Digital Innovations: Listening to Clients Your Program Impact Report—Fall 2023 OUR GRATITUDE
Esther, entrepreneur and mother, Ghana
Since launching its mobile banking platform Sinapi Mobile in early 2019, Opportunity International’s partner, Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans (Ghana), has experienced a significant gender gap in mobile banking. While this is a global problem, Sinapi Aba has been working to increase confidence in and usage of Sinapi Mobile and is now helping people like Esther (left) to carry out business transactions safely and with ease. When women are digitally included, they become empowered, gain new skills and confidence, and can access more services. Thank you for enabling Esther and her family to build a sustainable, financially stable life.
THE NEED Since our founding, Opportunity International has sought to serve people who have been overlooked by their countries, by other organizations, by the world. We serve people living in extreme poverty: farmers, women and girls, youth, vulnerable populations like refugees, and others in over 30 countries globally. Over 700 million people still live on less than $2.15/day; we believe that recent technology advancements can bring new advantages to our clients and meet their needs in new ways, creating a pathway from extreme poverty to sustainable livelihoods.
THE SOLUTIONS Opportunity International’s Digital Innovations team is committed to providing high-touch, high-tech, high impact solutions, with the people we serve at the heart of all we do. We are experiencing an inflection point in global technology: cloud-based services, middleware and platforms, and smart phones/devices can accelerate our capabilities to serve people living in extreme poverty effectively. Digital technology has been a monumental force for good: Opportunity has supported our local partners to adopt cashless payments—including local point of sale, micro-ATM and bill payment systems, mobile wallets, and prepaid cards—and trial digital loan repayment methods. While digitization holds many benefits for microfinance institutions in scaling up their businesses, our focus remains on ensuring these innovations also improve financial inclusion for the most vulnerable, including women.
SUPPORTING SMALLHOLDER FARMERS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: Training and Support A high-touch, high-tech, high impact approach to agriculture finance empowers people facing poverty, gender, and age barriers to connect with financial services. Farmer Support Agents continue to use smart phones and tablets to train farmers in successful, sustainable farming—including regenerative ag practices and “Farming as a Family Business” that encourages collaboration with all family, including women and youth which leads to financial inclusion and
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