FINANCE FINANCE EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT Women in Agriculture Using Digital Financial Services Lessons Learned from Technical Assistance Support to DigiFarm, Fenix, and myAgro Authors: Panos Varangis Juan Buchenau Toshiaki Ono Rachel Sberro-Kessler Asuka Okumura © 2021 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. 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Cover design and layout: Maria Lopez / lopez.ten@gmail.com >>> Contents Executive Summary 7 Chapter 1: Overview Of Context, Players, and Technical Assistance Provided 10 Fenix in Uganda 14 Safaricom’s DigiFarm in Kenya 15 MyAgro in Tanzania 16 Chapter 2: Insights on the Specificities of Female Farmers and Impact on Product Design and Marketing 18 Insights from Uganda and Product Prototypes for Fenix 18 Insights from Kenya and Product Prototypes for DigiFarm 20 Insights from Tanzania and Product Design and Marketing Adjustments for myAgro 22 Chapter 3: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Financial Service Providers 24 A One-Size-Fits-All Approach Does Not Exist 24 Gender Gaps in Mobile Phone Ownership and Mobile Money Accounts Can Jeopardize Product Uptake 25 Segmenting Female Clients into Subgroups Is a Necessary Foundation for an Effective Design Process—it Helps Reveal Similarities and Differences Between Women That Will Influence Product Uptake and Usage 25 Gender Considerations Must Be Embedded throughout the Research Planning, Implementation, and Prototype Design Processes 29 Quantitative Data Analysis, Complemented by Human- centered Design or Another Qualitative Research Methodology, Is a Powerful Tool for Designing Impactful Solutions 29 The Economics of Serving Female Smallholder Farmers Can Be Challenging in Some Markets and Establishing a Business Case Is Key to Generate Internal Buy-in 30 Chapter 4: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Development Institutions 31 Select Providers That Are Gender Sensitive or That Demonstrate a Strong Interest in Reorienting Their Business Systems, Culture, and Processes Toward Gender Equality 32 Align Technical Assistance Funding to Partner Firms’ Existing Interests, KPIs, Partnerships, and Timelines 32 Include a Rigorous Business Case Analysis Within the Partner’s Existing Business Model 32 Targeted Technical Assistance in Early Stages Can Have an Impact, but Additional Mechanisms Such as Risk-sharing Facilities and Investments May Be Needed at a Later Stage to Support Implementation and to Scale-up Viable Services 33 APPENDIX A: Background to the Project 34 APPENDIX B: Women’s Life-stage Framework 37 REFERENCES 40 Figures Figure 1.1: Compared Importance of Agriculture, Levels of Agricultural Value Added Per Worker, and Mobile Money Penetration in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania 11 Figure 1.2: Scope of Services for Fenix (Uganda), myAgro (Tanzania), and DigiFarm (Kenya) 12 Figure 1.3: Objectives of Technical Assistance to Help Providers Move Toward the DFS–Gender–Agriculture Nexus 13 Figure 1.4: Scope of TA and Stage at Which It Was Delivered 14 Figure 2.1: Personas of Fenix’s Rural Female Customer Base 18 Figure 2.2: Segmentation in Four Clusters in Kenya 21 Tables Table 3.1: Female Farmers’ Characteristics, Based on Insights from Fenix, Safaricom, and myAgro Segmentation Exercises 26 >>> Abbreviations and Acronyms AFA AgriFin Accelerate program CGAP Consultative Group to Assist the Poor DFI development financial institution DFS digital financial services FSP financial service provider HCD human-centered design KPIs key performance indicators KYC know your customer MNO mobile network operator SHS solar home system SIA Strategic Impact Advisors TA technical assistance VSLAs Village Savings and Loans Associations EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 5 >>> Acknowledgments This report is part of the Mobile Technology and Digitized Data to Promote Access to Finance by Women in Agriculture project, which has received support from the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality, a World Bank Group multidonor trust fund. This report was prepared by Panos Varangis, Juan Buchenau, Toshiaki Ono, Rachel Sberro- Kessler, and Asuka Okumura. It is based on an in-depth assessment of the project that was pro- vided by Olga Morawczynski and Anna Maftei. The authors wish to thank Shelley Spencer and Nicholas Lesher from Strategic Impact Advisors, Leesa Shrader from the Mercy Corps AgriFin Accelerate Program, Ravi Chhatpar from Dalberg Design, Chris Emmott and Abena Oppon-Kusi from Fenix International, Grant Adams from myAgro, and Emilia Klimiuk for sharing their insights and for their contributions to the report. In addition, this report has benefited greatly from com- ments and insights by Niraj Verma and Anderson Caputo, and by peer reviewers Jamie Ander- son, Margarete Biallas, Sarah Anne Simons, and Uloaku Oyewole.  EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 6 >>> Executive Summary Women in rural areas, and in particular female farmers, have significantly less access to financial services than their male counterparts. Such limited access is harmful to female farmers and their families and significantly impedes their ability to grow and prosper. In particular, female farmers tend to have limited access to formal savings and credit, which limits their ability to manage shocks and invest in seasonal inputs or in durable goods and productive assets. It is estimated that closing the gender gap in access to productive assets could lead to a 20–30 percent yield increase per household, which would benefit not only female farmers, but also their families (FAO 2011). One of the main issues that keeps financing out of the reach of female farmers is that women tend to be time constrained, which indicates the need for easy access to and convenience of financial products. Suitability, ease of use, and convenience are important determinants of access to financial services for women in agriculture. Digital financial services (DFS) have the potential to unlock financial services for women in agriculture; however, currently, significant gender gaps exist in DFS access and usage. By allowing female farmers to make financial transactions without the need to go to the branch of a financial institution, DFS can offer them a safe, private, and convenient way to save money, access loans, make and receive payments, or access insurance. However, many DFS providers see an imbalance in the uptake and usage of financial services by gender. In 2018, the World Bank provided technical assistance (TA) to three financial service providers (FSPs) to help them deliver financial services to female farmers using digital means. The World Bank ran a crowdsourcing exercise to solicit proposals from providers with existing DFS offerings that expressed an interest in reaching out to rural female farmers. Following a competitive selection process, three providers were chosen: Fenix,1 a Ugandan off- grid solar home system (SHS) provider; Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile network operator (MNO), together with Mercy Corps, a technical partner for Safaricom’s DigiFarm platform; and myAgro, a social enterprise with a presence in Tanzania. Technical assistance was provided to these firms with the goal to close the gap in access to finance between female farmers and their male counterparts through a financial needs assessment and the design and development of digital financial products. The selected technical assistance providers were Dalberg (for DigiFarm), Strategic Impact Advisors (for Fenix), and an individual consultant for myAgro. 1. Fenix has become ENGIE Energy Access as of summer 2020. In this document, we will use “Fenix,” which was the name the company had during project implementation. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 7 Although the three FSPs operated in different country • Low levels of literacy do not necessarily affect contexts, with different motivations and scope of services, women’s ability to make use of digital financial and received TA that varied in scope and in timing, the services. Women develop workarounds, like relying on following common trends emerged from market research: younger family members for help with making transactions, that allow them to access and make use of mobile-based • Male and female smallholder farmers can lead financial services. different economic lives despite living in the same household. This can be because of social norms that • Female farmers may need different financial products dictate which farming activities and types of crops women than their male counterparts, and those products can participate in, as well as what life stage a woman is in. may need to be marketed differently. Financial service The balancing act between productive and reproductive providers need to better understand the specificities of responsibilities often limits the types of economic activities female farmers to design and market suitable products. in which women can participate. Research in Kenya showed that women save at an average rate compared with the rest of the population despite • A woman’s agency—her ability to make choices and facing, on average, 2.5 times as many emergencies as act on those choices—can be influenced by her life Kenyans overall. Such insights showed the potential for stage and her marital conditions. For example, in formal savings products among women. In Tanzania, certain areas of Tanzania where polygamy is common, research showed that women commonly used “allocation” women who do not live under the same roof as their to refer to savings behavior, rather than using the language husbands may have fairly broad agency and decision- of paying “little by little,” which can be associated with making power over farming activities. Insights from Kenya loan repayment. MyAgro adopted this preference when and Uganda suggest that agency can increase with age describing mobile layaway to some female farmers, which and can depend on marital status. was met with greater acceptance. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 8 Insights from the research were used to make helps reveal similarities and differences between women recommendations on how to launch new solutions, or that will influence product usefulness for women and, in tweak existing ones, to better serve the female client consequence, uptake and usage. base, and those solutions were implemented, with • Gender considerations must be embedded throughout the varying degree, by the providers. In the case of myAgro, a research planning, implementation, and prototype design product with gender-sensitive marketing was launched, but it processes. did not lead to a strong uptake from female farmers because • Quantitative data analysis, complemented by human- of a variety of external challenges. In the case of DigiFarm, centered design (HCD) or another qualitative research insights from the TA were used to design an agricultural methodology, is a powerful tool for designing impactful finance product that is tentatively planned to be launched solutions. with a commercial bank. In the case of Fenix, the company • The economics of serving female smallholder farmers decided to invest in new tools to better garner feedback from can be challenging in some markets and establishing a its female clients in a cost-effective manner and it used these business case is key to generate internal buy-in. tools in other countries of operation (for example, Benin). For development institutions that are supporting FSPs This report offers a summary of the process to assess in developing financial services to a new underserved financial needs and conditions of female clients, the segment such as the one of female smallholder farmers, process to design suitable solutions for women, the taking advantage of innovative DFS technologies is an challenges faced along the way, and the outcomes from undertaking that has many “moving parts.” Lessons each of these engagements. The aim of this report is to learned and recommendations for development build sectoral knowledge on what it takes to improve service institutions that implement projects to increase access to offerings for rural female clients, and what types of support finance for women in agriculture emerging from the three providers require to make those improvements. TA engagements are as follows: For FSPs, developing products and approaches for • Select providers that have taken explicit steps to become female farmers can help improve sales and profitability, gender sensitive, or that demonstrate a strong interest in but it requires a complex process. Lessons learned and reorienting their business systems, culture, and processes recommendations for FSPs emerging from the three TA toward gender equality. engagements are as follows: • Align technical assistance funding to partner firms’ existing interests, key performance indicators, partnerships, and • A one-size-fits-all approach does not exist and DFS timelines. providers must understand the specific conditions of their • Include a rigorous business case analysis within the female clients. partner’s existing business model. • Gender gaps in mobile phone ownership and mobile • Targeted technical assistance in early stages can have an money accounts can jeopardize product uptake. impact, but additional mechanisms such as risk-sharing • Segmenting female clients into subgroups is a necessary facilities and investments may be needed at a later stage foundation for an effective design process because it to support implementation and scale-up of viable services. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 9 1. >>> Overview of Context, Players, and Technical Assistance Provided The World Bank supported three financial service providers (FSPs) in improving their understanding of female farmers to help them develop digital financial services for female farmers. The three providers operated in different country contexts, with different motivations and scope of services, and received technical assistance (TA) that varied in scope and in timing. An overview of these differences in context, players, and TA follows. The TA was provided to FSPs in three different countries with various levels of agricultural development, digital financial services (DFS) development, and gender inequality (see figure 1.1). Though agriculture plays a key economic and social role in all three countries, Kenya has the highest agriculture value added per worker (US$1,120), followed by Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is also the country with the highest penetration of mobile money accounts (73 percent), followed by Uganda (50 percent) and Tanzania (38 percent). Although gender gaps exist in all three countries, Uganda is the country with the widest gender gaps both in terms of general human development (the Gender Development Index is 0.862 compared with 0.93 in Kenya and Tanzania) and mobile money penetration (gender gap of 16 percentage points compared with 11 in Tanzania and 8 in Kenya). These differences have an effect on the demand and supply of digital financial services for female farmers. 2. The Gender Development Index (GDI) measures gender gaps in human development achievements by accounting for disparities between women and men in three basic dimensions of human development—health, knowledge, and living standards. A value equal to 1 indicates development equality between genders, while values further from 1 have less devel- opment equality between genders (United Nations Development Programme 2018). EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 10 > > > F I G U R E 1 . 1 - Compared Importance of Agriculture, Levels of Agricultural Value Added Per Worker, and Mobile Money Penetration in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania a. Importance of agriculture and agricultural value-added per worker 80 910 673 a 60 1120 40 20 0 KENYA TANZANIA UGANDA PERCENT Employment in agriculture (percent of total employment) Agriculture, forestry, and fishing value-added (percent of GDP) b. Mobile money penetration 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 KENYA TANZANIA UGANDA PERCENT OF ADULTS WITH MOBILE MONEY Women Men Source: FINDEX 2017 and World Development Indicators Database. Notes: Data on employment in agriculture is from 2020. Data on agriculture, forestry, and fishing value added as percent of GDP is from 2019 in Kenya and Uganda and from 2017 in Tanzania. a. For each country, the number in the box is the agriculture, forestry, and fishing value added per worker (constant 2010 US$). EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 11 The scope of services offered by each FSP to farmers was different (see figure 1.2). Fenix is an off-grid solar home system (SHS) provider developing lending solutions for its rural last-mile customers. MyAgro offers a bundle of inputs, technical assistance, and financial services. And DigiFarm offers a broad range of both financial (credit, insurance) and nonfinancial services (access to inputs, markets, training). At the time of the project, these three providers had the status of social enterprises aiming to maximize both social3 and financial returns. > > > F I G U R E 1 . 2 - Scope of Services for Fenix (Uganda), myAgro (Tanzania), and DigiFarm (Kenya) Scope of agricultural Services offered Access to markets Training Inputs Financial services Source: World Bank data. For each provider, moving toward the “gender–agriculture– The scale and scope of TA as well as the stage at which it DFS nexus” meant understanding a new market (see was delivered in each FSP’s journey toward the gender– Figure 1.3). For myAgro, which had developed a business agriculture–DFS nexus varied widely (see Figure 1.4). model to improve women’s access to quality agricultural Technical assistance provided to myAgro aimed at adjusting inputs, one of the key challenges was to move to a fully digital myAgro’s planned product bundle to female farmers’ needs offer (from scratch cards to mobile money payments). For and developing an effective marketing approach and materials. Fenix, which was already using DFS (pay as you go for SHS Specifically, the TA aimed to ensure that the planned product and school fee loans) and serving women (42 percent of its (combination of digital financial service + inputs delivery + customer base), the new challenge was to develop a product training) would be valued by female clients in the new market specifically for agriculture that could be adapted to its female (that is, Tanzania). To the contrary, the TA provided to Fenix clients. For DigiFarm, which had developed a suite of financial and DigiFarm was much larger in scale and scope because and nonfinancial services for farmers but with relatively low it aimed at developing new products on the basis of insights uptake among women, the objective was to better understand generated by market research focusing on female clients. women’s needs and to develop a product adjusted to those Although the TA to myAgro was delivered close to product needs. launch phase, the TA delivered to Fenix and DigiFarm focused more on market research and product prototyping. 3. Providers that are primarily motivated by client outcomes offer services to increase the income, well-being, independence, and resilience of the rural household or small and medium enterprise. The services themselves are a means to an end: the end being a richer, more resilient household or business. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 12 > > > F I G U R E 1 . 3 - Objectives of Technical Assistance to Help Providers Move Toward the DFS–Gender–Agriculture Nexus Fenix Digital financial Gender services myAgro DigiFarm Agriculture Objective of TA support Source: World Bank data. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 13 > > > F I G U R E 1 . 4 - Scope of TA and Stage at Which It Was Delivered Scope of agricultural Product launched Services offered by the end of TA New product Rural femalecustomer needs Two product prototypes Go-to-market roadmap design assessment developed: developed and pilot planning • Quantitative survey • Agri loan with lump sum (target geographies, growth (Call center - 218 interviews) disbursement trajectories, training, and • Focus group discussions • Agri loan disbursement + awareness materials for staff) (120 customers, 23 Fenix payment to agri vendor staff and 13 other rural market actors Minimum viable product requirements, end-to-end process flows, business case summaries and roles, and responsibilities for staff. Human account data Human-centered research Suggested next steps: analytics: conducted and two product • Securing partnership with • 5.5 million demographic, prototypes developed: a financial institution for behavioral and psychological • M-PESA general wallet deposit taking data points • DigiPrep layaway product • Validating products and business model • Assessing costs and technology requirements Existing product Seventy qualitative interviews Product adaptions, marketing Adjustment conducted with female farmers strategy and marketing and mobile money agents materiaks developed Market research Product prototyping Go to market Product development stage Source: World Bank data. Fenix in Uganda and powering their radio. To access the SHS, customers pay a deposit upfront. The balance for the product can be repaid over the course of 12–30 months. Both the deposit and the balance can be paid using mobile money. Fenix uses Company Profile and Objectives geographic information system–based technology combined Fenix4 is an off-grid SHS provider that offers a “lease-to-own” with a SIM card to enable remote locking of the SHS kits in or “pay-as-you-go” kit. Over the past eight years, the company case of late repayments or defaults. has seen rapid and impressive growth. More than 600,000 customers and 2.5 million people use Fenix products across Because Fenix collects payments using mobile money, it had six markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the time of the project, more than 19 million power payments go through its platform. the flagship product was ReadyPay Power,5 which can be used This payment data became a powerful source for credit scoring. by households for a wide range of energy needs including In Uganda, Fenix leveraged the data to develop a school fees lighting up their home, charging their mobile phone battery, 4. Fenix has become ENGIE Energy Access as of summer 2020. In this document, we will use “Fenix,” which was the name the company had during project implementa- tion. 5. At the time of publication of this report, the flagship product is Fenix Power. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 14 lending product in partnership with the Consultative Group to minimum viable product requirements, end-to-end process Assist the Poor (CGAP). During the testing, 942 school fee flows, business case summaries, and roles and responsibilities loans were made to Fenix clients. Repayment rates were high for Fenix staff. on this lending product, which led the Fenix team to want to explore the development of additional credit products that Phase 3: A go-to-market road map provided Fenix with would meet the financial needs of its customers. At the time the specifics necessary to launch a pilot such as target of the project, Fenix’s vision was to move beyond an SHS geographies and growth trajectories, as well as training and provider to also become a financial services provider offering awareness materials for Fenix staff. lending solutions that are applicable to its rural last-mile customers. Safaricom’s DigiFarm in Kenya In analyzing repayment data on the school fees product, Fenix realized that repayment rates went through a seasonal dip. When it investigated why this dip occurred, it learned that Company Profile and Objectives Safaricom is the largest mobile network operator in Kenya clients increased their spending around planting or harvest and one of the most profitable companies in East and Central season for agricultural inputs and labor. Running a survey on Africa. The company offers a range of services including school fee loan customers, Fenix realized that about 10–20 mobile telephony, mobile money, e-commerce, and cloud percent of customers used some part of the school fee loan computing. It is most well-known for launching M-PESA, a to fund an agricultural expense. This led Fenix to realize that digital finance service. Safaricom has a subscriber base of school fee loans were fungible. approximately 33 million, which accounts for about 64 percent of the Kenyan market. On the basis of these findings, Fenix wanted to design a more flexible loan product that also allowed its users to In 2016, Safaricom formed a partnership with Mercy Corps’s invest in revenue-generating activities. Fenix considered the AgriFin Accelerate (AFA) program, a Mastercard Foundation– agricultural input loan product to be a win-win for both the funded initiative. The aim of the partnership was to leverage the business and clients: through this loan, Fenix would generate M-PESA platform and communications services to transform additional revenue from interest on loans, and its clients could the agricultural sector and to improve the lives of farmers. use the credit to invest in their farms or businesses, thus From this partnership emerged DigiFarm, a Safaricom-backed increasing their productivity and income. digital platform that offers smallholder farmers access to a suite of services including the following: Although Fenix was not necessarily looking to design financial products for women only, analytics on its existing data • Loans, based on credit scoring done by a technology suggested that when women are handling household money, company called FarmDrive, which uses historical farm repayment is better.6 This realization led Fenix to seek support data in its algorithms to explore the design of a gender-sensitive credit product. • Farm inputs, such as seed and fertilizers, via a partnership with the technology provider iProcure, which has depots Scope and Methodology of TA Support across Kenya Technical assistance was segmented into three phases: • Agronomic training and financial education via Arifu, phase 1, a rural female customer needs assessment; phase a mobile-based training services provider 2, product design, prototyping, and testing-in; and phase 3, a • Market access, via a product called DigiSoko, which go-to-market road map and pilot planning. connects farmers to buyers via a web-based platform Phase 1: A mixed-methods approach to the needs assessment Performance data on the DigiFarm platform showed that only involved the use of a quantitative survey administered via 10 percent of the input credit on DigiFarm was being taken Fenix’s call center as well as two waves of focus group up by female clients. The Safaricom team was concerned discussions and key informant interviews. about this low figure because the target that it had set for the program was that 50 percent of its clients should be female, to Phase 2: A design summary document presented two align with M-PESA’s 51 percent female customer base. This prototypes with value propositions for the female farmers, 6. Interview notes, Nick Lesher. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 15 concern over low input credit usage among female clients MyAgro in Tanzania made it easier for the Mercy Corps AFA program to generate buy-in for the TA engagement among Safaricom senior management. Company Profile and Objectives MyAgro is a social enterprise operating in West Africa. The The consultancy firm Dalberg was retained to support company has developed a layaway savings program that Safaricom. Dalberg had a long-standing working relationship enables smallholder farmers to save for agricultural inputs such with Safaricom because it has been engaged by Mercy Corps as seed, fertilizers, and tools to improve their productivity by to provide direct support to the DigiFarm product under the using a prepaid scratch card model. The service also includes AFA program. Thus, Dalberg had been involved in several the delivery of agricultural inputs and agronomic training for engagements with Safaricom and had strong ties to several farmers as input packages. Farmers can save to purchase individuals within the organization. input packages for the next planting season by purchasing myAgro scratch cards at village stores. Each scratch card can Scope and Methodology of TA Support be purchased for a nominal cost, allowing farmers to save A first phase of work was done in advance of the TA incrementally. Once the farmers buy enough cards for any engagement, during which the Dalberg team conducted a input packages they have picked, myAgro delivers the inputs gendered analysis of the Human Account data.7 The Human and the training service selected (training costs are included Account is a database of 5.5 million data points to capture in the total package price). the contextual, behavioral, and psychological dimensions of the financial lives of people in six countries (including Kenya); In 2018, myAgro reached 50,000 farmers in Mali and Senegal it was derived from a large survey funded by the Bill and and more than 65 percent of its client base was female. Melinda Gates Foundation. Dalberg clustered and mined the To reach 1 million farmers by 2025, myAgro has two key data to create four Kenyan female farmer segments on the strategies: (1) partnering with existing savings group networks, basis of female clients’ behavior characteristics from the data and (2) digitizing its operations and introducing mobile money. survey: careful strivers, cautious independents, disciplined Since inception, myAgro has sought to leverage partnerships pragmatists, and educated planners. with networks of savings groups to reach a larger population of female farmers and to reduce delivery costs. Approximately In the second phase of work, Dalberg used qualitative human- 80 percent of these groups are female clients. Using savings centered design techniques to flesh out those segments and to groups as a distribution channel not only helps myAgro test hypotheses on behavior, product fit, and channel strategy, minimize the number of its own field staff, but it also reduces culminating in new product concepts that were prototyped and costs related to customer acquisition and mobilization. evaluated. Leveraging savings groups is a key factor in driving down 7. For details, visit https://www.thehumanaccount.com EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 16 the field cost of service delivery for myAgro from US$200 per expertise in the crop, and because it allowed myAgro to take farmer in 2012 to approximately US$52 per farmer in 2018. advantage of a favorable agricultural calendar that allows for As part of this strategy, myAgro aimed to pilot a fully digitized both crops to be marketed to farmers in the same year. In the operation in Tanzania, where a robust mobile money network areas where myAgro decided to deploy its operations, cashew exists. MyAgro’s solution is a savings product that allows is the primary source of farmers’ income. Although maize and farmers to safely and privately invest in their farms, while sunflower are not the main crops, they have the potential to providing access to high-quality inputs and training. The fully diversify and stabilize farmers’ revenues. MyAgro’s solution digital mobile layaway platform allows farmers to prepay would give farmers an opportunity to save portions of their for input and training packages directly using their mobile cashew profits toward agricultural inputs for maize and phones. The platform uses bill pay technology offered by local sunflower and, therefore, improve and stabilize their revenues. mobile network operators to provide a quick and easy mobile The TA engagement focused on analyzing how to adapt these payment solution. Clients can make payments directly with two packages to increase uptake among women. their own mobile devices, or they can use the mobile devices of friends, relatives, or mobile money agents. The intended Objectives and Methodology of TA Support delivery channel for the fully digital product was Aga Khan MyAgro requested a more limited engagement than the two Foundation’s savings groups. other providers. Rather than developing a new product, the pilot project was about making service model adaptations to MyAgro decided to focus the fully digitized operation in Tanzania myAgro’s existing product bundle. on maize and sunflower farmers. Maize was chosen because myAgro had already conducted multiple successful harvest There were 70 interviews conducted during the pilot project trials in Mali and Senegal, and therefore it felt confident it could with female farmers and mobile money agents. The learnings guarantee increased harvests and incomes for farmers, which from the survey were used to make recommendations on could help build trust in the targeted communities. Sunflower product adaptation and implementation (see next section). was chosen because of Aga Khan Foundation’s existing EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 17 2. >>> Insights on the Specificities of Female Farmers and Impact on Product Design and Marketing This section provides a summary of the insights from the market research conducted in the three countries and their influence on product development and marketing for financial service providers. Insights from Uganda and Product Prototypes for Fenix Fenix’s existing rural female customer base was segmented into three personas (see figure 2.1). > > > F I G U R E 2 . 1 - Personas of Fenix’s Rural Female Customer Base Digitally savvy, Married in a joint Elderly-widowed younger, and decision household or unmarried recently married High, yet narrowly Broad, yet still shaped Agency Unrestricted concentrated by spouse Roles and Restricted Many but shared Sole provider responsibilities Digital technology Aware and capable Aware, some capability Aware, varied capability Source: Strategic Impact Advisors. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 18 Although not homogeneous, some overarching trends across mobile phone, controlling and managing household and the three personas were identified, including the following: farm finances, and participating in pre- and postharvest activities. • Female farmers do not have the upfront capital necessary to invest in preharvest activities like • Despite female farmers’ lower levels of education, purchasing inputs or hiring farm labor. Their current digital financial literacy is not a barrier to mobile funding sources are often limited to Village Savings and money adoption or uptake. The convenience and low Loans Associations (VSLAs), which can be unreliable know-your-customer (KYC) requirements make it a more borrowing sources because of lack of funds or delayed attractive value proposition than a traditional financial loan disbursement. Interest rates from the VSLAs are also institution. fixed at 10 percent per month and loans must be repaid in three months, regardless of harvesting cycles or income • Female farmers value the community-based support that flows. VSLA members must also repay the loan in person VSLAs provide but they prefer to bear the risk of a loan at weekly meetings in cash. alone. • Inputs and fertilizer usage among women are minimal • The economic activity patterns of Fenix female because of lack of information on proper agronomic customers and the diversity of their revenue- practices. Formalized, reliable sources of information generating activities highlight the need for long grace on input application, new seeds, and market pricing are periods and repayment windows. Such features would needed. make loans both more attractive to women and also more likely to generate revenue for both Fenix and the • Female farmers in the target regions have more customer, by allowing them to sell their agricultural output agency than anticipated when it comes to accessing a at better prices. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 19 Using the data, the technical assistance provider, Strategic • Fenix also acquired some powerful tools, including Impact Advisors (SIA), produced a design summary document storyboards and prototypes, that it can use to garner that included prototypes, value propositions for female farmers, feedback from its female clients in a cost-effective minimum viable product requirements, end-to-end process manner. flows, business case summaries, and proposed roles and responsibilities for Fenix staff. Specifically, SIA recommended • The tools were used by Fenix in other markets, such the following solutions: as Benin, to ensure that women’s feedback is captured in the solution design process. • My Farm Loan/My Risk: A cash loan disbursed directly to clients on the basis of their solar home system repayment • Fenix began discussions with two of the suggested activity, along with their self-reported and Fenix-verified agricultural information service providers, and farming activity. This product is designed to be flexible and developed a pilot plan with one of them (EzyAgric), offer female clients the ability to request their preferred to use their agent network and expertise to sell inputs loan value and set their repayment period within Fenix’s financed by Fenix. predetermined ranges. • My Farm Loan/Fenix Covers One Expense: A loan that Insights from Kenya and clients can redeem at an agri-vendor of their choice. A portion of this loan is paid directly to a preferred agricultural Product Prototypes for DigiFarm input provider identified by the female client and approved by Fenix. This payment is meant to mitigate the potential diversion of loan funds and to ensure that at least a portion Insights on Female Farmers of the loan is spent on farming expenditures. Analysis of the Human Account data revealed several attitudinal and behavioral insights that could provide context On the basis of research insights, SIA also strongly for the low uptake of DigiFarm solutions by female farmers: recommended that Fenix develop a partnership with a local agricultural information service provider to address • Women’s financial strategies are shaped by the information gap faced by female clients. In Uganda, SIA emergencies. Female farmers experience on average identified five providers of nonfinancial agricultural services 2.5 times as many emergencies as Kenyans overall. (such as access to markets, information, extensions services, and inputs). SIA argued against a sizeable investment in • Female farmers are more frequent borrowers than developing these capacities in-house and suggested a Kenyans overall. They prefer to borrow small amounts partnership with one of the five identified providers (EzyAgric, mainly from family, friends, and social groups. They are WeFarm, M-Omulimisa, Mkulima Young, and TruTrade). only moderately comfortable holding debt, driven by worries of their own dependability, which is why they A preliminary high-level business case for the suggested prefer borrowing through more flexible social channels products was also proposed with two growth scenarios and are hesitant to take out large loans. outlining the estimated number of borrowers, gross lending revenue, lending costs, monthly profits, and annual profits. • Women view loans as a mechanism for topping up their income or savings to meet their needs, rather Follow-up to the Technical Assistance than as a vehicle for growth. • Thanks to the technical assistance (TA), Fenix was • Female farmers are strong savers despite facing able to gain a much richer understanding of the frequent emergencies that derail their saving goals. needs and financial behaviors of its female clients, which should inform the design of future solutions for this On the basis of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal data segment. points, the segmentation exercise identified four clusters of women careful strivers, cautious independents, disciplined • Fenix leveraged those insights to make improvements pragmatists, and educated planners. across product lines and geographies and aligned its marketing efforts to more effectively target women. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 20 > > > F I G U R E 2 . 2 - Segmentation in Four Clusters in Kenya Careful Cautious Disciplined Educated Strivers Independents Pragmatists Planners Driven, optimistic, planners Reserved, familial, agentic Conscientious, Confident, positive, digital self-effacacious, skeptical 32% of adult population 24% of adult population 27% of adult population 4.6 million 3.4 million 17% of adult population 3.9 million 2.4 million Mostly older, low-middle Mostly young, married Mostly low-middle income, income, rural, married farmers. Mostly low-income, young, woman, they have the highest rural, older, rural married They manage their money at rural, married women. They are education of all segments and women, they face high income leading rates through informal the poorest segment with the are the most urban. Over two- volatility and poor financial groups and friends, family, and highest income volatility and thirds participate in the financial health. Just over a third rely mobile wallets. Nearly all save, worst financial health. They face decision-making, usually with on farming for income, while preferring informal groups and the most expense challenges someone else. Most manage another third rely on social friends, and nearly all borrow, and frequent emergencies. All money through mobile wallets, support. Over two-thirds preferring family. The second farm but a third rely on family at the highest rate of all the participate in household healthiest segment financially, and friends for primary income segments, and are extremely decision-making. They mainly two-thirds experience high and a fifth are casual workers, disciplined around their manage money through family. income volatility, driving driving income struggles. spending and managing their Nearly all save, but are less frequent expense struggles and About two thirds participate in expenses, which results in a likely to have an expense the highest rate of emergencies household financial decisions. confidence in their ability to plan and are not goal-oriented among women. Yet, thanks to Most manage money through pay household expenses on savers. To make ends meet, very strong expense planning, family, informal groups, friends time, and raise funds during they also borrow, mainly from robust reserve building, diverse and mobile wallets. Nearly all emergencies. However, they family. They have a small access to borrowing channels, save at above average rates, also manage money through social safety net, and are less and robust social safety net that and are very disciplined in their family, friends, informal groups trusting of banks, people, and they do not appear to overtax, spending. Nearly all identify and formal accounts. They less trusting of banks, people, they manage these challenges as effective planners and have an optimistic view of the and have less belief in their relatively effectively. most are conscientious, but future, are trusting of others, community supporting them. rely more heavily on discipline and have a strong penchant As a result, they often struggle than planning to manage their for technology, with the highest with frequent expenses and money. To make ends meet, smartphone ownership. financial emergencies. they also borrow, mainly from family. Source: Dalberg Design and Mercy Corps AFA. Thanks to this research, Safaricom was able to get a more nuanced understanding of women’s attitudes toward digital credit and it realized the importance of digital savings to them. A key insight from the research was that women likely do not have the financial buffer to effectively address emergencies. Considering that women’s financial strategies are shaped by emergencies, saving—rather than borrowing—is the safer choice for them to help manage that volatility. To Safaricom, this insight highlighted the importance of offering a savings product in conjunction with lending on its platform. “Female farmers manage to save at the same rates as Kenyans overall. Their ability to save at an average rate reflects a deeply felt need and strong discipline in putting aside money through tight control over their spending.” – Lessons learned from Dalberg Design’s Safaricom engagement EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 21 Product Prototypes farms and began to engage with women’s groups to help On the basis of research insights, the Dalberg team made build trust, understanding, and active adoption and also to recommendations on two new savings product concepts: show convenience. These field-based engagements were a game changer, together with effective links to markets in • The DigiPrep layaway product, which gives female value chains in which women are active. farmers the ability to prepare for seasonal agricultural needs by putting away money toward specific agricultural Insights from Tanzania and goals, locking in prices and discounts in advance, while also building up an emergency relief fund, thus protecting Product Design and Marketing their investment savings from being spent down, and Adjustments for myAgro tracking progress over time. Women can access a top-up loan for agricultural inputs on unmet savings goals. Insights on Female Farmers • A flexible multipurpose wallet, to help farmers save for a In myAgro’s case, the solution design process did not start particular goal (for example, education, investment, health) with a rigorous segmentation exercise. MyAgro had already with the flexibility to withdraw a portion of the savings for decided that its pilot would focus on rolling out the maize and emergencies. Farmers can save small amounts of money sunflower layaway packages. Key findings from small-scale in an open savings wallet to meet near-term goals and field research include the following: access loans up to twice the amount of their savings at any given time. • The main source of income in the region is cashew production, and women’s limited role in the marketing The proposed next steps toward building a savings product on of cashews means that they are entirely dependent DigiFarm include the following: on their husbands for the bulk of their income. This dependency generates an uncertainty for female • Safaricom to secure a partnership with a financial farmers in myAgro’s catchment areas, making them institution for deposit taking and loan products in the engage in multiple income-generating activities, usually proposed concept. microenterprises run out of their homes, to help finance • Safaricom to validate the value proposition of the savings their myAgro sunflower and maize packages. product and design business model and go-to-market strategy. • The most important value proposition would be on- • Assess and cost the development and technology time delivery of the reliable inputs package with requirements and timeframes to build out the platform and proper training services. the key features proposed to enable female farmers to build up their savings. • Paying little by little is not (yet) a popular idea in the region, in part because of the cash in-flow pattern, which Follow-up after the TA relies heavily on income from cashews at the end of the year. • Following the TA, DigiFarm partnered with commercial bank Stanbic. • Although penetration of mobile money is relatively high in Tanzania, women are less likely to own • Insights from the TA were used to design an agricultural a phone because phone ownership is based on finance product that was significantly delayed by COVID mobility. MyAgro assumed that Tanzania’s relatively in 2020 but is planned to be launched in 2021. high penetration of mobile money usage could serve as an ideal testing ground to integrate digital processes into • In addition, DigiFarm’s credit product has significantly myAgro’s business model. However, in the areas where improved its outreach to women. Women now account the pilots took place, women’s usage of mobile money for more than 48 percent of DigiFarm’s active portfolio—a was quite limited. Phone ownership and usage is based major improvement over the status two years before. The mostly on mobility, and because women are often at home major advances in women’s inclusion in DigiFarm resulted managing the household, they are less likely to have from the introduction of the market access service, which expendable income and, therefore, less likely to own a was driven forward by field staff who met women at their phone. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 22 • Previous use of mobile money does not mean trust or source of farmers’ income since the disappearance of two key fluency in how to send money. cash crop markets in recent years (green gram and pigeon pea). The cashew harvest season takes place between • Farmers prefer a face-to-face relationship. They also September and November, with payments for harvested appreciate a follow-up phone call to confirm a successful cashew typically arriving between December and February. payment significantly more than an SMS (short message In 2018, however, because of unfavorable international service) confirmation or balance check. cashew market conditions, the buying price for cashews was about 50 percent of the buying price in 2017. As a result, the • Providing additional training and sending payments Tanzanian government decided to intervene by buying cashew in pairs (such as two savings group members) increases harvests directly from farmers, raising the buying price to confidence to send a payment. minimize farmer losses. But government intervention delayed payments significantly, and farmers did not begin receiving Product Adjustments and Marketing payments until January. For many, payments did not arrive On the basis of the research findings, the pilot product was until mid-March, which severely restricted cash availability in fine-tuned and implemented. A gender-specific approach was communities. Uncertainty and price volatility in the cashew designed, including leveraging influential female leaders to market created significant challenges for smallholders in the enroll friends and showing groups of female famers targeted region, which affected their ability to set aside payments far videos on myAgro’s work and impact in Mali and Senegal. enough in advance to be able to access myAgro’s product.8 Marketing visuals were designed with an emphasis on female In addition, myAgro was not able to market the maize and farmer representation to encourage women to enroll, and sunflower packages to customers via the Aga Khan groups marketing visuals used female farmers’ language based on because of coordination issues. As a result, myAgro had to the findings from the field research. For example, interviewed rely on its own marketing activities to build awareness, and female farmers commonly used “allocation” to refer to savings enrollment had to happen on an individual basis. Customer activity, rather than using the language of paying “little by acquisition was mainly through village meetings by reaching little,” which can be associated with loan repayment. MyAgro out to village leaders, which probably resulted in limited adopted this preference when describing mobile layaway to outreach to women. female farmers, which was met with greater acceptance. Other key takeaways include diminishing the minimum package Uptake of the product among women was relatively low. size and reducing the price to make it more accessible, hiring During the 2018/19 season, myAgro delivered packages of former savings group leaders as community-based sales high-quality maize inputs to 164 farmers. Only 27 percent of agents to build trust and establish face-to-face touch points, these packages were delivered to women. In the following introducing an SMS confirmation process for the farmers’ season, for the sunflower inputs package, 34 percent of comfort, and leveraging mobile money dealers as part of the total 273 farmers reached were women. As a point of marketing channels. reference, myAgro’s Mali portfolio is made up of 60 percent female clients, and in Senegal, 40 percent of its total clients Follow-up After the TA are women. It is possible that the relatively low uptake among Over the course of the 18-month pilot, myAgro established women was due to limited market research (see next section on program operations in Tanzania’s southern region of Mtwara. lessons learned), but also due to the fact that the product was In total, more than 500 farmers were reached during the pilot not marketed through savings groups because of coordination period. However, this number was below the original target of issues with Aga Khan. During the 2018/19 season, farmers 1,000 farmers because of unexpected registration difficulties who received myAgro’s service increased their maize harvests at the pilot’s outset, as well as severe cashew market volatility 114 percent over control farmers, investing about US$47 on in Tanzania. In the areas in which myAgro decided to deploy inputs on average, with most planting with hybrid seeds and its operations, cashew production has become the primary fertilizer for the first time. 8. Although the government intervention in the cashew value chain increased prices, its design also had negative effects for female farmers. Farmers are required to sell cashews through village associations, which are then responsible for coordinating a series of auctions. Farmers are also required to have a bank account to have their cashews sold in the auction. Many women have mobility constraints, which impedes their ability to travel to a bank to open an account or withdraw cash. As a result, most cashew sellers are men. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 23 3. >>> Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Financial Service Providers Developing products and approaches for female farmers can help improve sales and profitability but requires a complex process. This section lays out lessons learned and recommendations for financial service providers (FSPs) looking to move toward the “gender– agriculture–digital financial services” nexus. A One-Size-Fits-All Approach Does Not Exist Part of the complexity of serving female smallholder farmers is developing a nuanced understanding of the various dynamics and forces that can have a significant impact on their ability to adopt and make consistent use of financial products and services. In some cases, all that is needed is adaptation of an existing financial solution to be more gender sensitive. This adaptation could mean a change to the value proposition, or to the marketing and sales approach. But in other cases, it makes sense to introduce a new solution because the existing ones truly do not resonate with female clients. Before effort is made to design something new, providers should first identify what they have in their existing portfolio that could be tailored to their female clients. Developing financial solutions requires a deep understanding of customers: of the drivers to their behavior; of how their needs shift over time; and of how their context influences the types of activities, products, and people that they can interact with. This understanding is even more necessary for female customers, given the additional constraints and challenges they face. Female farmers often face significant barriers in accessing the skills, networks, and assets needed to implement successful transitions toward higher-value, more remunerative farming activities. These barriers limit their agency and mobility across different livelihood strategies and thus their ability to effectively access and use financial products. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 24 Regardless of the approach chosen—either adapting an on proxies within their community or family to help them make existing product offering or designing a new solution—providers use of the product. This extra step can have a negative impact must consider the enabling environment, with a specific focus on their ability to put money into the layaway system. The on the educational, sociocultural, legal, and regulatory barriers challenge of digital finance usage among female customers that might negatively affect women’s ability to access financial did not materialize in Uganda or Kenya, where mobile money services, information, assets, and markets that are crucial for penetration and usage rates are high, including among women. their equal participation in the economy. Segmenting Female Clients In addition to these contextual constraints, where female farmers are in their life stage can also affect their economic into Subgroups Is a Necessary trajectories. Appendix B provides an illustrative framework that Foundation for an Effective seeks to outline the key dynamics at play as women transition through various life stages, and how this might influence Design Process—It Helps Reveal financial service provision (Maftei and Colina 2019). Similarities and Differences between Women That Will Influence Gender Gaps in Mobile Phone Product Uptake and Usage Ownership and Mobile Money Accounts Can Jeopardize Product The multidimensional nature of the challenges that women Uptake face in building resilient livelihoods requires providers to take a systemic approach to understanding the dynamics that prevent or inhibit women’s full access to, and usage of, financial MyAgro believed that Tanzania’s relatively high penetration products. Women, and especially rural women, face many of mobile money usage, compared with other countries of educational, sociocultural, and legal or regulatory constraints operations, could serve as an ideal testing ground to integrate that often make it harder for them to access financial services, digital processes into myAgro’s business model. It saw an employment or entrepreneurship opportunities, information, opportunity to offer farmers a layaway product that did not and technology compared with men. However, merely focusing need to rely on scratch cards, as it does in Mali and Senegal. on the differences between male and female clients masks more However, in the areas in which the pilots took place, women’s important differences between women themselves, including usage of mobile money is quite limited. Phone ownership and those arising as they transition through various life stages and usage is mostly based on mobility, and because women are as they take on different responsibilities within their household often at home managing the household, they are less likely and communities. Table 3.1 highlights the heterogeneity of to have expendable income, and therefore less likely to own female farmers’ experiences in the three technical assistance a phone. In some cases, women are given a phone by their (TA) engagements across five key dimensions: agency, husbands simply to be able to receive money from them. This decision-making power, sources of income, level of comfort means their digital literacy is limited and they often must rely with digital technology, and existing use of financial services. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 25 > > > T A B L E 3 . 1 - Female Farmers’ Characteristics, Based on Insights from Fenix, Safaricom, and myAgro Segmentation Exercises Fenix Safaricom myAgro Differing, according to life stage N/A Highly dependent on marital and age: status and presence of husband in the home: • Younger, recently married women have restricted • In polygamous households agency when it comes to where the husband lives both managing the finances elsewhere, women’s levels Agency in the household and of agency are relatively making farming decisions. higher, however, men • Older married women maintain control over most or widows exhibit more household decisions. influence on decisions relating to agricultural productivity and household income. • Varying levels of • Almost two-thirds of female • Men tend to make all major responsibility over farmers jointly participate in financial decisions in the household and farm household decisions. household, regardless of finances, with differences • Just over a quarter of women whether or not they live in influenced by regional are primary decision-makers, the house. Decision-making sociocultural norms that constraining their ability to • Because women have power dictate what types of crops fully control home finances. no rights on the land men and women control. their husbands own, their decision-making power over farming activities tends to be limited. • As an income diversification • High levels of income • Income generated from strategy, women farm six to volatility mean that in two of farming may not stay with eight different crops, some the four segments identified, women; despite doing of which are considered more than a third of women most of the manual farming lower value by men and rely on family or friends for labor, the man is in charge therefore not of interest to their income. of selling the harvest and them. This strategy ensures allocating the income. Sources that women also have • Most women keep a of income control over the marketing microenterprise on the side and income generated from as an income diversification that crop. strategy; time and mobility constraints because of household responsibilities means that these businesses are usually run out of their homes. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 26 Table 3.1- continued Fenix Safaricom myAgro • Digital financial literacy • Nearly all female farmers • Low literacy is not a major is not a barrier to mobile interviewed own mobile barrier to using technology; money adoption and uptake. wallets. women have developed • Convenience and low know- • Two-fifths of them find work-arounds, like relying your-customer requirements financial services complex, on younger family members of mobile money are more suppressing usage. for help with making attractive than a traditional transactions. Level of comfort financial institution. • Phone ownership and with digital usage are mostly based on technology mobility; because women are often at home managing the household, they are less likely to get expendable income and therefore less likely to own a phone. In villages where it is common for both men and women to have nonfarming jobs, women’s use of technology seems to be equal. • High rates of membership • Female farmers save at an • For many, informal savings in local village savings and average rate compared with groups remain the only loans associations; this the rest of the population saving and credit tool structure provides women despite facing, on average, available. with community-based 2.5 times as many • Mobile money usage is support around encouraging emergencies as Kenyans common among women Existing usage good financial habits. overall. when a husband and wife do of financial • Women have a strong • Female farmers are more not live in the same home services preference for bearing the frequent borrowers than because women use it to risk of a loan alone. Kenyans overall; they mostly receive money from their borrow from family, friends, husband. and groups to manage their day-to-day household expenses. The diversity among female clients came out strongly during the fieldwork with Fenix. Originally, it was perceived that women could not make the decision on their own to purchase a solar unit, or to take out a loan. When the Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA) team went out in the field, it learned that there was substantive variation in a woman’s agency across key categories: farming, household financial management, and the use of financial services and mobile technology. In fact, some groups of women had the decision- making power to purchase the solar unit for their household while others were restricted because of their limited agency. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 27 For example, recently married women had restricted agency cautious independents) were more likely than their younger when it came to both managing the finances in the household counterparts to participate in household decision-making. This and making farming decisions. They were thus less likely finding suggests that in some cases, as women get older, they to pursue a loan from Fenix because doing so would cause gain agency and decision-making power in the household, marital tension, especially if they were to receive the loan which could influence their ability to adopt and make use directly. This was not the case for older women or widows, who of digital financial services products. But this is based on were responsible for managing the farming activities and the anecdotal evidence, therefore, it cannot be generalized to household finances, and therefore exhibited more influence entire populations. on decisions related to agricultural productivity and household income streams. These two segments were better positioned In the case of myAgro, the scope of the TA did not include to receive and effectively manage a loan without the risk of a rigorous market research and segmentation. Uptake of the negative backlash within the household or community. product by women was significantly lower in Tanzania (27 percent of total customers for maize and 34 percent of total Regional differences in sociocultural norms may also be customers for sunflower) than in other countries where myAgro a factor in determining a woman’s role and level of agency operates (60 percent of customer base in Mali and 40 percent within her household and community. For example, women of customer base in Senegal). It is not possible to say with in the north of Uganda are responsible for the management certainty what lies behind the relatively low enrollment figures of certain crops on the farm. They were able to take loans for women. It could simply be because myAgro had to use a directly and handle the responsibility of these loans being different marketing channel to drive uptake. However, because repaid based on specific farming activities that were not of there was not a robust segmentation exercise done to help interest to the men in the households. This was not necessarily inform the pilot, it is also possible that myAgro rolled out two the case in other regions in Uganda, which means that there product offerings that were not strongly aligned to women’s could be some regional variation in terms of how the solution preferences, needs, or behaviors. In this region of Tanzania, is designed and marketed. cashew is currently the dominant cash crop for famers. The cashew value chain is highly mandated by the government, The Dalberg team segmented Safaricom’s female clients on the and farmers are required to have a bank account (which most basis of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal data points women do not have convenient access to) to participate in and came up with four clusters of women: careful strivers, the auction process. It is possible that this drastically affected cautious independents, disciplined pragmatists, and educated female participation in the pilot, and thus the uptake and planners. The team then created attitudinal and savings usage of the layaway product. In addition, married women in profiles for each cluster and made tailored recommendations the target areas are unlikely to own the land that they farm to Safaricom on product features and marketing approaches and they do not have any property or inheritance rights in the for each segment. This process then allowed them to design event of divorce. Given the high rates of polygamy and divorce four customer personas, to bring the data to life. This design in the region, it is possible that what was identified as a lack of resonated well with senior-level managers who often have to “pre-existing culture of investing in their farms” among female decide why a solution needs to go to market and be prioritized. farmers is in fact a completely rational decision to avoid As was the case with Fenix, the segmentation also found investing money and time in an activity for which women may that older women in two segments (careful strivers and not see long-term returns. “Most married women have no property rights to their husband’s house, and since divorces are very common, women tend to focus their personal savings on building a house for themselves, which they see as a hedge against the risk of divorce.” – myAgro Tanzania market study EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 28 Gender Considerations Must Be by ensuring nothing was lost in translation and because the local researchers were able to extract relevant meaning from Embedded throughout the Research each of the interviews. Planning, Implementation, and Consideration for women’s household and unpaid care Prototype Design Processes responsibilities is fundamental to conducting effective research activities. There are certain times of the day when it is more difficult to mobilize women for interviews and testing, and Both Fenix and myAgro ensured that they had female staff this availability changes throughout the year according to the involved throughout the research and ideation process. In the farming cycles. For example, women often are less available case of the Fenix engagement, the SIA team had a female during planting and harvest season, when they have increased researcher kick off the focus group discussions to help make the responsibility on their farms. Commitments at home, from women more comfortable. This setup increased engagement preparing meals in the late afternoon to fetching water in the from the female participants, and it led the women to open morning, can also affect a woman’s availability to engage in up more quickly about personal topics such as their finances research. Such availability might differ by region, depending on and their position in the household. This setup was especially sociocultural norms that dictate the responsibilities they take on important when interviews were conducted in northern Uganda, within their household. It is important to have an understanding given the restrictive gender norms in that area that influence of women’s schedules before trying to mobilize this segment women’s level of participation in the public sphere. Most of for fieldwork, and to schedule interviews during a period when the field staff that conducted the field interviews were also women have fewer commitments. Ugandan, which meant that the interviews were undertaken in the local dialect. This detail increased the quality of the insights “More women require assistance from family members, myAgro representatives, and mobile money agents to navigate the mobile money payment platform than men—this may be due to a greater degree of experience men have as active mobile money users (45 percent of Tanzanian men are active mobile money users, versus only 34 percent of Tanzania women).” – myAgro Tanzania market study Quantitative Data Analysis, The Dalberg team kicked off the research process with a large-scale data analytics process. It leveraged Mercy Corps’s Complemented by Human- Human Account data to build rich segments, which represented Centered Design or another the psychometric profiles of millions of women across Kenya. Such an analysis is critical to effectively make the business Qualitative Research case to providers that scaling a solution makes sense and is Methodology, Is a Powerful Tool worth the upfront investment into building the technology and for Designing Impactful Solutions marketing efforts. This approach also gave Dalberg a strong starting point on which to build the prototype plan, by focusing on the priority segments Safaricom was interested in, and key Human-centered design (HCD) had been used and appreciated product design features it knew would be attractive based on by each of the three providers (for example, myAgro in Mali and the behavioral insights provided by the Human Account data. Senegal, Fenix as part of its early product innovation efforts, DigiFarm since inception) but the combination of HCD with The SIA team deployed a mixed-method approach and quantitative data analysis as part of this technical assistance leveraged Fenix’s call center to interview women before project has proved particularly powerful. conducting focus group discussions. This approach allowed EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 29 SIA to develop initial hypotheses on female segments, which The Economics of Serving Female it was then able to test and sharpen during focus group interviews. This mixed-method approach also allowed SIA to Smallholder Farmers Can Be develop a more detailed profile of the different segments of Challenging in Some Markets and female farmers and to make a more compelling case to Fenix on the scalability of the proposed solution. Establishing a Business Case Is Key to Generate Internal Buy-in Because myAgro was a new entrant in the Tanzanian market, there was no existing data to conduct any large-scale analysis. The market research that was undertaken as part of TA included Female smallholder farmers tend to require a package of 70 qualitative interviews, which helped identify five customer services that is delivered in a higher-touch manner. This, profiles. These profiles did not give a representative sample, coupled with often smaller transaction values, means that but rather were meant to showcase a range of living situations, the economics of serving female smallholder farmers could challenges, and behaviors observed during the fieldwork. be particularly challenging in some markets. The potential These observations were useful to the extent that they helped differences in the underlying profitability between male and myAgro identify a set of gender-specific opportunity and risk female customers means that products that target women areas to consider as the product was rolled out. However, they might require some initial support, for instance through cross- provided only limited information from which to develop more subsidization, at least temporarily, until they reach scale (Maftei robust and insightful customer personas that could help drive and Colina 2019). future service model improvements. A rigorous business case analysis can help providers understand When available, quantitative data from providers proved to how female smallholder farmers differ from male smallholder be a powerful enabler of a cost-effective process that allowed farmers, including also from a profitability standpoint. Although providers to gain rich insights into the different customer some female farmer segments may offer profitable business segments. Although it was difficult to access the data from opportunities, others—who for example may rely on small the providers, a clear lesson is that a mixed-method research staple crop production without other income sources—would approach, leveraging providers’ existing demographic and be costlier to serve. Understanding how much additional transactional data with qualitative approaches, can deliver support is needed, and the length of time that such support powerful inputs to any design process. Furthermore, because would be required for the product to be viable, is crucial for the solutions that target harder-to-reach customer segments will provider’s ability to mobilize resources internally to bring the most likely require cross-subsidization from existing products product to market. The business case analysis also can take for a certain period of time, such data can be valuable to into account other key business indicators that can be used develop an initial business model for the prototype. to make the case for the product, aside from just profitability, that are important to providers, such as increased customer Although a large and quantitative dataset can help uncover retention, decreased churn, and increased customer lifetime the characteristics, behaviors, and needs of female segments, value, to name a few. Clearly articulating these other indicators qualitative and human-centered design techniques can help is important in the business case analysis. uncover why these behaviors and needs exist. Qualitative techniques also can help develop powerful value propositions Access to data can be of critical importance to track key that align with the long-term goals and desires of female users, business indicators, to conduct a profitability analysis of the which can lead to increased uptake and usage among women. existing product, and to generate different profitability scenarios Qualitative research is crucial to helping providers understand of the proposed new or improved gender-sensitive product. A what decisions or activities women have control over within a data analytics process helps inform the business case and go- household. Without such insights, there is a risk—especially in to-market strategy, allowing for modeling out the addressable the case of loan products—that women take on debt without market, and understanding the revenue potential and cost being able to capture the value (that is, income) generated from drivers of the proposed product. Scenario planning for all of the that loan, which leaves them exposed to over-indebtedness different ways a product can evolve and be monetized is hugely and affects the provider’s portfolio quality. important to generate buy-in among senior decision-makers, allowing for a product to move from pilot phase to rollout. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 30 4. >>> Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Development Institutions Supporting financial service providers (FSPs) in developing financial services to a new underserved segment such as female smallholder farmers, while taking advantage of innovative digital financial services (DFS) technologies, is an undertaking that has many “moving parts.” Firms that are attracted to providing such financial services are in many cases young enterprises that may undergo frequent changes as they adapt and grow. Such changes may include shifts in their ownership structure, the establishment of new partnerships, high staff turnover, as well as changes to their market strategy, to name a few. These changes, which are part of the growth process, may generate some level of instability and organizational shifts that could create competing priorities, which in turn affect the execution of technical assistance (TA) engagements. In addition, the complexity of expanding the supply of services to new underserved segments, sometimes in new countries, and making use of new technologies that are evolving, should not be underestimated. This section lays out lessons learned and recommendations for development institutions looking to support increased DFS adoption among female farmers, based on the outcomes of the three TA projects. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 31 Select Providers That Are Gender best use of or complement already existing initiatives and partnerships, rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel. Sensitive or That Demonstrate a Strong Interest in Reorienting Their To make the best use of TA funding and increase the chances of getting the project recommendations implemented, it is Business Systems, Culture, and also advised to consider engaging with technical assistance Processes toward Gender Equality providers that have already developed a strong understanding of the providers they are supporting. This consideration increases the chances that these TA providers have access to The high concentration of private sector actors in the DFS a broad network of champions within an organization, which innovation space who, under pressure to monetize services helps mitigate the negative impact that unforeseen staffing quickly, prioritize the most profitable or easy to reach farmers changes may have on the outcomes of the project. and rural micro, small, and medium enterprises, means that a majority of the products in the market currently are not built Entering new market segments requires a high level of support, to be gender sensitive (Maftei and Colina 2019). If gender and timing can be important to align the business cycles to the sensitivity is not embedded in a provider’s way of doing dynamics of the project (especially in agriculture). Serving business from the very beginning, it could be challenging to a new market entails significant uncertainty in terms of the retrofit systems and internal processes to be gender sensitive. returns and efforts that are required. Most providers operate Although initiatives, such as the one supported by the three on quarterly business cycles that set the direction and priorities TA engagements, can result in the design or adaptation of for that quarter. Aligning on timing for the engagements is products to be more gender-sensitive, at the same time there critical because it increases the chances that the project will needs to be support for a shift at the organizational level toward have continued support from both the leadership team and in- prioritizing female clients. Otherwise, institutions take the risk field staff. Any engagements in agriculture present a particular that the impact of development they support will remain limited challenge due to seasonality, which affects the availability to a single product, rather than having a more systemic effect of female farmers for fieldwork interviews or early testing of on the provider itself. In addition, the newly launched, gender- solutions. sensitive product might fail when it goes to market because internal systems and processes were not aligned to ensure its success. Include a Rigorous Business Case Analysis within the Partner’s When providing TA to promote gender-inclusive finance, it is Existing Business Model recommended to select organizations that have already taken steps internally to become more gender sensitive. For example, they could have a clear and compelling gender strategy, TA can support short-term product or service model innovation have established and regularly tracked key performance and help providers chart a course toward product profitability indicators (KPIs) on gender outreach, have defined workplace or scale. Indeed, the TA provided to Safaricom, Fenix, and antidiscrimination policies, and have internal initiatives that myAgro revealed previously unknown or misunderstood support the promotion and leadership of women. For those attitudinal characteristics, financial behaviors and preferences, organizations that are not quite at that stage, assistance and economic activity patterns of female customers. Although could aim toward organizational change support that lays the this is a crucial step toward making the case internally for a groundwork in a first phase. gender-focused product, it is necessary to further provide a more rigorous business case analysis customized for each Align Technical Assistance Funding provider. to Partner Firms’ Existing Interests, Any TA initiative that seeks to shift private sector actors toward KPIs, Partnerships, and Timelines more gender-sensitive product design and service delivery should integrate a business case analysis component that helps providers understand how female smallholder farmers differ All three firms that received TA support were already operating from male smallholder farmers, including from a profitability with—and within—an ecosystem of partners and funders. To standpoint. reduce the risk of failure, it is critical that funding make the EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 32 This component can help development institutions direct future adapt existing products or service delivery models to better suit grants or other forms of investment to private sector players in female clients, or to introduce into the market an entirely new the most efficient and impactful way. Ultimately, funders should product or service. be able to articulate how TA relates to the other instruments at their disposal or available in the market. A better understanding Although TA can make the case to design women-centric of the economics of serving female smallholder farmers helps products and services, additional measures may be required funders understand how to balance grants and subcommercial to support providers to better target and serve large numbers or commercial capital in a way that incentivizes providers to of female clients in agriculture. The required measures are serve this segment sustainably and over the long-term. highly dependent on the market context and the specific needs of the provider of financial products to women. For Targeted Technical Assistance in some such providers, risks in entering a new market segment may be of important consideration, in which case dedicated Early Stages Can Have an Impact, but credit guarantees and risk-sharing facilities or structures could Additional Mechanisms such as Risk- alleviate the initial perception of risks until a track record has been established. In other cases, the provider may need Sharing Facilities and Investments additional liquidity, and access to a dedicated line of credit to May Be Needed at a Later Stage cater to loans for female clients may be considered. to Support Implementation In addition, other cases may require equity investments and to Scale-up Viable Services (preferably from gender-sensitive investors) to support gender mainstreaming throughout the business and to incentivize this longer-term shift. These long-term growth investments can TA is a powerful tool to support an early research, ideation, incentivize a number of activities that are critical to gender and prototyping process, but not necessarily to ensure that reorientation including developing and tracking female- recommendations are implemented or that solutions go to focused KPIs; ensuring gender balance of staff across all market. Indeed, the scope of the TA was limited to support early departments, functions, and levels within an organization research, identifying the needs of female clients and helping in including in senior management and the board; designing, the design of new products and approaches that would help testing, and implementing gender-sensitive internal policies; increase access to finance for such clients. Although providers and consistently tracking progress in the journey toward may understand that female clients can be a lucrative market gender mainstreaming and making adjustments at the highest to pursue, they may not be clear on how to assess those levels when necessary. These activities, if done correctly, will opportunities or be confident that the upfront investment that mark a substantive shift in how a provider does business. Thus, is needed to effectively target women would make commercial they require long-term, patient capital and ample guidance sense. And in many cases, the initial investment and risks and oversight. By taking a share of a company’s equity and associated with launching a product to design and scale a sitting on the board, the investor will be able to ensure that product can be high. This risk could deter many providers from the aforementioned activities will be prioritized and effectively actively pursuing potentially profitable female segments. executed. There is a growing community of gender-lens investors. This community is an investing field that is growing TA could function as a strong incentive to start this direction rapidly in size and impact, with US$4.5 billion deployed through of work. TA can be used by providers to undertake a rigorous structured vehicles with a gender-lens mandate (Biegel 2018). market analysis and segmentation of female customer segments. The insights from the analysis can then be used to EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 33 >>> APPENDIX A: Background to the Project Access to finance and technology is a key pillar of the World In the 2017 report, four recommendations are made to help Bank Group’s Gender Strategy (2016–23). But research guide efforts to reduce the gap in financial access between undertaken by the World Bank Group and other international male and female farmers: development institutions shows that women in rural areas, and in particular female farmers, have significantly less access to 1. Leverage the role of savings groups by digitizing them to financial services than their male peers. Such limited access increase their efficiency and transparency. harms women in agriculture and their households, significantly impeding their ability to grow and prosper. As an example, it 2. Select companies already successfully offering savings, may be mentioned that female farmers’ limited access to loans insurance, and credit but who have not targeted women as reduces their ability to invest in seasonal inputs. It is estimated a key customer segment, and provide them with assistance that closing the gender gap in access to productive assets in marketing and promotion to women. such as inputs could lead to a 20–30 percent yield increase per household, which would not only benefit female farmers, but 3. Invest in the design of gender-responsive bundled service would benefit their entire family (FAO 2011). offerings that meet the financial priorities and life cycle needs of female farmers. Although digital finance and big data can significantly unlock access to and usage of financial services, approaches will 4. Drive collection and use of digitized data to expand bank need to be developed to address the specificities of agricultural (financial institutions) offerings and financing to women in markets and of female farmers. This development is needed agriculture. because the educational, sociocultural, and legal constraints that women face—combined with the specific life-stage With these recommendations in mind, the next phase of the transitions or disruptions that may compound the effect of project consisted in identifying three TA engagements. This those constraints on their agency9—means that women lead involved running a crowdsourcing exercise to solicit proposals fundamentally different economic lives than men and therefore from providers that already had a DFS offering and wanted may need to be served differently by service providers (Maftei to better adapt the existing product to suit the needs of rural and Colina 2019). female customers. Through a competitive process, three providers, across three markets, were selected: In 2017, the World Bank initiated, with support from the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality, a project to explore how • Fenix in Uganda: An off-grid solar home system provider digital financial services (DFS) could better serve the specific that enables rural households to rent-to-own solar home needs of women in agriculture, with the intention of generating systems, financed through mobile money instalments. knowledge on the potential of mobile technologies and of digitized data to expand female smallholder farmers’ access • Safaricom’s DigiFarm in Kenya: An integrated mobile to finance, and to close the gap between them and their male platform that offers smallholder farmers access to inputs, counterparts. agronomic training, and financial services to help increase their farm’s productivity. The first phase of this body of work consisted of a global stock- taking exercise in which DFS solutions and initiatives targeting • MyAgro in Tanzania: A mobile-based lay-away system rural women were identified, and the ecosystems in which that helps farmers to save money for seed and fertilizer these solutions were developed were examined. purchases. This first phase helped gain a better understanding of the current Each provider received TA to either design a new solution or ecosystem and helped identify gaps that could be filled with adapt its existing offering to better suit the needs of female targeted financial and technical assistance (TA). The findings farmers. The TA’s focus was to assess the unique needs of of the stock-taking exercise were presented in the 2017 report female farmers and to make recommendations on how each Mobile Technologies and Digitized Data to Promote Access to provider’s offering could be improved to better respond to those Finance for Women in Agriculture (World Bank 2017). needs. 9. Agency is defined as the ability to make choices and act on those choices. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 35 This report synthesizes the lessons learned from these three • On outcomes TA engagements with a specific focus on the following learning • What recommendations were made to each provider questions: on how to make its offering more attractive to female clients? • On process • What improvements, if any, were made by each • What were the main motivations of each of the provider as a result of the TA? providers to participate? • How did the TA change the perceptions of each • What were the lessons learned from the process of provider about the business case for making extra working with each partner and consultant? efforts in serving female clients? • What level of effort was needed to conduct gender assessments of each partner’s service offering? • On challenges • What challenges arose over the course of each engagement and how were they addressed? • To what extent did the support provided by the TA add value to each partner’s offering? And if yes, how exactly? EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 36 >>> APPENDIX B: Women’s Life-Stage Framework Life stage Gender dynamics What does this mean for financial service provision? Gender inequality starts in early childhood. In Rural households that are more vulnerable to many rural households, girls are often forced to economic shocks (and thus more likely to marry stay home to care for siblings, conduct housework, their girl children off) could benefit from financial or work on the family farm. Some households services that help boost their resilience, such as prioritize child marriage over education, particularly savings products and health or long-term disability during climate or market shocks when it can ease insurance. the financial pressure of having too many mouths to feed. For instance, the drought that has affected In areas in which early marriage is prevalent, large portions of southern Africa for the last five providers should tailor their service offering to years has led to a rise in the rate of adolescent girls account for low levels of educational attainment Childhood being forced into marriage (Naranjo 2020). among female clients, which leads to lower levels of financial and digital literacy, limited financial Across all regions, girls who live in rural areas are management capacity, and a human capital gap more likely to become child brides than their urban that might influence the types of income-generating counterparts, which affects their ability to complete activities they engage in. their education. Because lower educational levels are correlated with lower access to agricultural resources and assets, girls who are married early—and by extension their families—are more likely to remain in poverty. As girls become young women, the burden of paid In some contexts, in which women’s asset and land and unpaid work increases considerably. This ownership are limited, women may have trouble burden not only dictates how they spend their time, meeting collateral requirements for credit products. it also contributes to undervaluing their potential Providers should consider flexible collateral and as economic actors. Their ability to access and know-your-customer requirements, such as risk- complete secondary education is often determined based customer due diligence to overcome this by their household’s financial stability. In countries challenge. with particularly restrictive social norms or legal discrimination, marriage can worsen constraints, as women’s legal status and rights—including land Young tenure rights—are transferred to their husbands. adulthood In many cases, childbirth forces young women out of the educational system to take care of the child or to seek additional income-generating opportunities. When controlling for education and experience, gender gaps in access to finance lose significance. Thus, lower levels of educational attainment affect young women’s ability to access financial services to grow their farm or start a microenterprise. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 38 Life stage Gender dynamics What does this mean for financial service provision? Throughout middle age, women perform a Childcare and other household responsibilities limit balancing act between productive and reproductive women’s mobility. Providers must adapt the ways in responsibilities. Social norms that dictate how which they deliver their products and services. For mothers spend their time greatly limit their ability instance: agronomic training should be delivered to fully participate in income-generating activities. in a place and at a time that ensures women’s participation and should offer childcare services. The average fertility rate in low-income countries is 4.6 births per woman. Women’s complete Note: Increasing women’s access to credit without responsibility for reproductive and unpaid care taking into account their unpaid care load might Middle age work undermines their ability to fully engage in have the unintended consequence of increasing income-generating work, especially if it requires the total number of hours in a day that women leaving the home. In Tanzania, for instance, rural spend on work to repay the loan. women currently work 14 more hours than men per week. The unequal distribution of care within the household is both time-consuming and resource- intensive, meaning that transitions to higher-value, more remunerative farming activities are likely to stall during this life stage. Once children are grown, women may regain Financial services that help female farmers some time and flexibility. Separation, divorce, or establish a financial buffer or support their income the death of a spouse can also result in increased diversification strategies both on and off the agency and mobility. However, in many contexts, farm can help mitigate against the risk of losing Elderly years customary norms or discriminatory laws related to everything as a result of losing their spouse. land rights and inheritance put female farmers at Remittance or payment products can help women risk of being pushed off the land by their in-laws, at this life stage cultivate and maintain a social leaving them destitute. financial network EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 39 >>> References Biegel, Suzanne. 2018. “What Is Gender-Smart Investing?” Catalyst at Large. http://www. catalystatlarge.com/what-is-gendersmart-investing. FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations). 2011. The State of Food and Agriculture 2010–2011. Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome. Maftei, Anne, and Clara Colina. 2019. Pathways to Prosperity: Understanding Women’s Rural Transitions and Service Needs. ISF Advisors and the Mastercard Foundation Rural and Agricultural Finance Learning Lab, Washington, DC. Naranjo, Jose. 2020. “La locura climática provoca una grave hambruna en el sur de África.” El País, February 26, 2020. https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/02/13/planeta_futuro/1581614081_589765.html. United Nations Development Programme. 2018. World Bank. 2017. Mobile Technologies and Digitized Data to Promote Access to Finance for Women in Agriculture. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/ en/855471513670397514/pdf/122110-WP-PUBLIC-DFSforwomeninagrireport.pdf. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS INSIGHT <<< 41