Photo credit: Lene Hansen, Syrian refugee clients of Al Amelia Greenberg leads a Training of Trainers in Brussels, Belgium.
Majmoua displaying their handicrafts in Aley branch, Lebanon.
SPTF Working Group on Microfinance for Refugees
The Social Performance Task Force, in partnership with the Livelihoods Unit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is working to increase access to financial services for refugees. SPTF's working group identifies and shares innovative practice in the provision of financial services to refugees, while also increasining our sector's understanding of the financial needs of refugee populationss and dispelling misconceptions about them.
Case study
Read a case study written in 2015 on Al Majmoua, Lebanon: Serving Refugee Populations in Lebanon - Lessons Learned from a New Frontier
Guidelines
SPTF worked with independent consultant Lene Hansen to write guidelines for financial service providers on extending their services to refugees. This resource, called "Serving Refugee Populations: The Next Financial Inclusion Frontier," is available in English and Arabic. The guidelines present the sector's current understanding of best practices, and are divided into three main sections: 1) Refugees as a potential FSP market segment; 2) A framework for financial inclusion of refugees; and 3) Potential profitability drivers.
Webinars - in English (see below for webinars in Arabic)
Webinar 1 (March 2017) - Sparkassenstiftung Project on Financial Inclusion of Syrian Refugees in Armenia
Recording
PowerPoint
Read the brief
Webinar 2 (May 2017) - PerMicro and Microfinanza Srl share experience on financial inclusion of refugees in Italy
Recording
PowerPoint
Read the brief
Webinar 3 (July 2017) - Adie and Habitat share findings from a survey on the financial needs of refugees in Turkey
Recording
PowerPoint
Read the brief
Findings from Adia and Habitat 2017 survey on the financial needs of refugees in Turkey
Webinar 4 (7 December 2017) - UNCDF discusses its work to increase financial inclusion of refugees in camps in Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
Recording
PowerPoint
Read the brief
Webinar 5 (13 December 2017) - GIZ and the Central Bank of Jordan discuss mobile wallet accounts for refugees and low-income Jordanians
Recording
PowerPoint
Read the brief in English
Read the brief in Arabic
Webinar 6 (19 December 2017) - KIMS and ARC discuss their work to help returned refugees in Somalia secure their livelihoods
Recording
PowerPoint
Read the brief
Webinars - in Arabic
The Microfinance Gateway has hosted webinars in Arabic on the topic of financial inclusion of refugees:
- FSP experiences in Serving Refugees in Lebanon and Jordan - Al Majmoua and Microfund for Women
- The Financial Inclusion of Refugees: Latest Evidence and Strategies - CGAP & UNHCR
Training of Trainers
SPTF has developed materials for a two-day training on financial inclusion for refugee populations. Download the PowerPoint presentations for each module of the training here:
- TOT Session 1: Welcome
- TOT Session 2: What do we know
- TOT Session 3: Business case framework
- TOT Session 4: Preparatory steps
- TOT Session 5: Review
- TOT Session 6: Products and Delivery
- TOT Session 7: Profit drivers and case study
- TOT Session 8: Group presenters and UNHCR
- TOT Session 9: Wrap up
Other Resources
- Listen to a webinar on the guidelines and view a PPT presentation that review the contents of the guidelines.
- Read an article in Arabic: هل يشكل اللاجئون نوعية خطرة من عملاء التمويل الأصغر؟
- Listen to our introductory webinar: Refugees- The Next Frontier in Financial Inclusion? Also, review the notes and PowerPoint.
- Review the PowerPoint from our workshop in Morocco: A New Frontier for Financial Inclusion in English en français.
- Read the workshop notes in English.