Low-income women equipped with new technology are driving change in financial access and gender roles in India and the Philippines. Women-based networks of community finance workers, organized by Grameen Foundation, have brought financial services to nearly 1.3 million people through hundreds of newly trained community finance workers.
Offering digital financial services to women and men in low-income and rural areas requires much more than a technology solution. It also involves activities that encourage client adoption, a robust agent network and reliable digital platforms, and a viable business for financial technology providers. This report shares key lessons from Grameen Foundation’s Community Agent Network (CAN) in the Philippines with respect to these areas.
Grameen Foundation’ Community Agent Network (CAN) in the Philippines embodies a new approach to extending financial inclusion to people in poor, remote areas that is applicable across many countries. Combining a mostly female agent network with a digital financial services platform that connects people with banks, utility companies, government agencies, and other businesses it has enabled up to one million low-income people in the Philippines to benefit from formal financial services.
January 19, 2017 by Bobbi Gray
Many people consider the book, Men are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, by Dr. John Gray a classic. While it describes how men and women can better understand and relate to each other, it starts from the premise that men and women are simply from different planets. We don’t think or behave alike. We have different expectations for a relationship. But there are bridges that can bring us together—if we can locate and cross them effectively.