Norah Prida Bay, CEO of Kitty 10 (an app that digitizes mobile savings groups), highlighted our BETA Savings product with Diamond Bank in Nigeria in an article highlighting the gender gap in access to credit. Here is an excerpt of her piece:
Fortunately, financial institutions and entrepreneurs are partnering to create new mobile technologies that offer improved ways to save. Take Women’s World Banking and Diamond Bank, for example. Together with Visa and Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), these organizations are working to address the lack of financial access in Nigeria, where 73% of women don’t have bank accounts. Its initial pilot program “BETA” set women up with mobile savings accounts that had no minimum deposit or monthly fees, awarded weekly cash prizes, and sent weekly text messages reminding clients to save on a set schedule. The majority of women in the program were able to save a portion of their income—many up to 60%. Within six months, a total of $1.5 million had been saved, and more than 38,000 new accounts had been opened.
