FinancialAccess 349d ago

As Covid lockdowns took hold, microfinance institutions around the world rushed to digitize. MFIs in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua faced added challenges: these are small markets with significant rural populations and geographic barriers. Remarkably, Central American MFIs proved responsive and resilient—able to increase productivity and offset declines in profitability during Covid and its immediate aftermath. In this video, Barbara Magnoni and Tim Ogden weigh up the findings of an in-depth study on Central American MFI digitization including MFI leaders, loan officers, and clients. Barbara and Tim will discuss success factors and inhibitors, the importance of the region’s smallest MFIs in reaching remote households, and sharing recommendations for funders, MFIs and MFI networks. Speakers: Tim Ogden, Managing Director of the Financial Access Initiative at NYU Wagner and Barbara Magnoni, President, EA Consultants. The MFI Digitization study was carried out by EA Consultants and REDCAMIF, with guidance from the Financial Access Initiative at NYU Wagner and in collaboration with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.