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Expression Of Interest For Cgap: Dfs Consumer Risks In Rwanda Description: About Cgapthe Consultative Group To Assist The Poor (Cgap) Is A Global Partnership Of More Than 30 Leading Development Organizations That Works To Advance The Lives Of People Living In Poverty, Especially Women, Through Financial Inclusion. Cgap Is Housed In And Administered By The World Bank. Cgap Works At The Frontier Of Inclusive Finance To Test Solutions, Spark Innovation, Generate Evidence, And Share Insights. Cgap Knowledge Enables Public And Private Stakeholders To Scale Solutions That Make Financial Ecosystems Meet The Needs Of Poor, Vulnerable, And Underserved People And Of Micro And Small Enterprises (Mses), Including Through Advancing WomenS Economic Empowerment.Cgap Is Guided By A Five-Year Strategy And Annual Workplans. The Current CgapS Five-Year Strategy Covers The Period Of 2023 To 2028 (Cgap Vii Strategy) And Will Contribute To Making Financial Ecosystems Meet The Needs Of Everyone Including Those Living In Poverty And Micro And Small Firms To Enhance Their Resiliency To Shocks And Their Ability To Seize Economic Opportunities And To Participate In A Green Transition. To Achieve This Objective, A Critical Goal Of Cgap Vii Is To Go Beyond Fostering An Increase In The Breadth And Depth Of Financial Inclusion, I.E., In The Access And Usage Of Financial Services, To Also Focus On The Utility Of Financial Inclusion. That Is, On Enhancing The Practical Benefits And Positive Outcomes Financial Inclusion Generates.To Achieve This, Cgap Will Focus On Contributing To The Following Outcomes Through Our Work Program: High-Level Outcomes· Mobilizing Financial Services For Climate Adaptation, Mitigation And A Just Transition· Mobilizing Financial Services For Building Resilience To Shocks And Managing Risks· Mobilizing Financial Services For Women And Mses To Capture Economic Opportunitiesand To Enable These Outcomes, Cgap Will Focus On The Following Intermediary Outcome And Foundational Work:Intermediary Outcomes· Increasing The Breadth And Depth Of Financial Inclusion Foundational Outcomes· Promoting Enabling Responsible Financial Ecosystems And Enabling Financial Sector Policies And Regulations· Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Impact Investing In Inclusive Finance And The Inclusiveness Of Carbon Markets· Generating Evidence Of What Works, Where, And For Whom.Implementing A Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem In Rwandain The Past Decade, Technology Advances Have Significantly Enhanced Access And Usage Of Financial Services, Helping Millions Of New Consumers Build Resilience And Seize Economic Opportunities. It Is Therefore Critical To Continue To Enable Innovation To Foster Financial Inclusion. At The Same Time, The Complexity Of The Digital Finance Ecosystem, With The Emergence Of Many New Types Of Providers And Technology Enabled Services And Regulations, Also Brings New Challenges To Consumers, Especially Those Who Are Less Digitally Literate, As Well As To Regulators Who Are Falling Behind. All The Efforts Made Thus Far In Ensuring That Consumers Are Protected From Digital Finance Risks Have Not Been Sufficient And We See Fast Growing Risks That Could Significantly Reduce Consumers Trust And Financial Services Utility. CgapS 2022 Global Research On Digital Financial Services (Dfs) Consumer Risks Highlights Fast Growth Of Fraud And Data Misuse For Example, And Recent Research In The West African Economic And Monetary Union (Waemu) Shows That Close To 90% Of Dfs Consumers Have Faced Some Form Of Risk When Using Them And Close To 40% Have Lost Money Doing So. In This Increasingly Complex Environment For Consumers, A More Ambitious And Holistic Approach Is Required To Ensure That Digital Finance Ecosystems Become More Responsible In The Face Of Rapid Innovation.The Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem (Rdfe) Project Aims To Influence Country-Level Policy Makers And Other Market Actors To Take Steps To Make Their Digital Finance Ecosystems More Responsible To Consumers, Especially Women, By Preventing, Assessing, And Mitigating Consumer Risks, And Contributing To Positive Outcomes For Them. The Project Will Also Seek To Help Partners In Pilot Countries, Especially Policy Makers And Dfs Providers, Make Their Digital Finance Ecosystem More Responsible And Ultimately Improve Customer Experience. At The Global Level, The Project Will Ensure That Key Actors Involved In Digital Finance Understand The Rdfe Approach And That Funders As Well As Global Industry And Policy Organizations Promote The Entire Approach Or Part Of It.As Part Of The Rdfe Project, Cgap Has Developed A Conceptual Framework That Seeks To Encourage Financial Sector Authorities, And Other Key Ecosystem Actors, That Include Other Institutions Such As Telecommunication And Data Authorities, Dfs Providers, Consumer Representatives, And Market Facilitators To Come Together To Safeguard Consumers From Potential Harm And Ensure That Digital Financial Services Enrich Their Lives. It Outlines Four Key Components, Customer Centricity, Collaboration, Capability, And Commitment, And Draws On Real-Life Examples And Case Studies To Provide A Framework For Financial Consumer Protection. The Rdfe Conceptual Framework Will Be Piloted In Two Countries, Of Which Rwanda Is One Of Them. The Specific Objectives Of The Rdfe Pilot In Rwanda Are To: Project Background 1. Enable Digital Finance Ecosystem Actors, Especially Financial Sector Authorities, To Better Address Digital Finance Consumer Risks Through Enhanced Identification, Prevention, And Mitigation. 2. Foster An Environment Where Providers Offer More Responsible Digital Finance, Particularly To Women And Consumers Experiencing Vulnerability, In Ways That Lead To Positive Outcomes. Digital Financial Services Have Expanded Quickly In The Past Ten Years In Sub-Saharan Africa (Ssa) Essentially Through The Rise Of Mobile Money Services. East African Countries Like Kenya And Tanzania Are The Home Of The Most Advanced Dfs Markets, Including The Proliferation Of Digital Credit Products. The Rapid Advance Of Dfs Has Greatly Contributed To Increasing Financial Inclusion In Ssa. According To Findex 2021, Sub-Saharan Africa Was The Only Region Where The Share Of Adults With A Mobile Money Account Exceeded 30 Percent. According To RwandaS 2024 Finscope Survey, 86% Of Rwandan Adults Own A Mobile Money Account Or Have Used Mobile Money, While The Country Has A Financial Inclusion Rate Of 96%. Thus, Digital Technology And Particularly Mobile Money Is Driving Financial Inclusion In Rwanda.At The Same Time, This Rapid Expansion Comes With Risks For Customers. Although A National Dfs Customer Risk Assessment Has Not Yet Been Conducted In Rwanda, Experiences From West Africa And Other Countries Such As Tanzania, Kenya, Bangladesh, India, And The Philippines, Indicate That Numerous Risks Can Be Anticipated. National Bank Of Rwanda (Nbr)S 2021 Customer Satisfaction Survey Involving 835 Digital Finance Respondents, Majority (91%) Of Whom Were Mobile Money Users, Shows That 52% Of Mobile Money Clients Were Not Satisfied By The Complaints Handling Process And More Than Half Of Those Cited Delays In Getting Responses To Complaints As The Main Challenge. The Respondents Also Mentioned Challenges Relating To The Availability Of Financial Services And Security Of Funds. Although The Digital Credit Market Is Still Small In Rwanda, It May Also Add Specific Risks Like Over-Indebtedness Or The Risk Of Being Negatively Listed In A Credit Bureau For Delinquency On A Digital Loan, Potentially Excluding Them From Future Formal Credit As Research In Kenya And Tanzania Has Revealed. The Rwanda Contextrwanda Offers A Unique Opportunity For Implementing The Rdfe Framework Due To The Rapid Growth Of Dfs. According To The 2024 Finscope Survey, 6.9 Million Adults (86%) Reported Using Mobile Money, With Mobile Wallet Registrations Increasing From 60% In 2020 To 77% In 2024. Mobile Money Transactions Extend Beyond Remittances To Include Airtime Purchases And Bill Payments. The Digital Credit Market Is Still Nascent, With One Of The Two Mobile Money Providers, Mtn Money, And A Few Other Regulated Financial Institutions Offering Digital Loans.Rwanda Aims To Become A Regional Fintech Hub And Has Developed A Comprehensive Fintech Policy And Strategy. This Initiative Is Overseen By A Steering Committee That Includes Nbr, The Ministry Of Ict And Innovation, The Ministry Of Finance And Economic Planning, The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, And The Capital Markets Authority. Additionally, Rwanda Finance Limited, Which Shoulders The Task Of Establishing Rwanda As A Regional Fintech Hub, And Industry Associations Representing Banks, Insurance Companies, Microfinance Institutions, And The Fintech Association Are Part Of The Steering Committee. The Policy Is Implemented Through Four Working Groups Paytech And Credit; Alternative Finance; Wealthtech And Insuretech; And Regtech And Suptech That Promote Inter-Governmental Coordination. Given This Context, RwandaS Dfs Ecosystem Is Still Evolving And Holds Significant Potential For The Diversification Of Digital Finance Products. This Evolution May Introduce New Dfs Risks Or Increase The Complexity Of Existing Ones. Therefore, A Proactive And Ecosystem-Wide Approach Is Necessary, Involving All Key Dfs Stakeholders, Including Those Outside The Financial Sector. This Approach Aims To Identify, Assess, And Mitigate Customer Risks That Could Lead To Negative Experiences And Outcomes, Rather Than Relying Solely On Reactive, Institution-Specific Strategies.Key Stakeholders In Rwanda Have Already Implemented Several Mechanisms To Promote Consumer Protection. N Tender Link : Https://Wbgeprocure-Rfxnow.Worldbank.Org/Rfxnow/Public/Advertisement/4481/View.Html
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