Financial Solutions
We advocate to increase the offering of innovative and responsive products and services targeting women and youth-owned or managed MSMEs.
To achieve this, FSDT implements the following three distinctive interventions
- Financial and Digital Inclusion for Women MSE Merchants in Tanzania to facilitate the development of new or scale-up existing
- Inclusive Finance for Growth of MSMEs, Women, and Youth to facilitate the deployment of short and medium-term financing instruments, including a Debt Fund, by establishing a line of credit and guarantee scheme to FSPs, and an Equity Fund to provide funding to SMEs in selected growing sectors. The intervention will also establish Technical Assistance Programs for FSPs and regulators and provide capacity-building and related support to participating institutions.
- Inclusive Green and Circular Economy Financing for Women and Youth Enterprises to improve the availability of quality and accessible financial products and capital investments for women and youth enterprises through the establishment of a Subsidy Fund, for the provision of seed capital to new and start-up enterprises, Credit Guarantee Schemes and Technical Assistance to FSPs. The intervention targets women and youth enterprises operating in 3 subsectors; 1) Solid Waste Management and Environment Management; 2) Fish Processing and Trading; 3) Seaweed Farming in Mwanza Municipal Council, Tanga Town Council, and Pemba Island.
Current Projects
Enhancing the Uptake and Usage of Digital Financial Services for Women and Youth through Digitization of Community Microfinance Groups (CMG) in Tanzania.
Whose Lives Are We Trying To Improve?
This project aims to digitize financial transactions of registered CMGs, focusing on transactions to benefit members, especially women and youth. Digitization promises increased transparency, efficiency, and access to diverse financial services. The digital solution will streamline transactions, broaden the scope of financial services and empower members with enhanced digital skills. Funds security is ensured through secure digital wallets, fostering trust and diversity of financial services for CMG members.
What challenges are they currently facing?
Women and youth in CMGs face challenges around lack of transparency, theft and limited access to diverse range of financial services. These challenges emanate from manual record keeping and informal ways of managing cash, stemming from limited digital literacy, lack of inter-operable mobile-enabled financial solutions, lack of standardized Know Your Customer (KYC) documents and limited coordination among stakeholders. As a result, CMG members are unable to garner the full breadth of the benefits of digital financial services.
What market system changes must take place to resolve the challenges?
The project aims to facilitate availability of inter-operable digital financial services for women and youth in CMGs through interested Financial Service Providers (FSPs). The project also aims to promote digital literacy and facilitate awareness and increased interest of CMGs to digitize their savings and loans transactions to achieve access and usage of diverse range of financial services.
How will FSDT intervene?
FSDT plays a pivotal role as a market facilitator in this project by convening various stakeholders such as the Bank of Tanzania (BOT), President’s Office-Reginal Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Local Government Authorities (LGA), Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Banks, CMG promoters, and Community Based Trainers. This collaborative approach aims to enhance digitization of CMGs, promote financial inclusion—especially for women and youth. FSDT leads project implementation through data-driven insights, stakeholder engagement, testing, and monitoring. Also, FSDT ensures ongoing stakeholder engagement and alignment with the project goals through continuous strategic communication efforts.
What are we hoping to achieve through this intervention?
This project aims to impact a total of 25,000 women and youth, with 5,000 individuals (across 200 CMGs) targeted in phase one and 20,000 individuals (across 800 CMGs) in phase two. The project also expects 25,000 CMG members to adopt and utilize diverse range of digital financial services leveraging their digital financial transactions data, and three FSPs to develop, pilot, or scale tailored financial solutions catering to registered CMGs.
What developmental impact do we hope to see in the market?
Ultimately, we hope to see CMG members empowered and capacitated to demand and use a diverse range of financial services, including but not limited to insurance, payments, and mortgage. Such developments would improve the livelihoods, well-being, and empowerment of women and youth, fostering a brighter and more equitable future.
INTERVENTION PERIOD
PHASE 1 : OCTOBER 2023-JUNE 2024
PHASE 2: JULY 2024-JUNE 2025
FUNDED BY
Gender Collaborative Program (Gender Corpro)
FinClinic: An Evidence-driven Financial Solution and Policy Design Approach
Whose lives are we trying to improve?
FinClinic aims to improve the lives of women, youth, smallholder farmers in rural areas, as well as Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through evidence-driven financial
solutions and policy design.
What challenges are they currently facing?
FSDT studies have highlighted challenges in the uptake of formal financial services by women and youth in Tanzania, despite the presence of targeted programs and products. These challenges include: limited awareness due to factors such as product features and distribution channels, as well as broader issues such as insufficient market research, poor understanding of the financial needs and lack of data disaggregation by sex and age among Financial Service Providers (FSPs).
What market system changes must take place to resolve the challenges?
To address the challenges, primary market system changes are crucial, including the development, piloting and scaling of gender and age-responsive financial solutions and policies for women and youth smallholder farmers and MSMEs. Secondly, increasing the number of FSPs offering gender – responsive solutions. Thirdly, efforts should focus on programs to enhance the confidence and capabilities of women and youth to access and utilize financial services. These measures can foster inclusivity in Tanzania’s Financial ecosystem, empowering marginalized groups and promoting economic participation.
How will FSDT intervene?
FinClinic involves several key steps aimed at fostering financial inclusion for women and youth in Tanzania. Initially, FSPs to respond to a call for proposals, expressing their interest in designing solutions tailored to these customer segments. Upon selection, FSPs sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FSDT to pilot or scale these financial solutions. Through collaboration with FSDT, partner FSPs co-designa prototype, integrating financial literacy components. The most promising solution is then piloted by partner FSPs. Additionally, policymakers and regulators utilize FinClinic to refine existing policies and frameworks, thus contributing to a more inclusive financial landscape.
What are we hoping to achieve through this intervention?
The primary objectives of the FinClinic initiative are to increase the number of women and youth adopting gender-responsive financial products that cater to their basic needs and desires,. Additionally, FinClinic aims to increase the number of women and youth utillizing multiple categories of financial services provided through the project, and to enhance their willingness to recommend these services to others. Through engagement with policymakers and regulators, FinClinic also seeks to create a conducive environment for FSPs to effectively serve women and youth, contributing to broader financial inclusion efforts.
What developmental impact do we hope to see in the market?
Through FinClinic, we hope to empower women and youth by increasing their usage of formal financial channels, enabling them to make independent decisions over their income and build productive assets. We also hope to enhance their access to digital merchant payments and alternative financing models, ultimately improving their access to essential goods and services such as healthcare, housing, and education; thus, contributing to their overall well-being and empowerment.
FUNDED BY
to support financial service providers, policymakers, regulators, and other players in the financial sector in identification of market opportunities, development of appropriate financial solutions, and implementation of cost-effective delivery models, as well as appropriate regulatory frameworks.
