Empowering Communities: Agricultural Growth, Resilience in Crisis, and Youth Collaboration Across Africa

Welcome to November’s edition of L-IFT’s newsletter where we are excited to share our latest projects, developments, and innovations.

Supporting Agricultural SMEs in Zambia

Since 2014, L-IFT has worked with more than 15,000 diaries participants across 20 different countries. This project is in partnership with the USAID Enterprise Development and Growth Enhanced (EDGE) Activity whose overall goal is to help businesses (SMEs) to grow, make more profit, and access finance. The selected SMEs are using FINBIT for their digital financial management (bookkeeping, record keeping), and they benefit from the records through a better understanding of their businesses and to access finance using their data. This project is enhancing the work of 300 SMEs spread across 3 provinces in Zambia and has employed 8 local FINBIT coaches.?

FINBIT coaches assist the SMEs to use FINBIT over a period of thirteen visits. They guide businesses in registering, setting up, and using all features of FINBIT. Within three months practically all businesses can independently operate all parts of the app. The benefits from the app’s analysis, statements, and business reports from our data and insights team already take effect within three months.

(see the full blog here: https://l-ift.com/bookkeeping-boring-not-at-all/)

Exploring the Impact of Savings Groups on Refugee Households During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Uganda

During our Monthly meeting in September, Ana?lle Petre presented on “Consumption Smoothing in Times of COVID-19: The Role of Informal Group-Based Finance in Ugandan Refugee Settlements.”

Ana?lle Petre is a PhD researcher at the University of Agder. Thanks to her collaborations with L-IFT, her research focuses on participation in saving groups in refugee settlements in Uganda and the data collected through the RISE project.? In her presentation, she highlighted the challenges faced by refugee households during the pandemic and the importance of tailored financial programs, particularly the role of savings groups in helping these populations navigate economic difficulties.

Ana?lle's presentation detailed the structure and impact of savings groups, emphasizing their significance in stabilizing income for refugees in Nakivali and Kiryandongo. She analyzed financial diary data from 223 respondents in total, out of which 63 are members of savings groups, revealing that a notable portion of loans were sourced from savings groups. Her findings indicated that members of these groups exhibited more conservative financial behaviors during the crisis, such as reduced spending and borrowing. Ana?lle suggested that the rules governing these groups could be revisited to enhance flexibility during crises, while also underscoring the social support these groups provided, which was crucial for community cohesion during challenging times.

L-IFT appreciated the unique aspect of having data from before and after COVID, expressing surprise at the high participation in saving groups by refugees. She explained how qualitative surveys were used to understand the settlement context and the impact of lockdown measures on refugees. She also notes that the data was detailed and clean, providing a wealth of information for the research. (If you want to know more details, please contact Ana?lle Petre directly via [email protected])

Collaborating for Youth Empowerment with NGOs in Ethiopia

L-IFT has made significant strides in, establishing a robust network with various humanitarian aid organizations in Ethiopia. Our close collaboration with DOT and HIDO through the Employable Youth in Ethiopia (EYE) project, supported by Woord en Daad, exemplifies our commitment to empowering the youth. A key component of this initiative is the integration of L-IFT’s FINBIT technology into the project’s proposals, aimed at providing comprehensive business development services that leverage technology to support thousands of young people across Ethiopia.

Our engagement extends beyond the EYE project, as we actively collaborate with multiple non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Almaz Ashene Children and Family Support Association (AACFSA), Nutrition for Educational Development (N4ED), Nexus Ethiopia, and Multi Integrated Support Ethiopia (MISE), among others. Recently, we facilitated an online training session on FINBIT technology, which attracted over 25 participants from these NGOs and various organizations in East Africa. While some NGOs faced challenges in implementation, many recognized the transformative potential of FINBIT technologies for their beneficiaries and several have started on their journey to incorporate FINBIT into their program.

Currently, 28 business owners and three women's business groups, each with over 12 members, are actively participating in the financial diaries program supported by FINBIT technology across these NGOs. Each business receives well-crafted reports translated into the local language, Amharic, which detail their financial standings and provide critical insights. This valuable information empowers them to make informed decisions regarding their business operations.

Moreover, L-IFT and FINBIT continue to engage with other NGOs and companies, including MISE, Education for Development, National Young Women Organization (NYWO), Herburg Rose, AGTRAIN, SNV Ethiopia, and NEXUS Ethiopia. Our goal is to provide similar training and business development services supported by the multi-purpose FINBIT technology, further enhancing the capacity of businesses and organizations in Ethiopia.

It is great to work simultaneously at a modest scale with so many different organizations and target groups. We can dynamically trial FINBIT for different people, and experiment how they are more likely to adopt and faithfully report in FINBIT. We can also experiment with different approaches to training and coaching. Some NGOs asked us to train businesses directly (DOT) and others asked us to train their staff to become FINBIT coaches and yet others train community members to coach their colleagues. Our next step will be to introduce all these small groups of FINBIT users to the financial service providers with whom we have agreements for the loan platform. To be continued.?

These are the 3 major things L-IFT has been working on for the past month. Stay tuned for more exciting news and updates, we look forward to sharing them with you.