Turning MFI Digital Strategies Into Reality

There is growing worldwide consumer demand for digital financial services (DFS), and the clients of microfinance institutions (MFI) in emerging markets are no exception. For most MFIs, DFS is a completely new type of business. The encouraging news is that new research indicates that a number of MFIs are starting to get to grips with the challenges of deploying DFS and are on the path to success.

This four-year MFI longitudinal study charts the journey of nine African MFIs that are implementing new digital channels. This field note analyzes the outcomes of that study in terms of the strategic plans and decisions the MFIs have made while implementing digital channels, and draws conclusions and recommendations that identify successful strategic approaches and lessons learned along the way. The study can help guide and encourage the growing number of DFS practitioners to get through the pain barrier and on the road to success, both within MFIs and elsewhere.