CRS ICT4D Conference

The ability of a rural farmer to effectively manage his/her household and business finances is often constrained by the fact that smallholders are often excluded from, or badly served by, formal financial tools. This market failure is particularly true in the agricultural sector, where a growing number of donors and service providers are exploring the role that digital financial services can play in improving livelihoods and food security among smallholder households. The proposed panel will highlight how CGAP, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the MasterCard Foundation, and USAID are approaching the opportunity to accelerate the use of digital financial services to solve persistent finance challenges faced by rural and agricultural households. The panelists will present an overview of the most promising innovations available today, as well as compelling opportunities for fostering product design and uptake of digital financial services that complement investments in agriculture while accelerating financial inclusion among the rural poor. The panelists will discuss findings from field work in Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, among other markets, where relatively developed digital financial services markets are creating opportunities in the sector. They will explore the effects of barriers such as policy and regulatory hurdles, availability of digital financial services in rural agricultural areas, and private sector interest and capacity.