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The report provides a strategic roadmap to transition humanitarian and social protection cash transfers in Nigeria from physical cash to a permanent digital wallet system within an open-loop payment ecosystem. It identifies key barriers, including recipient unreadiness, regulatory restrictions, and a fragmented digital payment landscape, and proposes a phased approach involving recipient segmentation, digital ecosystem development, and regulatory advocacy.

This 2021 report by FSD Africa, prepared in collaboration with Impact Value, defines the concept of 'sustainable futures' and outlines how it is operationalised and measured across FSD Africa's projects. The framework emphasizes a 'just transition' and the preservation of five types of capital—financial, manufactured, human, social, and natural—to ensure that current interventions do not compromise the needs of future generations.

This research paper describes the development and testing of a framework designed to help FSD programmes across Africa measure the employment effects of financial sector deepening. Developed by The Good Economy, Tandem, and FSD Africa, the framework aims to move beyond simple job counts to assess the quality, inclusion, and sectoral impact of jobs created through financial system interventions.

The FSD Africa Jobs Framework Methodology Paper describes a four-step experimental process designed to estimate and qualify the contribution of financial sector interventions to job creation and quality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The framework focuses on 'gross job creation' rather than net effects, utilizing a combination of firm-level data, sector-based multipliers, and a 'Decent Jobs Assessment' to provide a range of indicative employment figures.

The FSD Africa Impact Report documents the organization's efforts since 2012 to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by strengthening financial markets. It details achievements in financial inclusion, capital market development, and institutional capacity building, while outlining a strategic shift toward 'FSD 2.0' to focus on jobs, basic services, and sustainable futures in response to challenges like Covid-19 and climate change.

This briefing examines the relationship between de-risking, illicit financial flows (IFFs), and capital flows within African regional economic hubs, emphasizing the need for regulatory frameworks that maintain financial integrity without compromising inclusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the Malawian insurance sector, leading to stagnated sales and financial pressure on insurers' balance sheets. In response, the industry fast-tracked digitization of sales and claims processes. The Reserve Bank of Malawi provided regulatory relief, including supervisory levy holidays, while insurers faced challenges such as high internet costs and reduced consumer disposable income.

This report by FSD Africa examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Zimbabwean insurance sector as of October 2020. It details the operational disruptions caused by national lockdowns, the challenges of transitioning to remote work, and the resulting pressures on insurance revenues, liquidity, and the regulatory environment managed by the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC).

This report examines how insurance regulators in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have adapted their supervisory processes and communication strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies a tension between providing regulatory relief to insurers and maintaining prudential soundness and consumer protection. The document highlights opportunities for regulators to drive long-term market development through digitalisation, the adoption of supervisory technology (suptech), and the responsible consolidation of fragmented insurance markets.

This executive summary of a scoping study by FSD Africa examines the emerging market for gender bonds, which are debt instruments designed to support the advancement, empowerment, and equality of women. The document outlines the current state of the market, identifies gaps in reporting and standards, and assesses the potential for issuing such bonds in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

This fact sheet presents findings from a June 2020 survey of 68 insurance sector players across 19 jurisdictions in Eastern and Southern Africa, conducted by FSD Africa, the Organisation of Eastern and Southern Insurers (OESAI), and Cenfri. The document details how COVID-19 accelerated digitalization, negatively impacted operational stability and premium collection, and highlighted gaps in risk coverage for businesses.

This briefing note, based on a 2018 research study by Digital Disruptions for FSD Africa and ELAN RDC, examines the demand for financial and non-financial goods and services among refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The study focuses on three locations to provide a baseline for financial service providers (FSPs) and businesses to engage with these populations.

A May 2020 report by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), funded by FSD Africa and FSD Uganda, evaluates compliance with consumer protection frameworks in Uganda's credit market. Through 1,102 mystery shopping visits to Tier 1-4 lenders in Kampala, Mbarara, and Gulu, the study found significant gaps in the disclosure of the total cost of credit, interest rates, and late payment penalties. The report highlights that inexperienced borrowers and women receive less information and fewer explanations than experienced male borrowers, and that written disclosure materials, such as key facts documents, are rarely provided during initial sales visits.

This policy brief details a mystery shopping assessment conducted by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) between July and August 2019 to evaluate credit cost disclosures among Tier 1-4 lenders in Uganda. The study found significant gaps in the disclosure of interest rates, total cost of credit, and non-interest fees, with inexperienced borrowers and women receiving less information than experienced borrowers and men. The brief recommends improving staff training, standardizing Key Facts Documents (KfDs), and harmonizing consumer protection policies between the Bank of Uganda (BoU) and the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA).

FSD Africa has shifted to virtual technical support and remote work, closing its Nairobi offices to visitors and canceling travel and events due to COVID-19, while planning to adapt its strategy to address the pandemic's challenges.

This fact sheet presents the results of a baseline survey conducted in March 2020 as part of the Financial Inclusion for Refugees (FI4R) project. The project, launched by FSD Uganda and FSD Africa, aims to support financial service providers (FSPs) in offering services to refugees and host communities in Uganda to build resilience and drive access to basic financial tools.

This 2020 diagnostic report by FSD Africa analyzes the availability and hurdles of long-term finance (LTF) in Côte d’Ivoire, focusing on infrastructure, housing, and enterprise sectors. It identifies significant funding gaps and a financial system dominated by short-term bank lending, which is further constrained by government borrowing and tightening regional regulations. The report provides a comprehensive set of operational and structural recommendations to deepen domestic financial markets and increase the supply of LTF.

This interim report evaluates the Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) pilot project, which provided cash grants and smartphones to 1,035 youth (aged 18-35) in the Mathare slum of Nairobi. The project tested two payment models: lump sums of ~$1,200 and monthly payments of ~$50. Initial findings indicate that cash transfers are feasible in urban slum environments and effectively encourage entrepreneurial behavior, with a significant shift from casual labor to self-employment. While pre-installed business apps saw low engagement, general internet and social media access via smartphones significantly aided market access and skill acquisition. The report also highlights gender-based differences in spending and saving, and the continued importance of informal saving groups alongside mobile money services.

This market study, published in October 2019 by FSD Africa, EAVCA, and the IFC, examines the barriers and opportunities for pension funds in East Africa to invest in private equity. While regulatory frameworks in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda generally allow such investments, actual allocation remains low due to knowledge gaps, risk perceptions, and a strong preference for government bonds. The report recommends tailored capacity building for trustees and regulators to increase the adoption of private equity as a growth asset.

This case study describes a partnership between Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited (FBGL) and FSD Africa to increase financial inclusion through 'Project 5x5x5', which utilizes a low-KYC 'Smart Account' and an agent network to reach unbanked and underserved populations in Ghana.