THE CHALLENGE
An estimated 1.7 billion adults lack access to formal financial services, and rural and low-income households are disproportionately excluded,* with an estimated 17 percentage point gap in bank account ownership between rural and urban adults in sub-Saharan Africa, and an 8 percentage point gap in Latin America and the Caribbean.**
THE OPPORTUNITY
GP and its affiliated funds aim to enhance the economic resilience of households living in rural poverty by investing in partners that deliver financial and educational services tailored to meet the productive needs of rural microentrepreneurs.
RCFE TRACK 1
WHO IS SERVED
The target demographic is rural producers and microentrepreneurs living on less than $3.20 PPP/person/day.
WHAT IS DELIVERED
Clients must receive:
- Working capital or asset finance loans tailored to the productive activity, often delivered through group lending; AND
- Basic financial literacy education, which for clients living in deep poverty and who are new to formal financial services, may comprise know-your-credit training.
May also receive:
- Access to savings;
- Training covering broad-based educational topics such as financial management, business skills, productive activities, climate resilience, health, life skills;
- Improved market access.
WHY IT IS IMPACTFUL
Client empowerment and household economic resilience and food security improves as rural clients:
Make more informed decisions;
- Smooth household consumption & better deal with shocks;
- Sustain & eventually grow investment in productive activities; and
- Reduce the distressed sale and support the accrual of assets; and
- Enhance resilience to the effects of climate change.
Household income stabilizes and/or increases over time as rural clients:
- Invest in new, improved, or growing productive opportunities, practices, inputs, technology, and/or assets.
RCFE Track 2
WHO IS SERVED
The target demographic is rural producers and microentrepreneurs living on less than $5.50 PPP/person/day.
WHAT IS DELIVERED
Clients must receive:
- Working capital or asset finance loans tailored to the productive activity, often delivered through individual lending; AND
- Basic financial literacy education; AND
- Training covering broad-based educational topics such as financial management, business skills, productive activities, climate resilience, health, life skills;
May also receive:
- Access to savings;
- Improved market access.
WHY IT IS IMPACTFUL
Client empowerment and household economic resilience and food security improves as rural clients:
Make more informed decisions;
- Smooth household consumption & better deal with shocks;
- Sustain & eventually grow investment in productive activities; and
- Reduce the distressed sale and support the accrual of assets; and
- Enhance resilience to the effects of climate change.
Household income stabilizes and/or increases over time as rural clients:
- Invest in new, improved, or growing productive opportunities, practices, inputs, technology, and/or assets.
* “The Global Findex Database,” The World Bank, 2017, https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/.
** Leora Klapper, “Two Persistent Divides in Financial Inclusion: Gender and Rural,” 25 April 2012, https://www.cgap.org/blog/two-persistent-divides-financial-inclusion-gender-and-rural.