KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
SPOTLIGHT Serving People with Disabilities October 2022 (Pre-Read)
SUMMARY Challenge: PWD face barriers to financial inclusion in spite of evidence that companies with strong disability inclusion outperform their competitors. Opportunity’s Solution: Opportunity Bank Uganda, Ltd. (OBUL) is mainstreaming PWD into normal banking operations. Evidence of Success: 21,767 PWD and their caregivers and supporters accessing finance, in several pilot branches over a period of 2.5 years. Next Steps: Scale-up phase with the pace depending on funds available until OBUL can cover costs themselves.
THE CHALLENGE: REMOVING BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN ACCESSING FINANCIAL SERVICES Around 15% of the global population – over 1 billion people – identify as having a disability.1 They face multiple barriers to economic empowerment, including barriers accessing financial services, a critical tool in achieving economic independence. Yet there is a strong business case for serving people with disabilities (PWD). Among mainstream corporations, high performers on disability inclusion achieve 28% higher revenue, double the income, and 30% higher profit margins.2 This strong performance is recognized by mainstream financial institutions such as Citi, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank, who are becoming disability inclusion champions themselves.3 Most financial institutions in the global south have yet to embrace disability inclusion, with women facing double barriers.4 As a result, there is a long way to go in living up to the UN declaration to prohibit discrimination and to identify and remove obstacles to the full participation of PWD.5
OPPORTUNITY’S INNOVATION: MAINSTREAMING FINANCIAL INCLUSION FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN UGANDA Following a lighter-touch initiative, Opportunity International and OBUL embarked on a pilot program to mainstream disability inclusion into OBUL banking services. The program is taking place on two levels. First, changes are being made across the bank. These changes include – u Training staff in disability awareness; u Policy and procedure alignment; u Community sensitization through signage, a television drama series, and other public relations activities; and u Physical changes at multiple branches including adding ramps and making wheelchairs available.
Second, in 7 pilot branches, OBUL offers deeper financial inclusion services, working in close partnership with the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU), and other like-minded organizations. OBUL hired financial inclusion officers (FIOs) with experience working with PWD. These FIOs conduct outreach through NUDIPU and other partners. They – u Build trust between PWD communities and OBUL; u Deliver financial literacy and business skills training; and u Link PWD to relevant financial services.
NUDIPU’s key financial intervention is to organize PWD and their caregivers into village savings and loans associations (VSLAs). OBUL, thus, links to PWD communities through these VSLAs. The main financial services OBUL offers is group
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