UGAFODE – Refugees Finance Diagnostic Study
Introduction
To the question: “what does financial inclusion have to do with refugees?”, our answer at FCL is “a lot”. This is why we have developed highly capable expertise in offering technical assistance in developing and refining suitable financial products and channels for refugees. A pioneer in offering financial services to refugees, UGAFODE opened a branch in Nakivale Refugee Settlement and realized increasing financial service needs of this target population. This triggered the need to enhance UGAFODEs’ product catalogue in the settlement, which called for a specific diagnostic study to inform better product suitability.
Project execution
From April to July of 2023, Friends Consult worked with UGAFODE on the diagnostic and financial product enhancement for refugees.
Based on the findings on refugee customer satisfaction, product gap analysis, unique needs and aspirations refugees, market scan, internal institutional diagnostics of UGAFODE’s processes and channels and related aspects, FCL refined one refugee finance product and developed two new ones to boost market uptake.
Rationale and intended outcomes of the project
The refugee finance enhancement project is intended to avail to refugees and their host communities more responsive financial services, in order to:
- Help more refugees in the settlement to engage in income generating activities
- Enable them improve their household incomes, livelihood and resilience
- Boost UGAFODE’s outreach and loan portfolio.
Longer term, the intended impact is to make the lives of the refugees better by enabling them have sustainable livelihoods from their own economic activities as as they mainstream into the local and national economy.
The Client
UGAFODE Microfinance Ltd (UGAFODE) is a Microfinance Deposit-Accepting Institution (MDI) licensed and regulated by Bank of Uganda.
Keren Obara
Project Officer FCL.