Articles by Daryl Collins
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Guest Articles
Thursday
September 28
2023Daryl Collins / Pravarakya Reddy Battula
Using AI to Transform Impact Measurement: Overcoming Language Barriers in Global Development Research
Language and cultural barriers often create a “listening divide” between the providers and beneficiaries of global development programs. According to Daryl Collins and Pravarakya Reddy Battula at Decodis, these barriers make it difficult to develop effective anti-poverty solutions — and artificial intelligence (AI) can play a key role in addressing them. They discuss how Decodis is using AI technology to facilitate survey data collection and analysis in its poverty alleviation research, and highlight the role human intelligence must still play in guiding these efforts.
- Categories
- Technology
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Guest Articles
Thursday
January 19
2023Daryl Collins / Maria Pia Torres
We Asked Small Business Owners How Digitalization is Impacting Their Businesses: Here’s How They Responded
Digitalization has become the go-to strategy for improving the performance of Latin America’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs). But according to Daryl Collins and Maria Pia Torres at Decodis, we know little about how MSE owners themselves experience these changes. They share insights from Decodis' surveys of 114 mostly women-led MSEs in Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which highlight how digital solutions have become embedded in these businesses – and where business owners see the most value in digitalization.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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Guest Articles
Monday
November 15
2021How Low- to Middle-Income Internet Users View Data Privacy and Protection: New Research From India and the United States
One side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increased adoption and expansion of digital services, including among low- to middle-income users. Decodis CEO Daryl Collins argues that it is becoming increasingly important to create a sense of inclusion and confidence among these consumers, as their usage of these services grows. She shares research findings that show how a sample of low- to middle-income customers in the U.S. and India are navigating the digital world – and what they think about the data-sharing these services are based on.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
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Guest Articles
Tuesday
July 20
2021Daryl Collins / Carolina de Miranda / Laura Morínigo
Research that Embraces the Messiness of Real Life: How an Innovative, Tech-Enabled Survey Method is Revealing the True Feelings of the Bottom Billion
Of any population in the world, the poor are the least likely to feel free to speak their minds, which makes it difficult to use surveys to understand and meet their unique needs. Daryl Collins, and Carolina de Miranda and Laura Morínigo of Fundación Capital, explore how tech-enabled research methods can provide a solution to this dilemma. They share how a unique, WhatsApp-based survey approach has helped Fundación Capital understand the nuanced meaning behind the responses of women who participated in a gender norms-focused messaging campaign in Paraguay.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Technology
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Guest Articles
Thursday
February 14
2019Is Financial Inclusion Really Impacting the SDGs? This New Research Approach Could Offer an Answer
There's growing discussion about how financial inclusion can impact the Sustainable Development Goals – including on NextBillion earlier this week. But according to Liz Larson at UNCDF and Daryl Collins at BFA, the evidence of a link between financial tools and development impacts has not been conclusive. They explore a new measurement framework that aims to take account of the breadth of all potential and proven connections between financial services and the SDGs – while also offering a method for substantiating those impacts.
- Categories
- Finance
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Tuesday
July 17
2018The Economic Lives of Sex Workers: Can Financial Inclusion Offer Women a Path Out of the Sex Trade?
True financial inclusion involves reaching marginalized workers, and few are more marginalized than sex workers. Like everyone, these workers have financial needs and goals - including, for many, the goal of finding a safer livelihood. Daryl Collins, CEO of BFA, walks through the revenues and expenses of a sex worker in Ghana to show how access to financial services can impact sex workers – and why mainstream providers need to see the value in this overlooked population.
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- Uncategorized
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Thursday
January 4
2018Innocent Ephraim / Daryl Collins
The Secret Ingredient in Product Design: How Crossing the ‘Emotional Gateway’ Can Boost Financial Services
Banks can be intimidating places for people who have never set up an account, let alone stepped foot in one. But people love and trust their savings groups, which are a mainstay of financial security in dozens of countries. Innocent Ephraim at the Financial Sector Deepening Trust and Daryl Collins at Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) ask: How can formal providers offer financial services that appeal to users in the same way?
- Categories
- Finance
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Monday
September 28
2015Daryl Collins / Kristy Bohling
NexThought Monday: The benefits of cross-selling financial products
Formal financial institutions often struggle to justify the business case for serving poor clients. Acquisition costs are high and low balance savings are not sustainable. At the same time, providers recognize that only providing credit to clients may be profitable, but may not develop client trust and longer-term engagement. As a result, cross-selling in recent years has become a popular strategy for financial service providers, including those trying to reach lower-income clients. How can we make it work for everyone?
- Categories
- Uncategorized
