On 14-15 March 2017, Financial Sector Deeping Uganda (FSDU) and i2i hosted a Financial Inclusion Data Analysis Boot Camp, bringing together public and private sector players, including regulators from the Bank of Uganda and Capital Markets Authority, financial service providers including Stanbic, as well as MNOs such as Yo Uganda, MTN and Airtel.
The first day of the boot camp, which took place in Entebbe, Uganda, focused on familiarising the participants with demand-side data, with a specific focus on FinScope Uganda (2013). Through interactive sessions facilitated by FinMark Trust, Cenfri and Eighty20, the participants gained insights into the FinScope questionnaire design and interview process as well as how this dataset can be used for decision-making purposes in the public and private sector. In addition, the participants received hands-on practical training on how to analyse this dataset and were invited to illustrate the use case for specific financial products by means of analysing FinScope Uganda data. On the second day of the workshop, participants presented their findings to the group and explained how FinScope data could enable them to make informed decisions about the viability of their specific financial product in the Ugandan market.
A key theme that emerged throughout the workshop is the desire that the public and private sector share in better utilising publicly available demand-side data for decision-making purposes within their organisations. This highlights the need for not only building awareness around these datasets, but also capacitating the relevant stakeholders with the analytical skills necessary to harness the power that data has in advancing financial inclusion.
i2i continues to grow its presence in Uganda through our DataHack4FI, run in partnership with Laboremus, UNCDF Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) and FSD Uganda, which takes place at the Innovation Village on Friday 31 March in Kampala. The DataHack4FI launch will be followed by a four-part meet-up series centred around the use of data and analytics in advancing financial inclusion and will focus on instilling practical skills relating to how to design and pitch a business model. These meet-ups will occur every Wednesday evening during the month of April. Watch this space or follow us on twitter to learn more about these upcoming events in Uganda.
NB: FinScope data is publicly available and can be requested from FinMark Trust or accessed via country-specific FSD websites. In April 2017, i2i will launch its portal, which will host FinScope data for 8 countries and will include a visualisation tool that allows for the easy analysis of this data.