In July 2015, the Center for Financial Inclusion and Accion teamed up to launch a Fellows program designed to generate research on some of the most pressing questions facing the financial inclusion industry.
The purpose of this program is to encourage independent researchers and analysts to examine systematically some of the most important challenges in the financial inclusion arena. Each Fellow will conduct research, analysis, or writing on a topic of high importance to financial inclusion and will produce a paper to be published by CFI or Accion. CFI Fellows will conduct forward-looking analysis of major factors that will enable or hamper achievement of full financial inclusion. Accion Research Fellows will conduct research on work of Accion and its partners to examine its effectiveness and extract lessons for the financial inclusion sector.
The four fellows selected are located in three different countries and between them, will be studying nine markets. We look forward to the work that will emerge from this program, and to continuing to facilitate the generation of insights that will advance financial inclusion around the world.
Guy Stuart, Microfinance Opportunities
“Is G2P an On-Ramp to Financial Inclusion?”
This study will ask whether G2P payments serve as an on-ramp to financial inclusion, and what factors best explain the successful transition from cashing out G2P payments to active use of an account. The research will study this in-depth in two countries, Pakistan and Colombia, using the Benazir Income Support Program and the Familias en Accion program as bases for analysis. The research will be supported in-country by the Pakistan Microfinance Network and Centro de Formacion Empresarial de la Fundacion Maria Santo Domingo, using key informant interviews, focus groups, and site-based observations of G2P transactions. Guy is Executive Director of Microfinance Opportunities. He has extensive experience conducting research on the financial capabilities of low-income consumers.
Leon Perlman, Independent Consultant
“Challenges of Technology Access in Enhancing Financial Inclusion”
This research looks in detail at the advantages and disadvantages of the current and future technological evolution. The research focuses specifically on changing technology, bearer services, access platforms, and user devices. To articulate advantages and disadvantages, Leon will take a market-level approach to policy, pricing, access coverage, cost of devices, challenges to security, and usability of various access devices. Leon Perlman is a doctoral-level expert in digital financial service, payments systems, financial inclusion, mobile technology, and compliance, with over 16 years of experience in the sector. He also advises and has advised central banks, finance ministries, the ITU, the Gates Foundation, GSMA, the World Bank/IFC, and the World Economic Forum.
Christie Stickney, Independent Consultant
“Financing the Growth of Enterprise (How did they do it?!?)”
Christy will ask the question of how entrepreneurs transition from microenterprises to small businesses. By looking at time series data from financial institutions and enterprises in multiple markets, her research will identify patterns and practices among entrepreneurs who have utilized financial services while successfully growing their businesses. The research will also leverage face-to-face interviews with selected clients and their loan officers beyond institution-level data. The purpose of the research is to offer insight into what a successful business model would be for MFIs seeking to expand their outreach into the small business sector, and better serve their current client base in growing their enterprises beyond the micro-level. Christy has been engaged in microfinance since 1993, having developed loan and savings products for women micro-entrepreneurs and then going on to design a variety of other types of financial products and services. Since 2010 she has worked as a consultant in financial services and inclusive market development, and is based in Costa Rica.
Amy Jensen Mowl, IFMR Finance Foundation
“Big Data for Financial and Social Inclusion: Opportunities and Challenges for Alternative Data and Credit Analytics in India”
In developing countries, “big data” analytics has been touted as having the power to unlock the door to more fair, convenient, equitable financial access to all citizens. While its promise is compelling, the evidence on the ground is thin, and recent debates in high income countries have highlighted very real fears that these data and technologies will exacerbate the financial and social inequities they were engineered to alleviate. This work attempts to fill the knowledge gap in India and serve as a starting point for a longer-term, action-oriented engagement with stakeholders in the sector. Amy Mowl is a development economist based in India specializing In financial inclusion. She has nearly a decade of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research in the country, her most recent focus being on the institutional and structural barriers to financial inclusion.
