WFP and DWA Share ‘Digital Financial Inclusion Study Report’ and ‘Teachable Moments’ to Ecosystem Stakeholders

WFP and the Department of Women Affairs jointly disseminated a study on digital financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment

On the 30^th of October, the two-year-long programme titled “Situational Analysis for Enabling Digital Financial Inclusion and Women’s Economic Empowerment” reached its successful closure through the launch of a number of publications. Representatives from government agencies, regulators, financial service providers, and development partners attended the event.  

The event was co-organized by the World Food Programme (WFP) Bangladesh and the Department of Women Affairs. The secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWCA) was present as the chief guest.

The following content were developed and published as part of LightCastle’s engagement with WFP and the Department of Women Affairs (DWA).

• DFI Landscaping Report: A comprehensive study for assessing the gaps and opportunities for enabling digital financial inclusion for the economically vulnerable female population.
• Policy Analysis Document: A detailed study for identifying potential policy-level recommendations for fostering more inclusivity across the DFI landscape. 
• Digital Financial Literacy Module: A two-part practical training module for the economically vulnerable female population to facilitate DFI.

LightCastle, as the technical assistance partner, has been supporting WFP over the last two years, conducting research studies, and designing and conducting training sessions for stakeholders.

At the report unveiling event, representatives from various regulatory agencies (Bangladesh Bank, Microcredit Regulatory Authority), financial institutions (DBBL, BRAC Bank, One Bank), Mobile Financial Service Providers (bKash, Nagad, Upay), development and innovation partners (a2i) actively participated in the discussion session.

On behalf of LightCastle Partners, Md. Mubassir Rahman (Senior Business Consultant & Project Manager) shared a brief presentation on the insights on prospects and bottlenecks for fostering digital financial inclusion.

The publications were unveiled by Ms. Nazma Mobarek (Secretary, MoCWA) in the presence of the different stakeholders. Ms. Mobarek stressed stronger collaboration between private sector partners: MFS providers, commercial banks, and development partners to increase levels of financial and technical literacy among economically vulnerable women. The ceremony concluded with stakeholders discussing the avenues for adopting the materials in their existing process to ensure enhanced digital inclusion.

The path to digital financial inclusion, especially for women, has been riddled with challenges. The requirement of an integrated approach was reiterated through the programme and tools to accelerate inclusion are now available. It is only through a symbiotic approach that the last mile can be reached and included beyond transfer to transaction.

A Snapshot of the Programme

In the first phase, the consortium partners comprehended the existing state of digital financial inclusion, vulnerable women group’s interest, and their ability to leverage DFS, including the potential challenges and opportunities.

Based on the recommendations from Phase I, the second phase focused on delivering sensitization sessions, capacity development workshops, and learning materials to strengthen women’s economic empowerment through digital financial inclusion.