Programme 4
Oct 2013 – Nov 2020 (7 years)Agency Banking and Roving Mobile Bank
Last mile financial inclusion delivered across 14 institutions on behalf of a Paris based principal
- Organisation
- CIDR Pamiga
- Role
- Digital Finance and MIS Expert, Chief Operations and Technology Officer
- Scope
- 14 MFIs across Africa, Asia, Latin America & Europe
- 14MFIs Served
- +50%Financial Inclusion
- EUR 5MDonor Funding
- 4Regions
Overview
Over seven years I led delivery of digital finance programmes across 14 institutions, including two pioneering Senegalese products: an agency banking system and a roving mobile bank serving rural clients at weekly Louma village markets.
The Problem
Rural clients had no practical access to a branch, in country capacity varied widely, and the work was donor funded with fixed reporting obligations to a principal based in Paris, requiring stage discipline rather than informal delivery.
My Role & Delivery Leadership
Accountable delivery lead between the contracting principal, in country teams, local partners and donors. Owned stage plans, work packages, quality criteria, highlight reporting and formal acceptance of each delivered product.
Delivery Approach
Stage based delivery with donor funded assurance reviews
Donor-aligned business case and outline plan agreed with the Paris-based principal
→ Business case, project brief
Governance roles defined, project initiation documentation, tolerance and reporting cadence set
→ PID, governance structure
Delivery broken into managed stages by region, with product descriptions and quality criteria
→ Stage plans, product descriptions
In-country teams and local partners managed by work package, highlight reports to principal and donor
→ Highlight reports, work packages
Field validation of agency and roving bank operations against defined quality criteria
→ Quality register, acceptance records
End stage assessments, donor reporting and formal project closure
→ End stage reports, closure report
Key Challenges & Solutions
Reporting line split between Paris and the field
Fixed highlight reporting cadence with exception reporting against tolerance, so the principal saw risks early with a recommendation attached.
Operating conditions at weekly village markets
Field validation of operating procedures against defined quality criteria before any regional scale up was approved.
Donor funded scope and compliance obligations
Business case and stage boundaries used to control scope, with each end stage assessment tied to donor reporting.
Outcomes & Impact
50% increase in financial inclusion: Reached previously unserved rural and peri urban populations across the network.
EUR 5M donor funding secured: Delivery credibility contributed to securing significant donor investment.
Pioneering roving bank model: The Banque Mobile Itinerante became a benchmark for last mile financial delivery.
14 institutions served across 4 regions: Digital products deployed across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.