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Addressing the Weak Link in COVID-19 Relief: How Improving Strategic Communications Can Boost the Impact of Social Protection Programs
In response to COVID-19, 212 countries have planned or implemented more than 1,100 social protection programs to help over 1.8 billion people. But as Arshi Aadil and Abhishek Jain at MicroSave (MSC) point out, many intended recipients don’t know about the benefits they're eligible for, or how to access these funds. They explore how governments and program administrators can improve their communication and outreach.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Impact Assessment
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Enabling Ecosystems: How To Boost Fintech Innovation and Financial Inclusion During and After COVID-19
Lockdowns in response to COVID-19 have rapidly accelerated digitalization worldwide, particularly in finance. But as analysts from the University of New South Wales, the University of Luxembourg, the University of Hong Kong and GIZ point out, ensuring the safe and inclusive development of digital finance is a major challenge. They explore why an ecosystem-based strategy could be the answer.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Gender: The Blind Spot of the COVID-19 Response in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
The COVID-19 pandemic is imposing a disproportionately higher socio-economic cost on women. As Melinda Gates put it, “COVID-19 is gender-blind, but not gender-neutral.” Analysts at MSC discuss four potential types of fallout from COVID-19 that will have lasting socio-economic impacts on women in India and other low- and middle-income countries, based on multiple studies that MSC conducted between March and July of this year.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Can Agile Fintech Startups Be the Answer To Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Crisis?
COVID-19 lockdowns have threatened small and medium enterprises and vulnerable families around the world. And as Malika Anand and Michelle Hassan at BFA Global point out, inclusive fintech startups are often better-placed than aid agencies to support communities and businesses in urban settlements during the pandemic. They explore how one innovative startup, Sokowatch, has developed a quick and effective way to fight food insecurity in Kibera, Nairobi – while also supporting small local retailers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Maintaining a Critical Link To Last-Mile Customers: Challenges and Opportunities Facing Financial Service Agents During COVID-19
Agents are a critical last-mile link to financial services for lower-income households and micro- and small enterprises. But as the COVID-19 crisis has spread globally, it has had a profound effect on how agents operate, introducing new restrictions – and new responsibilities. Nisha Singh and James Robinson at Itad explore the findings from a recent report that highlights key strategies for building and managing high-performing agent networks despite the challenges of the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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COVID-19: Burden or Boon for Financial Inclusion?
When the Alliance for Financial Inclusion outlined its “Five Key Financial Inclusion Policy Trends for 2020” on January 17 of this year, the spread of the novel coronavirus was still in its infancy. Now that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy, Robin Newnham at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion revisits those trends, viewing them through the prism of the pandemic – and finding both new risks, and new opportunities.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Youth Saving and Spending During COVID-19: Tracking Young People’s Financial Activity in Nigeria
How are young people in Africa saving and spending money during COVID-19, when many of their previous sources of income have disappeared? Mahlet Alemayehu at L-IFT shares the results of a study in which 117 young people living in Nigeria kept a record of their savings and spending over several months. The data can help financial service providers anticipate how young people will need to use their accounts, and determine what other services they may need as they navigate the challenges of the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Tags
- COVID-19, financial inclusion, research, savings, youth
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Beyond the ‘Public vs. Private’ Debate in Global Education: Helping the Schools That Serve the World’s Neediest Children Survive COVID-19
COVID-19 is preventing low-fee private schools from serving the estimated 258 million children who lack access to education. And according to Irene D. Pritzker at IDP Foundation, these “mom and pop” schools lack access to the resources that could help them survive the pandemic. She urges the development sector to support them – and in the process, to move past outdated debates about public versus private schools in emerging countries.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education
- Tags
- COVID-19, governance