Training on Financial Inclusion Strategies for SACCOs & Microinsurance

Module 1: Financial Inclusion Landscape & Barriers for the Underserved

• Who are the unbanked? Rural farmers, informal sector workers, women, youth, small traders

• Key barriers: affordability (minimum balances), accessibility (distance), trust, documentation, financial literacy

• SACCOs as inclusion vehicles: common bond, member ownership, social mission

• Case Study: Review a rural community needs assessment -identify the top three barriers for smallholder farmers and propose one SACCO product feature to address each

Module 2: Micro-Loan & Micro-Savings Product Design

• Micro-loan features: small ticket sizes (e.g., KSh 5,000–50,000), short tenors, flexible repayment (weekly, daily)

• Alternative underwriting: cash flow based, group guarantees, psychometric scoring

• Micro-savings: low or zero minimum balance, mobile deposits, goal-based accounts

• Hands-on Exercise: Design a micro-loan product for market vendors (daily income)  specify loan size, repayment frequency, collateral substitute, and interest rate. Calculate affordability for a vendor earning KSh 500/day

Module 3 : Agent Banking & Digital Delivery Channels

• Agent banking model: recruitment, training, liquidity management, commission structures

• Digital channels: USSD (feature phones), mobile app (smartphones), SMS alerts, WhatsApp banking

• Last-mile challenges: network downtime, agent float shortages, member digital literacy

• Case Study: A SACCO wants to reach 10,000 new members in a rural area with no branch – design an agent network (number of agents, locations, incentives) and a USSD onboarding flow

Module 4: Microinsurance-Credit Life, Hospital, Asset & Funeral Cover

• Credit life insurance: pays outstanding loan balance on death – compulsory for most SACCO loans

• Hospital cash cover: fixed daily payout for inpatient stays – affordable premiums (e.g., KSh 200–500/month)

• Asset insurance: phone, boda boda, livestock, solar home systems

• Funeral insurance: lump sum payout – high demand in African SACCOs

• Hands-on Exercise: Calculate the premium for a credit life product (loan book KSh 100M, annual mortality 1.5%, expense load 20%) – then design a simple hospital cash product for informal workers

Module 5: Group Lending Methodologies & Impact Measurement

• Group lending models: village savings and loan associations (VSLAs), joint liability groups, solidarity groups

• Group dynamics: selection of members, meeting discipline, cross-guarantees, social pressure for repayment

• Measuring inclusion: number of new members (previously unbanked), loan uptake growth, portfolio at risk (PAR), member retention

• Hands-on Exercise: Simulate a group lending cycle for 10 women -assign roles (chair, secretary, treasurer), process individual loan requests against group savings, track repayments, and handle one default using group guarantee