Expand Microsavings Over the Next 5 Years
by MicroCapital on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 5:51am
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in
the US, has pledged USD 500 million over the next five years to expand
savings and build a "new financial infrastructure" to bring savings
services to the poor.
The pledge includes six new grants totaling USD 40 million. The grants
will support projects and partnerships to improve access to savings and
other financial services, including expansion of bank and microfinance
services to include savings accounts, implementation of new approaches
to reach the poor with savings and research to identify how people use
formal and informal financial tools, including savings, credit,
insurance and payment services.
The recipients include:
World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI): USD 600,000
The grant will support WSBI in identifying viable projects that could be
supported to offer affordable, accessible and sustainable savings
accounts through approximately 10 additional WSBI member banks.
Vodacom Tanzania Limited (VTL): USD 4.8 million
This program aims to increase awareness and usage of the mobile money
service, M-PESA, in Tanzania, reaching at least 2 million people in 18
months.
ShoreBank International Limited: USD 10 million
This project will work with BRAC Bank Limited to build "bKash", a
scalable mobile money platform that will allow poor Bangladeshis to
store, transfer and receive money safely via mobile phones.
CGAP (Consulative Group to Assist the Poor): USD 6 million
This program will promote the use of branchless banking to increase the
number of poor people with access to financial services, particularly
savings.
World Bank: USD 11.4 million
This program will include 10 financial questions in an existing Gallup
global poll to generate baseline data on financial inclusion levels
across 150 countries. The survey will be issued every three years to
measure and track specific data on people's use and access to financial
tools including formal and informal banking.
Yale University/Innovations for Poverty Action: USD 7 million
This project will launch more than 20 studies to identify the best ways
to reach the poor with savings products and money-transfer services.
By Witt Gatchell, Research Associate
About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
Based in the US, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides grants to
organizations in approximately 100 countries around the world with the
aim of enhancing health care, reducing poverty and expanding access to
education and information technology. As of September 2009, its
endowment totaled USD 34 billion. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's
Financial Services for the Poor initiative focuses on providing people
with secure places to save money. To support this initiative, the
foundation works with financial organizations to increase access to
technology (point of sales devices, automated teller machines, etc.) and
to forge partnerships between mobile phone companies, banks and
microfinance institutions. It also supports the startup and growth of
new banks in challenging markets.
About World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI):
The World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI) is an international banking
association that represents savings and retail banks in 92 countries.
About CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor):
Housed at the World Bank Group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the
Poor) is an independent policy and research center dedicated to
facilitating the provision of financial access to poor people worldwide.
CGAP is supported by approximately thirty development agencies and
private foundations. Its mission is to provide market intelligence, to
promote standards and to offer advisory services to governments,
microfinance providers, donors and investors.
