Submitted by iloadmin on

PROSPECTS has approached financial education primarily as a part of business development services. This has helped individuals apply the skills gained as a result of financial education by enabling them to access financial products that support the development, launch and growth of their business ideas. Other areas complemented access to finance – for instance, by supporting access to social insurance payments.

Here are some examples of how integration took place within the PROSPECTS programme regarding financial inclusion:

Social protection
  • There's a connection between financial inclusion and the extension of social protection, in that refugees’ inability to open and own a bank account can be a barrier to their participation where social protection benefits are paid into bank accounts. 
Value-chain development and market systems
  • Financial inclusion was also pursued based on needs identified within value-chain development initiatives. For example, in Ethiopia's milk value chain, producer cooperatives were enabled to open bank accounts, and a digital platform was introduced to facilitate direct payments between producers and processors. 
Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy
  • Incorporating financial education into cooperative training to enhance members’ financial literacy plays a key part in various cooperative training programmes. For example, linking cooperative structures to finance was also a measure of sustainability, as shown in Ethiopia, where PROSPECTS established a partnership with a local commercial bank. 
Business development services
  • Operating business development services (BDS) alongside other programmatic areas is best done in a holistic enterprise development support system, notably including access to finance and partnership with financial institutions that are able to serve refugees. 
  • Financial education is often incorporated into broader enterprise development initiatives such as Start and Improve your Business (SIYB), business training and cooperative training. This approach ensures that people gain financial skills alongside business skills, enabling them to make informed borrowing decisions.
  • The programme incorporated digital payment methods into financial inclusion initiatives such as Digitalise your Business (DYB) training.