The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a US-based agency of the UN that focuses on financial inclusion and other forms of “sustainable development,” recently expanded the i3 program to China. The program, which already was operating in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam, is meant “to leverage digital technology and offer significant insights into low- and moderate-income (LMI) people’s needs, aspirations and behaviors in order to build and deliver financial services for the mass market.” Its name derives from the words innovate, implement and impact.
Funded by the MetLife Foundation, an affiliate of US-based insurer MetLife, i3 is implemented by UNCDF and MicroSave Consulting, an India-based consulting firm. The budget of the program has not been released.
The MetLife Foundation, which was established in 1976, made new commitments of USD 40 million in 42 countries during 2017. As of December 2017, it had total assets of USD 159 million.
Established in 1998, MicroSave is a for-profit company based in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. It serves financial institutions, telecommunications companies and other organizations that focus on delivering financial services to lower-income customers or the mass market in general. As of 2018, MicroSave had implemented projects in 56 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
UNCDF, which was founded in 1961, works to provide poor people in the world’s 47 least developed countries with “capital and technical support through Inclusive Finance programmes to ensure that more households and small businesses gain access to financial services.” During 2017, UNCDF received USD 60.3 million in contributions and supported 138 financial service providers that reported achieving a total increase in client deposits of USD 6.5 billion.
By Jolene Khor, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
UNCDF press release: “United Nations Workshop to Explore Lessons Learned from China’s Experience Using Technology to Advance Development”
https://www.uncdf.org/article/4533/unitaed-nations-workshop-to-explore-lessons-learned-from-chinas-experience-using-technology-to-advance-development
I3 program homepage
https://www.i3program.org
MetLife Foundation homepage
https://www.metlife.com/corporate-responsibility/metlife-foundation/
Guidestar data
https://www.guidestar.org/
MicroSave 2018 brochure
https://www.microsave.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/181211Corporate_brochure_MSC_web.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Subsidizes Singtel to Enable Mobile Remittances from Singapore to Myanmar
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-un-capital-development-fund-uncdf-subsidizes-singtel-to-enable-mobile-remittances-from-singapore-to-myanmar/
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