Agfin
With Agfin Benefits Account, Agfin MFI expands the bouquet of services offered by its field officers to small scale retailers and micro-entrepreneurs in the South-West of Nigeria
The Situation
Agfin’s field officers have built a long standing relationship with the micro-entrepreneurs that they service. Many are on first name terms and know the businesses of their customers in close detail. These field officers primarily help their customers to handle their savings by helping them with daily cash pickups and savings record keeping.
A common need of the entrepreneurs is payment services. To get money to 3rd parties, they provide the cash to the field officer who in turn has to incur the cost of finding mobile money agents or bank branches to handle multiple deposits.
Another common occurrence is that the entrepreneurs often require loans for short term needs and business growth, which Agfin field officers may not have liquidity to cater for without incurring the associated risks.
Agfin partnered with a couple of banks and lenders who have exposed APIs via OnePipe to cater to this need.
The OnePipe Solution
Agfin, in partnership with OnePipe and 2 banks, deployed Grassroots Banking to both their field officers and the micro-entrepreneurs that they service.
Agfin’s field officers were able to dial a USSD code to have incentive-driven accounts assigned to them. They were also able to access the accounts via a conversational interface that’s a core proposition of the Grassroots Banking platform. Once comfortable, the field officers were able to guide their customers through the same process.
This set the stage for more possibilities.The customers are able to activate a savings plan off their dedicated accounts, such that cash picked up my field officers are always deposited into the accounts of the customers directly, so they can track their deposits and savings. This savings activity is then used by OnePipe lending partners who have provided APIs on OnePipe to underwrite access to credit for the customers.
The incentives made available on the accounts have also empowered the field officers to make some money by offering secondary financial services to their customers:
- Funds transfer services that are now truly digital and cheaper. Further deepening the data trail used to underwrite credit for the customers.
- Airtime and data purchase, such that the field officers keep a portion of the spread from the discount
- And many more.
OnePipe worked with Agfin account managers on the go-to-market and activation activities to ensure the success of the Agfin Benefits Account programme.
The Situation
Agfin’s field officers have built a long standing relationship with the micro-entrepreneurs that they service. Many are on first name terms and know the businesses of their customers in close detail. These field officers primarily help their customers to handle their savings by helping them with daily cash pickups and savings record keeping.
A common need of the entrepreneurs is payment services. To get money to 3rd parties, they provide the cash to the field officer who in turn has to incur the cost of finding mobile money agents or bank branches to handle multiple deposits.
Another common occurrence is that the entrepreneurs often require loans for short term needs and business growth, which Agfin field officers may not have liquidity to cater for without incurring the associated risks.
Agfin partnered with a couple of banks and lenders who have exposed APIs via OnePipe to cater to this need.
The OnePipe Solution
Agfin, in partnership with OnePipe and 2 banks, deployed Grassroots Banking to both their field officers and the micro-entrepreneurs that they service.
Agfin’s field officers were able to dial a USSD code to have incentive-driven accounts assigned to them. They were also able to access the accounts via a conversational interface that’s a core proposition of the Grassroots Banking platform. Once comfortable, the field officers were able to guide their customers through the same process.
This set the stage for more possibilities.The customers are able to activate a savings plan off their dedicated accounts, such that cash picked up my field officers are always deposited into the accounts of the customers directly, so they can track their deposits and savings. This savings activity is then used by OnePipe lending partners who have provided APIs on OnePipe to underwrite access to credit for the customers.
The incentives made available on the accounts have also empowered the field officers to make some money by offering secondary financial services to their customers:
- Funds transfer services that are now truly digital and cheaper. Further deepening the data trail used to underwrite credit for the customers.
- Airtime and data purchase, such that the field officers keep a portion of the spread from the discount
- And many more.
OnePipe worked with Agfin account managers on the go-to-market and activation activities to ensure the success of the Agfin Benefits Account programme.
The Outcome
Agfin Benefits Account, has helped to deepen financial inclusion for the micro-entrepreneurs that Agfin serves and given them access to more financial services like loans and insurance while creating new revenue streams for Agfin’s field officers.
In the words of the MD – Agfin Limited “We leveraged OnePipe’s platform to consolidate our social empowerment, microfinance efforts among indigent farmers and traders. Thanks to our partnership with OnePipe, we have commenced digitizing our microfinance ecosystem and successfully created financial digital footprints for erstwhile financially excluded persons”
