Welcome to FinMark Trust

Savings and Retail Banking in Africa

As part of the WSBI State of the Savings and Retail Banking Sector in Africa research series, the Scale2Save programme and FinMark Trust have partnered to produce six case studies. These address some of the most relevant developments in the banking and financial industries regarding the financial inclusion of low-income people in Africa.

MAP Botswana Financial Inclusion Refresh 2021

Botswana is moving towards the 2021 goal of reducing financial exclusion to 12% or increasing usage of more than one type of formal financial service to 57%.

Botswana

Digitisation of Financial Products for Cross-Border Traders

Informal cross border trade is important to the food security, supply of basic medical goods, as well as the livelihoods of millions. Find out more about the key corridors between SA and 5 key countries.

Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique

Southern African Development Community

MSME Credit Information Platform Review

Credit is key to any business – including farming. For FSPs to effectively grant credit to MSMEs, an entire ecosystem is needed. Discover what the state of the discussion is in the SADC member states.

Southern African Development Community

The Role of Remittances in Deepening Financial Inclusion

South Africa and Eswatini Remittances Corridor Diagnostic, this report is a compilation of research findings to inform the implementation of the IFAD’s Financial Inclusion and Cluster Development (FINCLUDE) programme in Eswatini.

Eswatini, South Africa

Agricultural Finance Scoping – Summary

Agriculture supports millions of people across SADC and is key in the development of the region. Discover the barriers and opportunities for FSPs participating in this space in SADC.

Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Botswana

Southern African Development Community

Agriculture Finance Scoping – Botswana

This agriculture scoping study focuses on Botswana as part of the FMT initiative to design market-based interventions that result in more inclusive growth for MSMEs.

Botswana

Programmes

Agricultural Value Chains

By promoting greater access to financial services we focus on ensuring that small scale farmers are empowered to participate in the agricultural economy.

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Digital Financial Services

The positive impact of digital financial services on the poor is well documented globally. These services provide efficient, cost effective and more accessible solutions to accessing formal financial services.

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Innovation

FMT leverages its expertise in financial and economic inclusion to define problem statements focused on the poor and surface and incubate African developed FinTechs within the SADC region.

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MSMEs

Through the MSME MAP (Making Access Possible) framework, an evidence-based strategy to support MSMEs is developed for different countries. The process identifies dominant sectors, sizes the value of the sector, assesses blockages to growth for the MSMEs in the sectors.

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Policy and Regulation

A well-developed policy and regulatory environment ensures the market operates efficiently and at scale, whilst also taking into account the needs of all of the stakeholders that participate in it – both consumers and providers.

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Women and Youth

Gender equality is fundamental to achieving economic growth and poverty reduction. FMT is committed to accelerating efforts towards the gender equality and empowerment of women.

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Data for financial markets

The FinScope Consumer Survey is uniquely aimed at increasing understanding of the informal financial product/service market.

Gathering data is the easy part, knowing what to do with it more complex. Our team of researchers, statisticians, and data scientist can analyse FinScope or Big Data to generate evidence and insights.

The proliferation of mobile devices has presented researchers with a golden opportunity to rethink the way data is collected.

The data portal hosts multiple public datatypes and analytical tools that allow stakeholders to compare indicators across countries and jurisdictions.

This geospatial offering supports the centering of financial infrastructure around consumers, as well as using location intelligence to inform key decision areas.