Digital finance

Mobile Money and the importance of timely, complete payments to frontline health campaign workers in the fight to eradicate polio: pilot experience from a WHO digital payment platform in Africa

Developing Inclusive Digital Payment Systems

This report from Centre for Strategic and International Studies makes a strong case for digital payments for equity, development and security.

Data Privacy and Protection: Guidance Note to Kenya’s Digital Financial Services

This guidance note highlights how Kenya’s innovation and fintech ecosystem can comply with data protection laws while keeping the customer in mind.

Ethiopia Digital Payments Strategy: Digital Ethiopia 2025

A digital strategy for Ethiopia inclusive prosperity

Accelerating winds of change in global payments

The COVID-19 crisis is having a significant and widespread effect on global payments across sectors. The most striking and potentially lasting impact is an accelerating pace of change in the industry.

The digital lives of refugees and Kenyans with disabilities in Nairobi: A human-centred design approach to identifying mobile-enabled opportunities

This research focuses on disability, using human-centred design methods to better understand how refugees and Kenyans with visual and hearing impairments in Nairobi use mobile technology and potential opportunities that it could provide.

Toward a Cash-Lite Ghana: Building an Inclusive Digital Payments Ecosystem

The Ghana Digital Payments Roadmap is designed to chart the way to a vibrant and inclusive digital payments ecosystem.

Opportunities for digital in Pakistan 

GSMA report estimates that mobile phone ecosystem contributes around $16.7 billion to the Pakistani economy. To enhance the impact of mobile-enabled digital transformation, it calls for improving digital financial inclusion and taking a whole of government approach to development.

Youth, entrepreneurship and digital financial inclusion

New World Bank Findex note discusses the many ways in which young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are using formal financial services for entrepreneurship.

Digital Economy Blueprint: Kenya

Kenya’s “Digital Economy Blueprint” provides a conceptual framework for setting up a successful digital economy in the country. The document identifies and explores five pillars of focus and is relevant for our work not just in Kenya but across Africa.

How to create modern G2P payment systems

New CGAP focus note explores the core idea behind future-ready G2P payments, lays out its advantages and challenges, and describes how governments can create modern G2P payments systems. It draws heavily from ongoing efforts in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

8 ways to boost Africa's digital ecosystem

The World Economic Forum and International Trade Centre’s “Africa e-commerce agenda” discusses 8 policy areas - including enhancing digital payments - that can help unleash the potential of e-commerce in the continent.

Did you see my tweet?  

This FSD Kenya analysis demonstrates the utility of social media (Twitter) analytics tools for monitoring discussions around consumer protection. 

How to consolidate gains in digital payments

This CG Dev paper, by Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, shows how M-Pesa’s success has led to a series of endogenous innovations that have shaped Kenya’s digital space. It outlines several important challenges that Kenya will need to address in order to further consolidate its success, including connectivity issues, digital ID, interoperability and consumer protection.

The Digital Lives of Refugees

This report by GSMA and UNHCR looks at the ways in which refugees are using mobile phones to help guide digital interventions by humanitarian organizations and mobile network operators.

How to promote women's digital financial inclusion

Prepared at the request of the G7 French Presidency, this Gates Foundation report aims to be “a blueprint for improving digital financial inclusion in Africa.”

Client Voices: Rwandans Speak on Digital Financial Services

Based on a survey of over 1,200 people in three districts of Rwanda, this Smart Campaign report delves into the experiences of users of digital financial services.

Should graduation programmes replace the more conventional cash transfers? 

What comes after unconditional cash transfers? Does the inclusion of some form of graduation programs offer a more sustainable solution to poverty? Read this blog to learn more about the deb…

Partnering With the Private Sector to Extend Digital Financial Services to the Unbanked

This GIZ and Amarante Consulting study shares learnings and challenges with mobile wallet uptake among Syrian refugees, women and unbanked Jordanians.

Cash usage behaviour and its implication for digital payments: A case of Ghana and Nigeria's smallholder cassava value chain

Education programs and awareness campaigns can help improve mobile money usage among smallholder cassava farmers in Nigeria and Ghana. Better agent network and incentives may help too. Read …