><a href="https://youtu.be/f2oHXCMdd3Y"><em>here</em></a><em>. And please visit </em><em>the Smart Campaign at www.smartcampaign.org</em><em>.</em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2016/02/18/my-turn-to-speak-voices-of-microfinance-clients-in-benin-pakistan-peru-and-georgia/">My Turn to Speak: Voices of Microfinance Clients in Benin, Pakistan, Peru, and Georgia</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/06/three-cheers-for-the-smart-campaigns-certification-summit/">Three Cheers for the Smart Campaign's Certification Summit</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/11/isabelle-barres-on-the-challenges-of-promoting-client-protection-the-thorny-issues-of-profits-and-pricing-and-the-smart-campaigns-next-steps/">Isabelle Barres On the Challenges of Promoting Client Protection, the Thorny Issues of Profits and Pricing, and the Smart Campaign's Next Steps</a>

A Client Protection Milestone: 50 Smart Certified Institutions; 25 Million Clients “Covered”

<em>&gt; Posted by Misha Dave and Jeffrey Riecke, Disability Inclusion Program Manager and Communications Specialist, CFI</em>

Financial inclusion for persons with disabilities (PWD) is a hugely under-addressed area in the quest to bank the unbanked. Estimates indicate that less than one percent of microfinance clients globally are PWD, despite roughly 15 percent of the global population having some sort of disability, and four-fifths of these individuals living in developing countries. The Center’s <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd">Financial Inclusion for PWD program</a>, launched in 2010, has developed steadily since its inception. Here on the CFI blog you might’ve seen us spotlight our <a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/01/13/a-how-to-guide-to-realizing-disability-inclusion-at-mfis-is-now-available/">Framework for Disability Inclusion</a>, our <a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/05/28/attitudes-toward-persons-with-disabilities-in-indian-microfinance-institutions/">report on attitudes related to disability inclusion among Indian MFIs</a>, or our <a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/09/04/13000-pwd-and-counting-receive-financial-access-in-india/">disability inclusion partnerships with MFIs</a>.

The program has been busy over the past year. Let’s take a look at a few highlights.

<u>India Partnerships</u>: The Center’s PWD program provides trainings and resources to sensitize and equip MFIs to service PWD clients. The program recently forged new partnerships with two MFIs in India, Grameen Koota and Micrograam, bringing the total number of partnerships with institutions in the country to five. The other three partner institutions in India are Equitas, ESAF, and Annapurna. Across these three original partners, more than 30,000 lower-income disabled persons, including 2,000 visually impaired individuals (a severely excluded disability segment), have been included.

<u>India Trainings</u>: The program has trained over 160 field staff in six regions/states in India: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. Recent inclusion programming and trainings were conducted at Micrograam’s three sub-partners in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu. And disability awareness surveys and sensitization trainings were completed with all branch managers of Grameen Koota in Karnataka.

<u>Expansion in India</u>: The India PWD program recently secured funding to expand its core program to three new partners in new regions. The India program is working to develop strong business case materials, collect data and client stories, revamp the core trainings, provide more practical tools for MFIs, and disseminate disability inclusion best practices.

<u>Fundacion Paraguaya</u>: CFI continues to work closely with Fundacion Paraguaya on a two-year expansion of the institution’s disability program to serve more PWD based on the Center’s Framework for Disability Inclusion.

<u>Mental Health</u>: The CFI is also working with Fundacion Paraguaya on the development of a mental health indicator for inclusion in the institution’s Poverty Stoplight tool, which helps assess the quality of life and poverty level of clients. Joshua Goldstein spoke at the 8<sup>th</sup> Pan-African Psychotrauma Conference, where he <a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/31/four-interventions-to-help-victims-of-trauma-find-hope-and-dignity/">discussed</a> the potential for victims of trauma becoming microfinance clients.

<u>The Ecuadorian Government</u> continues to receive advisory support from the Center on how to integrate disability best practices in the country’s financial sector.

<u>Nigeria</u>: Accion Microfinance Bank in Nigeria launched the People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) product to provide loans for PWD under the auspices of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Center’s PWD program provided technical assistance on the initiative. The Center also met with the Vice President of Nigeria on advancing disability inclusion in the financial sector, and provides ongoing support to the Central Bank on how to create disability-inclusive institutions.

<u>BRAC Bangladesh</u>, which the Center provides disability inclusion assistance to, has achieved a client base of 7,000 PWD.

<u>The Framework for Disability Inclusion</u> was recently revamped to increase usability.

<u>The New Client Protection Standards</u>, currently being finalized by the Smart Campaign, include new language on protecting persons with disabilities from discrimination.

This is only a snapshot of the program’s happenings. Stay tuned to this blog for more updates.

<em>For more information on the CFI’s Financial Inclusion for PWD program, </em><a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd/"><em>click here</em></a><em>.</em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/03/23/disability-inclusion-in-ecuador-and-around-the-world-an-interview-with-larry-reed/">Disability Inclusion, in Ecuador and Around the World: An Interview with Larry Reed</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/31/four-interventions-to-help-victims-of-trauma-find-hope-and-dignity/">Four Interventions to Help Victims of Trauma Find Hope and Dignity</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/01/13/a-how-to-guide-to-realizing-disability-inclusion-at-mfis-is-now-available/">A How-To Guide to Realizing Disability Inclusion at MFIs Is Now Available</a>

Disability Inclusion Progress - in India, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Elsewhere

<em>&gt; Posted by Joshua Goldstein aka Mr. Provocative</em>

There are no final victories when it comes to providing equal opportunities for groups that have suffered from historic discrimination and exclusion. This is true in the United States. This is true everywhere else in the world.  Attitudinal barriers that belittle and marginalize, originating in class, racial, or religious prejudice, may triumphantly come down in one generation only to be resurrected in the next – or even sooner if some shock to the body politic is great enough.

Thus, watchdog groups like the Center for Financial Inclusion’s Smart Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Anti-Defamation League can never call it quits and declare victory. Backsliding into bigotry is more likely the rule than the exception with our tribal species.

To bolster this glum supposition is this example of the ongoing difficulties facing another beleaguered minority: Twenty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there is new evidence about employment discrimination from researchers at Rutgers and Syracuse University.

<a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/11/02/upshot/fake-cover-letters-expose-discrimination-against-disabled.html?_r=0">According to <em>The New York Times</em></a>, the researchers applied for thousands of accounting jobs, sending resumes and cover letters on behalf of fictitious candidates, some with disabilities, some without. Employers followed up with candidates via phone or email 26 percent less frequently when those candidates disclosed that they had a disability. The study ensured that disability was the only differentiator among the otherwise identically qualified candidates.

But <a href="http://kesslerfoundation.org/kfsurvey15">another study</a> from the Kessler Foundation shows signs of workplace hope. The foundation’s recent national employment and disability survey shows that once on a job about 16 percent of persons with disabilities (PWD) report negative attitudes related to their disability on the part of their supervisor. However, over 41 percent of these same individuals say that they were able to overcome this barrier. How? I believe it is likely that in many cases the employee with a disability gained acceptance because she demonstrated her pride and personal agency in completing tasks that challenged her boss’ presumptions about her inferiority. Attitudes change because of this assertion of self. Once on the job, daily performance makes the difference.

At the Center for Financial Inclusion, we are running the <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd">Financial inclusion for Persons with Disabilities program</a> to encourage the microfinance industry to become more disability welcoming and friendly. Consonant with the Kessler study, the Center has found that the most effective way to change negative attitudes among the staff members at financial institutions is to have them get to know persons with disabilities. Familiarity in this case does not breed contempt but can open new pathways to acceptance. Our work in India, for example, has included the creation of tools and an operating model for MFIs to incorporate PWD, and disability awareness trainings for institutions across the country. Some of our partners now have more than 15,000 clients with disabilities. When given a chance, persons with disabilities make excellent clients.

While many supervisors’ prejudice can be defeated in the workplace when real, multifaceted people take the place of abstractions, a robust law really matters for the other roughly 60 percent of supervisors in the Rutgers/Syracuse sample whose prejudice appeared unshakeable in spite of contact.

The Rutgers/Syracuse study showed that Fortune 500 companies tended to discriminate significantly less than smaller firms. Demonstrating a lack of interest in candidates with disabilities was most prevalent at firms with fewer than 15 employees. Notably, businesses this small are not mandated to be inclusive under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

So a recipe for the greatest success seems to be a combination of laws with teeth and human connection. Neither alone does the trick. And one reinforces the other.

But while incremental societal change certainly does happen, vigilance without end to protect our vulnerable populations is a necessity. A willingness to play well with others is critical for human survival but in most cases the people played with are from the same tribe. The daughters of today’s supervisors, when they move into leadership positions themselves one day, will have to relearn the lessons of nondiscrimination against people who are different, all over again.

And that is why the Smart Campaign, the ADA, and other human dignity watchdogs, along with enforceable laws, are so central to the human rights enterprise.

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/03/23/disability-inclusion-in-ecuador-and-around-the-world-an-interview-with-larry-reed/">Disability Inclusion, in Ecuador and Around the World: An Interview with Larry Reed</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/12/03/happy-international-day-of-persons-with-disabilities/">Happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/05/28/attitudes-toward-persons-with-disabilities-in-indian-microfinance-institutions/">Attitudes toward Persons with Disabilities in Indian Microfinance Institutions</a>

Vigilance without End

<em>&gt; Posted by Center Staff</em>

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is a global occasion to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues relating to the inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWD). To mark the day, we wanted to share with you a new Accion video spotlighting the story of Reshma Babu. At five months old, Reshma contracted polio and lost the use of her legs, yet today, she lives independently. That’s partly due to her job at Accion partner Vindhya, where four out of five workers have some kind of disability. Vindhya is a business process outsourcing company that widely employs PWD to deliver high-quality and competitive services to companies spanning multiple sectors, including microfinance. Vindhya exemplifies how inclusion for PWD is a sustainable model for social enterprise at the base of the pyramid.

[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/ACCION.International/videos/10153683554691136/" /]

Along with partnering with Vindhya, here are some of the ways that Accion and CFI are working to achieve disability inclusion:

<ul>
 	<li>Identify and disseminate best practices related to how persons with disabilities are using financial services today.</li>
 	<li>Implement the <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/framework_for_disability_inclusion.pdf">Disability Inclusion Framework</a> at a number of highly respected MFIs. Our first such partnership is in its third year with Fundación Paraguaya.</li>
 	<li>Disseminate <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd/framework-for-persons-with-disabilities">disability inclusion tools and trainings</a> for MFIs, developed at Fundación Paraguaya, with the support of Handicap International. These resources are open source and now available for all interested parties to download.</li>
 	<li>Partner with Micrograam, an NGO with 33 sub-partners, and MFIs in India— Annapurna, Equitas, ESAF, and Grameen Koota—covering five regions with the continued support of v-shesh to deliver CFI’s disability inclusion training to the vast Indian market.</li>
 	<li>Develop and share the compelling business case for disability inclusion in mainstream financial services.</li>
 	<li>Establish and form strategic partnerships with global disability organizations, including Handicap International and v-shesh to achieve maximum outreach and scale.</li>
 	<li>Further collaborate with the Smart Campaign and FI2020 to develop practices and tools to implement the newly incorporated Smart principle on non-discrimination.</li>
 	<li>Implement a disability inclusion program with BRAC in Bangladesh and in Nigeria with Accion Microfinance Bank and the Central Bank.</li>
 	<li>Look for innovative ways to include persons with psychosocial disabilities.</li>
</ul>
For more on financial inclusion of persons with disabilities, and our work, <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd">click here</a>.

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/03/23/disability-inclusion-in-ecuador-and-around-the-world-an-interview-with-larry-reed/">Disability Inclusion, in Ecuador and Around the World: An Interview with Larry Reed</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/09/04/13000-pwd-and-counting-receive-financial-access-in-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13,000 Persons with Disabilities (and Counting) Receive Financial Access in India</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/01/22/on-disability-benefits-rand-paul-has-a-point/">On Disability Benefits, Rand Paul Has a Point</a>

Happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities!

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/2652377697/in/album-72157601463875207/"><img class="alignright wp-image-20072" style="border: 0 solid #000000" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/2652377697_7cd2f08d4e_o.jpg" alt="2652377697_7cd2f08d4e_o" width="349" height="224" /></a>Aging is an issue that we all hope to face personally, if we haven’t already. As we prepare to participate in <a href="http://www.e-mfp.eu/microfinance-week">European Microfinance Week</a>, we are more convinced than ever that this is a critical topic for the financial inclusion community to address. (If you are planning to be at European Microfinance Week too, make sure to <a href="https://event.neimenster.lu/ehome/emw2015/308192/?&amp;">check out our panel</a> on the Sustainable Development Goals and financial inclusion!) In Europe, the aging of the population is well acknowledged. With average life expectancy in Europe among the highest in the world, at 77 years, the proportion of the population reaching older age is naturally growing. About 25 percent of Europe’s population is now over the age of 60, and that percentage is set to rise. The aging of the population is well understood in Europe, but what is less recognized is that the middle and lower-middle income countries of the world – the countries that encompass most of the world’s population – are already beginning to experience the same older age population boom. In most middle income countries, from Mexico to China, over-60s are the fastest growing cohort of the population. Aging is a product of successful development. Increased life expectancy, better family planning mechanisms, and higher quality of life all contribute to growth in the proportion of the population that is older.

Aging is a reality, but can it also represent an opportunity for financial institutions? The smart money is on providers who recognize that the answer is yes, and work to figure out how to respond.

We’ve created a list of activities, some practical and some research-oriented, we think would be valuable to close the gaps in financial inclusion for older people and for younger people who want to prepare for their older age. And, frankly, we would love for you to steal these ideas!

<em>Develop a toolkit for becoming an age-friendly institution.</em> We hear of a few financial institutions—from MFIs to commercial banks—that are using age as a lens through which to segment product offerings. From long-term savings products for people in their primary working years to credit designed for older people, being age-friendly across the life course allows a focus on life transitions and the diverse financial needs that accompany them. Case studies and toolkits would help financial institutions follow proven approaches. As part of becoming an age-friendly institution, there are a few starting points that would make a big impact:
<p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Age-proof channels and technology</em>. Financial institutions recognize that new technology, new channels, and new products must be built with the user experience in mind. There are existing vehicles for testing channels and technology to ensure that they work for older people. As part of vetting channels and technology, financial institutions can leverage older persons’ associations, assuring the technology’s validity for later life.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Ensure that staff members are not discriminating based on age.</em> Financial institutions and support organizations can test the customer experience through mystery shopping in order to better understand how people of different ages are treated when they walk into a branch. An exercise like this could inform market-specific training modules to dispel myths about aging for staff of financial institutions.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Use existing data to create better products.</em> Financial institutions have a wealth of data on clients that goes unused, and age is one data point that is collected because of the way that AML/CFT laws are translated into institutional policy. Financial institutions can use the data they have on clients to better understand how age influences client behavior. From this data, financial institutions have the opportunity to create better products to serve people across their life cycle, and especially into their older age.</p>
<em>Enhance financial security in older age by leveraging G2P and P2G early on</em>. The shift toward electronic government-to-person and person-to-government payments presents an opportunity for creating “on-ramps” to inclusion. Leveraging these products could include automatically diverting funds sent through electronic channels to help people save funds for older age (which is already happening in many parts of the world) or using electronic G2P payments that go to older people as collateral for loans (older people are often seen as higher risk). Financial institutions which provide the accounts through which electronic payments are channeled have the positioning to capitalize on this opportunity.

<em>Raise or eliminate age caps on credit and insurance</em>. Over half of the institutions we <a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/09/10/aging-and-financial-inclusion-a-client-protection-issue/">surveyed earlier this year</a> reported that they impose upper age restrictions on their products. Many age caps at microfinance institutions are based on outdated actuarial tables, and are ripe for being challenged or creatively eliminated. Many people who are older may be willing to pay more for credit. And financial institutions could find highly receptive clients if they responsibly raise age caps on credit products. A dedicated loan guarantee fund could help mitigate perceived risk during a pilot phase, accompanied with careful performance monitoring to provide more data about actual risks of lending to older adults.

<em>Enable people to save for their older age.</em> Pension systems were designed for a largely formal labor force, and the current reality of the size of informal markets does not match the intention of pensions systems. More progressive governments have begun to reform their pension systems to account for the more informal labor force, by creating alternative channels for contributions at places like corner stores and through mobile phones. Financial institutions can also play a role, either serving as channels to collect funds for the pension system or by setting up independent long-term savings programs that promise a competitive interest rate.

We are confident that there are a hundred more ideas that are just as good (or better). More importantly, though, we look forward to seeing a world in which age is not a barrier to people having access to a full range of quality financial services.

If you end up stealing one of these ideas, or if you’re already doing something to advance industry thinking on aging, let us know—we would love to champion your work.

<em>Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/2652377697/in/album-72157601463875207/">World Bank</a></em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/02/20/moving-to-action-on-aging-and-financial-inclusion/">Moving to Action on Aging and Financial Inclusion</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/02/10/aging-and-financial-inclusion-an-opportunity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aging and Financial Inclusion: An Opportunity</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/09/10/aging-and-financial-inclusion-a-client-protection-issue/">Aging and Financial Inclusion: A Client Protection Issue?</a>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Aging and Financial Inclusion: Steal These Ideas!

<em>&gt; Posted by Eric Zuehlke, Web and Communications Director, CFI</em>

[caption id="attachment_19808" align="alignright" width="350"]<img class="wp-image-19808" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/pwd_nigeria_loan-disbursement_sm.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="232" /> Accion MfB staff explaining the PLWD product to clients[/caption]

Last month, Accion Microfinance Bank (MfB) in Nigeria launched the People Living With Disabilities (PLWD) product to provide loans to a marginalized group that has largely been left out of the financial system – people with disabilities (PWD). To mark the occasion, some of the first clients of these loans including a member of the albino community and visually impaired clients attended an opening ceremony, which also included officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The PLWD launch was the result of close collaboration across organizations and continents. CFI’s Joshua Goldstein and Bunmi Lawson, Managing Director/CEO of Accion Microfinance Bank, met with officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria to garner their support. In addition, CFI’s PWD team in India, including CFI partner v-shesh, advised Accion Microfinance Bank.

At the launch, Bunmi Lawson stated that, “Many people living with disabilities are financially excluded. We are pleased to be able to give them the opportunity to improve their means of livelihood to give them a brighter future.”

I asked Emeka Uzowulu, Head of Business and Product Development at Accion Microfinance Bank in Nigeria to share how this product came about and what their future plans are for reaching PWD.

<strong>1. Congratulations on the launch of the PLWD product! Can you give a brief background on how this product came about? What was the history of developing this outreach to persons with disabilities and what was key to getting it off the ground?</strong>

At Accion Microfinance Bank, our mission is to economically empower micro-entrepreneurs and low income earners by providing financial services in a sustainable, ethical, and profitable manner. We realize that a sizable number of this group are living with one form of disability or another which limits or frustrates their efforts to be productive, as well as that of their families. In consideration of these challenges, we are committed to identifying and partnering with them in making their futures brighter by providing access to loans, savings, and insurance at a very minimal cost.

The development of this product would not have been possible without support from the Central Bank of Nigeria, who established N220 billion of seed capital, with 2 percent of the wholesale component of the funds going to economically active PWD (excluding mental disabilities) at 9 percent per annum inclusive of all charges. With the availability of the funding window and at a lower interest rate, the market was ready and waiting with open arms. Accion Microfinance Bank in conjunction with the Secretariat of the People Living with Disabilities Association and the Albinos Foundation was able to design and develop a special product for PWD. We interacted with the People Living with Disabilities Association’s leadership on nearly a weekly basis, getting to know PWD, their economic daily activities, sources of livelihoods, banking relationships, and financial needs.

The product design and development was achieved through collaboration with P. Rajasekharau, Misha Dave, and Abhishek Agrawal in Accion’s India office, Joshua Goldstein of CFI, and Adebiyi Olunbunmi of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

<strong>2. Can you discuss the stigma against PWD in Nigeria? How does it manifest, especially in terms of access to employment, social services, etc.?</strong>

Nigeria, with a population of over 170 million, is estimated to have around 25 million people living with one form of disability or another. Regardless of this large number of people living with disabilities, very little if any support is given to them and they are often excluded from social, political, and economic affairs. The most common avenue of aid for these people is through families, and non-governmental and religious organizations. But, the present administration led by President Mohammad Buhari has promised to improve the lives of PWD by reviewing the law.

[caption id="attachment_19812" align="alignright" width="350"]<img class="wp-image-19812" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/pwd_nigeria_asst-director-cbn-addressing-audience.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="232" /> Jonathan Tobin (CBN), Bunmi Lawson (Accion MfB), Temitope Akin-Fadeyi (CBN) at the PLWD launch event[/caption]

The stigma associated with PWD stems mostly from the public’s unawareness and/or disregard for the cause of the disability, and such poor understanding has only helped to prolong age-long, problematic, traditional beliefs about disabilities.

<strong>3. Do PWD receive their own unique services or outreach from Accion? How does your approach to PWD differ from working with other client groups?</strong>

At Accion MfB, we have tailored the PLWD product to suit them perfectly. With a very low interest rate and no administrative fee applicable, they are assured that the cost of funds is basically next to nothing. Compared to applicable interest charges on regular products, some people will term this “free funds.”

We have also designed means to disburse funds to an eligible PWD at his/her place of business if the disability is shown to prevent such person from accessing the bank premises.

<strong>4. Is Accion Microfinance Bank working with PWD on products other than loans? How about insurance or client education programs?</strong>

Apart from loans, we encourage them to save through a wide range of savings products already put in place, and ensure they have access to other banking needs such as use of ATMs, POS, etc. We also provide them with insurance covers and are still working on creating an informative forum where they would benefit from client education programs.

<strong>5. Did you learn from others' experiences working with PWD - from CFI’s work in Paraguay, India, and other countries?</strong>

Extensive research was carried out here in Nigeria through group discussions, and major informational contributions were shared from Accion International and CBN. Putting all these together helped us roll out what we believe will be a reference point for many more PLWD products to follow suit.

<strong>6. This program is supported by the Nigerian central government and CBN officials attended the launch event. Can you talk a bit about their role and the significance of the national government taking this on in a public way?</strong>

Along with the funding from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a special monitoring team was set up to ensure that all funds as approved by the CBN were utilized accordingly. In addition, the Secretariat of the Financial Inclusion Department of the CBN, headed by Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, working with Adebiyi Olubunmi, was instrumental to the success of the project by monitoring, supervising, and providing other support. This is a bold approach which will hopefully help stem the negativity and stigma associated with living with a disability in this part of the world.

<strong>7. What are your future plans for PLWD? How would you like to see this product and overall outreach to persons with disability evolve over the next few years?</strong>

We will continue to ensure that as many PWD as possible are aware of the existence of this product. It is also our expectation that while we continually reach out to them either individually or through their associations, they will continue to be receptive and allow us to support making their futures brighter. In the near future, Accion Microfinance Bank will be the leading microfinance institution in Nigeria in the provision of financial services to PWD.

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/31/four-interventions-to-help-victims-of-trauma-find-hope-and-dignity/">Four Interventions to Help Victims of Trauma Find Hope and Dignity</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/09/04/13000-pwd-and-counting-receive-financial-access-in-india/" target="_blank">13,000 Persons with Disabilities (and Counting) Receive Financial Access in India</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2014/01/13/a-how-to-guide-to-realizing-disability-inclusion-at-mfis-is-now-available/">A How-To Guide to Realizing Disability Inclusion at MFIs Is Now Available</a>

A New Path to Financial Inclusion for People With Disabilities in Nigeria

<em>&gt; Posted by <em>Larry Reed, Director, the Microcredit Summit Campaign, and Jesse Marsden, Research and Operations Manager, the Microcredit Summit Campaign</em></em>

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/106853342@N04/10666354605/"><img class="alignright wp-image-19542" style="border: 0 solid #000000" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/10666354605_d44199b1de_z.jpg" alt="" width="315" height="210" /></a>

<em>In collaboration with the CFI’s process to develop the <a href="http://www.fi2020progressreport.org/">Financial Inclusion 2020 Progress Report</a>, the Microcredit Summit Campaign recently conducted interviews with microfinance leaders* around the world committed to reaching the most excluded. In this post, we share some of the insights from these conversations about how to ensure that the most invisible clients are financially included, directly drawn from the experiences of those who are doing it.</em>

<em>To set the stage, Luis Fernando Sanabria, General Manager of Fundación Paraguaya, made this central point: "Our clients need to be the protagonists of their own development stories. Our products should be the tools they use to meet their needs and empower their aspirations." With that reminder of the purpose of financial inclusion, we begin the discussion by asking who are the most excluded.</em>

In each country, people living in extreme poverty (below US$1.25 a day) make up the largest segment of those excluded from the financial system. We spoke with leaders from organizations that make intentional efforts to reach this large excluded market: Fundación Paraguaya; Pro Mujer; Fonkoze; Plan Paraguay; Equitas; Grama Vidiyal; and TMSS. These organizations not only address poverty, but also a host of other dimensions that lead to exclusion, including literacy, race, gender, physical disabilities, and age. Less frequently-discussed reasons for exclusion include sexual orientation, language barriers (especially among indigenous populations), and mental or emotional health issues. In India and Bangladesh, for example, those interviewed noted that the lack of personal identification often drove exclusion, especially among women, persons with disabilities, and the socially excluded, such as transgender individuals.

In order to reach the most excluded, you have to know who they are. “Often the poorest families are invisible in their own communities,” said Steve Werlin of Fonkoze in Haiti. “When we do the wealth rankings in a community, they aren’t even mentioned.” Fonkoze takes steps to make sure that all households get included in their surveys so that the community can see who they have left out. Creating this visibility is essential. On a wider scale, in government statistics on economic activity, data on people over 65 is simply discarded or never collected.

Everyone, and every client, is unique. One of the messages of the FI2020 Progress Report is that the base of the pyramid (BoP) is not a monolithic bloc. Arjun Muralidharan of Grama Vidiyal in India noted that “You need to have a particular and unique strategy to seek out and serve these groups. This begins with deciding who you are going after. Different populations have very different problems.”

Two key elements for including the most excluded populations are building trust and overcoming prejudice. Not only do the financially excluded need to become confident in their services providers’ ability to responsibly manage their money, but they often have to become comfortable participating in a society that has regularly closed its doors to them. “Working with disenfranchised groups is hard. We need to provide extra training and services to help overcome their self-exclusion,” said Muralidharan. Grama Vidiyal provides health services and legal rights training to members of the Dalit group (formerly known as untouchables) before including them in savings and lending groups. On the other side of the equation are financial services staff attitudes. “In order to include people with disabilities, we need to train our staff first, to get them to overcome their prejudice,” said John Alex of Equitas in India. Equitas provides disability awareness training for its staff and clients and encourages them to find people with disabilities in their communities to include in the institution’s borrowing groups. Equitas also adapted its training and application systems to be accessible for people who are blind, deaf, mute, or face other physical limitations.

Excluded groups may have financial needs that do not fit the typical cash flows of other clients. TMSS asked rural farmers in northern Bangladesh what programs the farmers felt would be best to introduce. This client-first approach led to new programs that combined loans and savings in sync with the growing season. TMSS also changed its policies and products to meet the needs of an aging population - eliminating its age limit for borrowers. The institution also provides savings services for these clients and training for the next generation of family members to make sure they will be cared for as they age.

Those excluded from financial services often face many other types of exclusion as well, leaving them with a range of constraints that they need to address:
<ul>
 	<li>Both Fonkoze and Plan Paraguay employ the <a href="http://tup.brac.net/">Ultra Poor Graduation Model</a> developed by BRAC that provides a combination of cash transfers, training, savings, an asset, mentoring, and access to credit.</li>
 	<li>Equitas works with homeless people and provides housing and financial capacity training before providing loans.</li>
 	<li>TMSS provides health services, financial capability training, and vocational training.</li>
</ul>
These organizations often partner with the government and others to make sure their clients have access to the range of services they need. Fundación Paraguaya uses its <a href="http://www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py/?page_id=490">Poverty Stoplight</a> monitoring system to assess its clients on a checklist of 50 items related to poverty, health, education, and employment. It uses this data to bring in government services for common areas of need. Equitas partners with local hospitals, and Grama Vidiyal works with the government health insurance system to provide for the health needs of clients.

Achieving financial inclusion requires consistent energy to attain, maintain, and measure progress. Fundación Paraguaya uses its Stoplight system to enable clients to define and measure their own achievements over time, and provides incentives to its staff based on these clients’ achievements. Equitas provides incentives to its account officers for including persons with disabilities and measures the progress of its clients along consumption and health indicators. Plan Paraguay and Fonkoze measure the success of their Ultra Poor Graduation programs based on the numbers of clients who “graduate,” having met a comprehensive set of indicators related to food security, income security, asset ownership, school enrollment, housing quality, etc. and having reached a level at which they can use unsubsidized financial services.

Financial inclusion has always been about going where others wouldn’t go, addressing the needs of people who were excluded because it was too hard to serve them, or too risky, or too unsustainable. The people we spoke with represent the many financial pioneers who use innovation to expand the boundaries of inclusion, reaching those assumed to be impossible to reach.

<em>For more on addressing client needs, check out the interactive <a href="http://www.fi2020progressreport.org/">FI2020 Progress Report</a>.</em>

<em>Persons interviewed for this post: Luis Fernando Sanabria, Fundación Paraguaya; Carmen Velasco, co-founder of Pro Mujer; Steve Werlin, Fonkoze, Haiti; Mariella Greco, Plan Paraguay; John Alex, Equitas, India; Arjun Muralidharan, Grama Vidiyal, India; Munnawar Reza, TMSS, Bangladesh.</em>

<em>Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/106853342@N04/10666354605/">Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade</a>; Anowara Begoum (pictured) lives in Kazipara village in Bangladesh, and is a participant in BRAC's Special Targeting Ultra Poor Program.</em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/09/28/fi2020-progress-report-launches-in-three-days/">FI2020 Progress Report Launches in Three Days!</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/07/21/the-supply-centricity-of-customer-centricity/">The Supply-Centricity of Customer-Centricity</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/19/the-ebb-and-flow-of-customer-centricity-in-financial-inclusion-part-one/">The Ebb and Flow of Customer-Centricity in Financial Inclusion - Part One</a>

Addressing the Financial Needs of the Most Excluded

<em>&gt; Posted by Sonja E. Kelly and Misha Dave, CFI</em>

[caption id="attachment_19480" align="alignright" width="350"]<img class="wp-image-19480" src="https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/equitas_pwd_dhanalakshmi-e1442518477325.png" alt="" width="350" height="215" /> Dhanalakshmi (far right), client at Equitas[/caption]

If there is one thing we have learned from working on disability and age inclusion in financial services, it is that including these populations in financial services is in some ways easier than practitioners expect it to be but, in other ways, harder than it looks.

In our research on aging and financial inclusion, one of the key insights was that financial service providers of all sizes often apply age caps on credit products. However, many institutions we talked with did not know exactly where these standards came from. Some attributed them to concerns about life expectancy of older clients, some to institutional history (“that’s just the way we do it”), some to the increase of credit portfolio insurance it would incur, and some to a perception of older people as economically dormant.

Many of these concerns can be mitigated by better research and dispelling myths about the creditworthiness of older people. Easy, right? In fact, there are some institutions that apply creative ideas to providing credit to older people. Group guarantees and automatic withdrawal payments on loans from publicly administered pensions through government partnerships are both examples of this.

However, such institutions providing credit to older people seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Worse, convincing institutions to care about this population is not easy. One institution we spoke with in India was baffled by the idea of providing credit to people over the age of 55. “But [the older people] could die and wouldn’t pay the loan,” the product developers insisted. Doing the research and <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/fi2020/mapping-the-invisible-market/aging-financial-inclusion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">articulating the issue</a> was the easy part — now the hard work begins of advocating on behalf of older people.

Similar attitudinal barriers exist in financial institutions for serving persons with disabilities. Let’s take stock: over one billion people around the world — 1 in 7 of us — have a disability and four-fifths live in developing countries like India. Despite this and the fact that many microfinance institutions (MFIs) claim to be dedicated to “serving the world’s financially excluded people,” less than 1 percent of their clients are persons with disabilities.

In India, disabled persons have limited or no access to formal credit and other financial products for education, housing, skills development, business, and such. In addition, insurance companies in India do not cover assistive technology like wheel chairs and hearing aids that disabled persons need to be mobile, avoid further injury to themselves, and work and live full lives. The gap between demand and supply is enormous, and this creates a dangerous hotbed for informal credit and loan sharks to exploit an already vulnerable and marginalized population, dragging them further into poverty.

Disabled persons and older people have similar physical challenges (mobility, visual, and hearing impairment) and misperceptions about their capabilities to work and run businesses. Therefore, helping to financially include one group will serve to make positive changes for the other. Whether it be through changing attitudes and perceptions or implementing universal design principles in their operations, financial institutions can better serve <strong>all</strong> clients with physical challenges by becoming disability inclusive and friendly.

Through financial inclusion of disabled persons in India, we see a compelling story of social inclusion at the community level. Leveraging the group-based model in microfinance, disabled persons, mostly women, receive community support and social acceptance from other group members. Dhanalakshmi, an Equitas client, exemplifies this.

Dhanalakshmi was not born blind. She was badly burnt and lost her vision 23 years ago when her husband poured acid over her, her two sisters, and mother. While her sisters recovered with minor injuries, got married, and have families of their own, Dhanalakshmi lost her vision and sustained major burns on her right-hand side. Constrained by her disability, she confined herself to her home for many years.

Four years ago, Dhanalakshmi joined Equitas as a member. She took out a small loan and started her garments business, buying clothes from the wholesaler and selling them door-to-door. Dhanalakshmi’s group has fully included her by using very simple accommodation measures like reciting the MFI pledge aloud and taking turns to assist her in attending meetings. This has given her the confidence and the ability to support herself and her mother financially. Along with economic independence, she has also been socially accepted by people around her.

Group members often help support disabled persons in their businesses, as well. For example, they may purchase raw materials, sell/distribute products, and collect and repay loans on behalf of the disabled client. This inclusion is creating role models by empowering disabled persons to be economically self-sufficient while also empowering communities to break down social stigmas and attitudinal barriers on what a disabled person can and cannot do.

To help further financial inclusion for persons with disabilities, CFI’s <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/programs-a-projects/pwd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disability Financial Inclusion Program</a> in India has provided trainings and resources to sensitize and equip microfinance institutions to serve this marginalized and underserved population. The program provides disability awareness and sensitization trainings, inclusion assessments, and recommendations to make operations and processes more disability inclusive and friendly.

In the past two and a half years, the program has helped sensitized three microfinance partners (Equitas, ESAF, and Annapurna Microfinance) in three states (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa). These three MFIs have financially included more than 30,000 low-income disabled persons, including over 2,000 visually impaired individuals, a severely excluded disability segment. Last year, the program won an award for its innovation in promoting accessibility and universal design to “ensure a life of equality and dignity for disabled persons.”

This year, we are expanding to three more financial partners in four new Indian states (Karnataka, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh). One partner organization has a network of 33 sub-partners providing social and as well as financial support, spreading the seed of inclusion across India. We are also developing strategies to expand disability inclusion with our partners and other stakeholders through advocacy and awareness. We are facilitating partnerships between the financial industry and disability organizations in India, many of which provide livelihoods training, skills development, and other social supports to disabled clients. In sum, we are helping provide a strong ecosystem for sustainable financial inclusion for persons with disabilities.

We remain convinced of the value of including persons with disabilities and older people in financial services outreach. Indeed, financial inclusion is a valuable instrument to equip people with the tools they need to manage and grow their income. As we continue to pursue this goal — despite how challenging it can be at times — we eagerly look forward to the day when <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/our-definition-of-financial-inclusion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all people who can use financial services have access to a broad range of quality financial tools</a>.

<em>This post was also published on the Microcredit Summit Campaign's <a href="http://100millionideas.org/2015/09/18/how-to-be-disability-inclusive-and-age-friendly/">100 Million Ideas blog</a>. Almost a year ago, CFI launched two <a href="http://www.microcreditsummit.org/commitment-makers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Campaign Commitments</a> for further research and action on the inclusion of persons with disabilities and older people in financial services.</em>

<strong>Have you read?</strong>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/09/10/aging-and-financial-inclusion-a-client-protection-issue/">Aging and Financial Inclusion: A Client Protection Issue?</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/04/30/aging-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-challenge-meets-opportunity/">Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenge Meets Opportunity</a>

<a href="http://cfi-blog.org/2015/08/31/four-interventions-to-help-victims-of-trauma-find-hope-and-dignity/">Four Interventions to Help Victims of Trauma Find Hope and Dignity</a>

How to Be Disability Inclusive and Age Friendly

Jordan Coriza

Latin America and The Caribbean

Paraguay

India

South Asia

Access Usage Gap

Enabling Environment

Financial Capability

Persons With Disabilities

Trends

Underserved Groups

Rural Populations

Women

Impact Investing

Credit

Entrepreneurs of MSMEs

MSME/SME Finance

Article

Video

This past fall at the United Nations, world leaders gathered together and pledged to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide by 2030. Shortly thereafter, the World Bank raised the definition of “extreme poverty” from those living on less than $1.25 per day to those living on $1.90 – which means that we’re making progress, and enough of it to raise our ambitions even further. The total number of financially excluded people has <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/globalfindex" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dropped from 2.5 billion to 2 billion in the past three years</a> — but we’re not there yet.

That progress represents an important first step for all of us in the financial inclusion movement who are committed to the belief that everyone should have access to the financial services they need to protect their families, send their children to school, and improve their lives. Here are three major ways we can work towards the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UN’s 2030</a> through expanding financial inclusion.
<ol>
 	<li><strong>Look beyond bank accounts</strong></li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"> Though more people around the world have access to an account, access alone is not the same thing as creating global financial inclusion — having only a savings account wouldn’t protect us if we became sick or injured, or help us build the credit we needed to buy a home. Having a bank account is just one step in the process needed to become fully financially included.</p>

<ol start="2">
 	<li><strong>Invest in financial education</strong></li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Likewise, although access is up, actual usage is stagnant. In too many instances, adults open a bank account and only use it to receive and withdraw payments, or in some cases, not at all. That’s not the relationship we think we should be creating with financial services — we need to affect cultural change through financial education, so those 2 billion people can not only open bank accounts but use them and other services to improve their own lives.</p>

<ol start="3">
 	<li><strong>Learn to reach out to the most excluded</strong></li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Finally, the remaining financially excluded people represent some of the most overlooked and underserved communities on earth: women, the elderly, <a href="http://www.accion.org/how-impact-investing-can-help-people-with-disabilities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">people with disabilities</a>, young people, and those in <a href="http://www.accion.org/disability-inclusion-solar-power-rural-paraguay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rural areas</a>. We have to do more to ensure that they, too, have the same degree of access to quality financial services that they need and deserve.</p>
Still, this progress should help inspire even greater action, commitment, and creativity in promoting financial inclusion and working to end a problem that we can actually solve.

We’ll also keep working with microfinance institutions, financial technology startups, and industry partners to keep expanding access to financial services and promoting usage. We’ve made so much progress, and we know that if we keep working together then we’ll achieve even more.

3 ways to accelerate financial inclusion worldwide

The weather app on my phone reads 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) when we arrive in Concepcion, a four-hour drive north of Asuncion, Paraguay’s capital. If Paraguay is “the heart of South America” — as locals refer to their country — we’re now standing somewhere in the left atrium. Crammed in Lilian Britez’s modest home, we wait as she manages her way onto a shiny blue wheelchair. Her crisp clothes, light makeup, and styled hair indicate that she’s prepared for our meeting. We cross the dirt road that divides her home from a small church and gather under the shadow of a large poplar to hear her story.

Now 45, Lilian became paraplegic at 16 when a stray bullet struck her spine. In spite of that, she lives an independent life, selling Avon products and, most recently, producing decorative flowers. She learned this new skill after joining a solidarity group of Fundación Paraguaya with 19 women in her community. This model, which Fundación Paraguaya calls <em>comité de mujeres emprendedoras</em> (committee of entrepreneurial women), allows women to acquire new skills, such as handicrafts and soap making, and get microloans to support or start new microenterprises.

Though she enjoys the extra income that’s resulted from her involvement with the Paraguayan nonprofit, Lilian has much higher aspirations: She wants to help bring electricity to families in her community. And she’s poised to do that through a partnership facilitated by Accion between <a href="http://www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py/?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fundación Paraguaya</a> and <a href="http://www.barefootcollege.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Barefoot College</a>.
<h2>A barefoot movement</h2>
Founded by Indian social activist Bunker Roy in 1972, Barefoot College provides basic services and solutions to problems in rural communities, with the objective of making those communities self-sufficient. The organization focuses on five areas: the delivery of solar electrification, clean water, education, livelihood development, and activism. With a geographic focus on the least developed countries — including Paraguay — Barefoot College believes in empowering women as agents of sustainable change. In a TED talk filmed in 2011, Roy asks, “Who is a professional?” He then explains: “A professional is someone who has a combination of competence, confidence, and belief. A water diviner is a professional. A traditional midwife is a professional. A traditional bonesetter is a professional. These are professionals all over the world. You find them in any inaccessible village around the world. And we thought that these people should come into the mainstream and show that the knowledge and skills that they have are universal.”

Roy realized this decades ago, and over the last 40 years has been enabling the rural poor to use their creativity and intellect to solve some of the most intractable problems of their daily lives. Funded by the Indian government, philanthropic contributions, and revenue generated from the sales of products it produces, Barefoot College has improved the lives of thousands of adults and children through its myriad initiatives. The solar engineering program, launched in 2008, has trained more than 1,100 women from 64 countries. The result? More than 50,000 homes electrified – and counting.

Today, Barefoot College is going a step further and selecting women with disabilities to participate in its solar-engineering program. Surrounded by a crowd of family and friends, Lilian introduces herself to everyone under the tree: Fundación Paraguaya staff, Accion visitors, and Barefoot College’s Latin America director Rodrigo París, who flew in from his office in Colombia for the selection of Paraguayan candidates. Rodrigo describes the program: Lilian will travel to the village of Tilonia, India, at no cost to her to attend a five-month, six-days-a-week electrical skills training program with 50 other women from all over the world. She will live, eat, and learn with them for the duration of the course. There are no language requirements or academic prerequisites. Classes are taught in English with pictorial materials and lots of sign and body language. Rest assured, he says, she will be able to follow along. She will learn how to bring light to a house powered by solar panels. Though she won’t receive a college diploma, at the end of the program she’ll be considered a solar engineer. All Lilian needs now

Surrounded by a crowd of family and friends, Lilian introduces herself to everyone under the tree: Fundación Paraguaya staff, Accion visitors, and Barefoot College’s Latin America director Rodrigo París, who flew in from his office in Colombia for the selection of Paraguayan candidates.

Rodrigo describes the program: Lilian will travel to the village of Tilonia, India, at no cost to her to attend a five-month, six-days-a-week electrical skills training program with 50 other women from all over the world. She will live, eat, and learn with them for the duration of the course. There are no language requirements or academic prerequisites. Classes are taught in English with pictorial materials and lots of sign and body language. Rest assured, he says, she will be able to follow along. She will learn how to bring light to a house powered by solar panels. Though she won’t receive a college diploma, at the end of the program she’ll be considered a solar engineer.

All Lilian needs now is interest, and to be committed to completing the course and coming back to Concepcion to deliver solar power to her community. Upon her return, Fundación Paraguaya will help Lilian conduct a needs assessment to select the homes to be electrified using its “<a href="http://www.accion.org/poverty-stoplight-fundacion-paraguaya-putting-poverty-on-the-map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Poverty Stoplight</a>”, a 50-question visual survey instrument to measure poverty. One of the measurements includes access to electricity.

Then, Barefoot College will support Fundación Paraguaya in identifying donor funding for the purchase of the solar panels. A volunteer committee made up of community members will help manage the installation of the panels and provide ongoing maintenance for the newly electrified homes – an electrical company of sorts – under Lilian’s guidance and supervision. Each home will pay four to six dollars per month. The committee will establish the exact amount in consultation with community members, and 60 percent of the income will go into a savings account to purchase new solar panels (the lifespan of a typical panel is five years), with 40 percent for Lilian’s salary.

After Rodrigo’s comprehensive explanation, Lilian sits up on her chair and, with a meek look, says: “I feel healthy and motivated. I’m excited to travel to India and come back with knowledge that will benefit more than just me.”

[caption id="attachment_335" align="aligncenter" width="1382"]<img class="wp-image-335 size-full" src="http://blogs.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/disability-inclusion-rodrigo-with-Lilian-Juliana-Britez-accion-barefoot-college-fundacion-paraguaya-solar-power-rural-paraguay.jpg" alt="disability-inclusion-rodrigo-with-Lilian-Juliana-Britez-accion-barefoot-college-fundacion-paraguaya-solar-power-rural-paraguay" width="1382" height="922" /> “Ideas conceived from a desk are usually poor. Ideas conceived in the field are often great.” Rodrigo Paris (left), Latin America Director, Barefoot College.[/caption]
<h2>Making the solar engineer</h2>
On April 10, 2014, Lilian boarded a plane for the first time in her life, bound for India. She and the two other Paraguayan women selected for the program had embarked on an experience that would forever change the course of their — and arguably other people’s — lives.

I caught up with her on the phone in late September, when she was back in Paraguay.

“How was India?” I asked.

“So many people,” she said. “So many strangers, everyone speaking languages I couldn’t understand. And the food was so hot! I survived on rice pudding and fruit.”

“And the college?”

“At first it was very hard. Nobody spoke Spanish, and we didn’t understand much. One day we cried. They spoke English and Hindi and the students spoke our languages. A lot of us broke into tears. But, eventually we learned to communicate and we became very close with each other. By the end of the semester, we were crying again, this time because of having to say goodbye.”

Classes ran from nine to five, with a one-hour break for lunch. Lilian learned the basic principles of electricity. She learned how to mount all the components of a solar panel, including soldering circuit boards, connecting inverters, testing, and the entire process of how to make a solar lantern.

Portable solar lanterns are an important part of electrifying a rural village. Think about their many uses: for fishing or farming before dawn, fetching water after dusk, tending to a sick animal through the night, gathering with family outside in the evenings.

The classroom had 10 teachers, mostly women, who spent time one on one with the students. Students were also encouraged to assist each other, which was especially important for Lilian as she had to ask for help in negotiating the campus’s sandy pathways, where her wheelchair would often sink.

There were extracurricular activities and road trips — including a few days in Agra, where Lilian visited the Taj Mahal. In July, former president Clinton visited Barefoot College and met with the class of solar engineers.

“That handsome blond with the great blue eyes,” Lilian said about meeting Clinton. “I remember seeing him on television in Paraguay.”

That day, she also had a chance to meet Paraguay’s ambassador to India. “I asked to have a word with him,” she continued. “I told him this program is fantastic and that he needed to make sure more Paraguayan women have a chance to attend.”
<h2>Disability inclusion</h2>
Two years ago, Fundación Paraguaya began working on financial inclusion for persons with disabilities (PWDs), a population vastly underrepresented and underserved by microfinance institutions. According to the World Health Organization, PWDs represent 15 percent of the world’s population, but some estimates indicate that they make up less than one percent of the world’s current microfinance clients. With Accion’s support, Fundación Paraguaya partnered with Nobel Peace Prize-winning Handicap International to take the first steps in becoming a fully accessible institution. Handicap International developed staff training and awareness-raising tools for Fundación Paraguaya. In addition, Accion supported Fundación Paraguaya in executing an initial assessment of physical accessibility (with Libre Acceso from Mexico) and analyzing how to use technology to facilitate disability access to financial and non-financial products.

“We had already been working for a number of years on the distribution of wheelchairs in partnership with the Wheelchair Foundation and the Mormon Church,” says Jimena Vallejos, project manager for disability inclusion at Fundación Paraguaya, “so working with Accion and Handicap International on a broader disability-inclusion initiative was a natural course of action.”

The partnership yielded another positive result: In January 2014, the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion published a framework for microfinance institutions seeking to close the financial inclusion gap for PWDs. The reference publication, to which Fundación Paraguaya made significant contributions, covers six areas and includes implementation details to help financial institutions become more welcoming to PWDs. Fundación Paraguaya is implementing this framework.

This past June, Fundación Paraguaya received a grant from the United States Agency for International Development to develop a disability-inclusive program and business model for microfinance institutions — to show that serving PWDs is not only the right thing to do but also profitable. The grant will also support the implementation of the Roadmap to Financial Inclusion and Fundación Paraguaya’s Poverty Stoplight program among families who have members with disabilities.

“When Accion connected us with Barefoot College and suggested we select women with disabilities for the solar engineering program, we jumped at the idea,” says Jimena. “It’s been amazing to see the change in these women. The women that came through Asuncion en route to India six months ago were different. They were slightly frightened and a bit insecure. They returned from India empowered — excited to start their [solar] projects. The change is wonderful. And we are hoping to send another group next year, if Barefoot College will have us.”
<h2>Illuminating the future</h2>
But what happens after a solar engineer brings light to her village, her mini-“electric company” is underway, and Barefoot College has stepped aside?

“When we select a community for the program,” explains Rodrigo París, “we establish alliances with local universities to conduct impact assessments in the villages. We want to know what changed with the arrival of light at the family, community, and business levels.”

The results from these studies are used to suggest community improvements, such as building a library for children learning to read, or a workshop space for women to exchange handicraft skills.

Barefoot College’s five-year vision for Latin America is to build a campus in the region — as they have done in Sierra Leone and Zanzibar and will soon do in South Sudan — to train 100 to 200 women per semester rather than the two or three from each country who travel to India currently.

Rodrigo also wants to establish the first network of solar-engineer alumni in Latin America to foster communication, idea-exchange, and problem-solving.

But all of that needs financial support.

“Ideas conceived from a desk are usually poor,” says Rodrigo. “Ideas conceived in the field are often great. Come visit Barefoot College. Once you see the magic, once you meet these courageous women, you will want to support us.”

“Ultimately,” he continues, “what we are trying to do is to strengthen, educate, and empower women, and through them — because they are the core of a family and a community — to bring light. And the light will light ideas, give hope, and foster positive change.”

Disability inclusion and solar power in rural Paraguay

India is a global leader in financial inclusion. For over a decade, Accion has worked with and learned from India’s innovators, investors, and policymakers to expand economic opportunity for its people and businesses.

[embed]https://vimeo.com/146332450[/embed]

Our impact investment in <a href="http://www.vindhyainfo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vindhya e-Infomedia</a>, a Bangalore-based company that provides clients with data management and customer support, goes back to 2011. Nearly 80 percent of Vindhya’s 1,000 employees are either physically challenged, hearing impaired, or visually impaired.

One of those employees is 24-year-old Reshma Babu. When Reshma was five months old, she contracted polio and lost the use of her legs. But despite it all, Reshma is entirely independent. That’s due in no small part to her job at Vindhya.

Reshma's is an amazing story that underscores the importance and potential of impact investing. Vindhya is one good example of how we can do more for people with disabilities. Vindhya began as a family-run business, and in two years has become profitable. Vindhya’s clients include SAP, MetLife, WIPRO, and Yahoo, as well as several Indian microfinance organizations such as Swadhaar and SKS.

The company’s success shows that promoting social justice and realizing an economic return can go hand-in-hand.

Around the world, over one billion people live with a disability. One of the best ways to help them lead full lives is for impact investing to back social enterprises that both do good for their employees and communities <em>and</em> do well for their shareholders.

Accion believes that this ‘double bottom line’ investing philosophy is one of the most important ways that we can create real change in the world. Our impact investing vehicles channel investments from donors, Wall Street, and Fortune 500 companies to promising startups that can make a difference by extending financial services to the 2 billion people around the world who lack access to savings, checking, insurance, and more.

How impact investing can help people with disabilities

[embed]https://vimeo.com/138087754[/embed]

Ritu Devi is constantly surrounded by customers and friends at her small shop in Patna, India. Her relentlessly cheerful spirit draws them and helps her build her business in the face of many obstacles.