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The challenge that the financial services industry faces today is how to aggressively scale microfinance. In 2003, a team of eight public and private sector organizations, convened and led by HP and funded primarily by the US Agency for International Development, began addressed the following questions:
- What would scale for microfinance look like?
- How can technology help achieve that level of scale?
- How can lessons from our work inform a vision for the financial future of the poor?
The result of our inquiry was the development and deployment of a Remote Transaction System (RTS). This combination of off-the-shelf hardware and a newly developed software application was tested and implemented in three microfinance institutions in Uganda. The RTS provides individuals improved access to financial services. It is expected to lower transaction costs for microfinance institutions and to help them reach more rural clients. The pilot, which started in January 2004, is scheduled to conclude in 2005.
HP's goal is to help catalyze the industry and deepen our understanding of the services and delivery systems required to reach the rural poor in a sustainable way. When this project concludes in 2005, HP and its partners will share this knowledge and help the microfinance industry to access and deploy the RTS more broadly. |
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