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The State of Linkage Report was recently commissioned by Barclays, CARE International and Plan UK in order to provide, for the first time, a global mapping of linkage activity - the process through which informal savings groups are able to access products and services from formal financial service providers. The report identifies where linkage is taking place, the organisations that are currently linking to savings groups and the kind of products and services that are being offered.

On February 17, we heard how leading organisations are helping to link significant numbers of savings groups, what they have learned on the journey, and their personal reflections on the state of linkage.

This webinar was hosted by SEEP's Savings-Led Working Group.

Related Resources

The State of Linkage Report: The first global mapping of savings group linkage

Speakers

Brendan Ahern - Senior Associate, Bankable Frontier Associates

Brendan Ahern specializes in creating and developing business models and financial analytics tools for banks and financial service providers seeking to reach client segments historically underserved within their respective markets. His work also focuses on the costing of alternative banking delivery channels such as agent networks and the costing and usage of specific payment instruments, including card and mobile, and how these elements influence provider business models. Working on behalf of the bankers’ association of a large east African country, Brendan recently co-created and developed a model of the cost and revenue synergies associated with the installation of a domestic financial ‘switch’ capable of processing upwards of two billion transactions, which would drive substantially greater levels of interoperability across retail and financial sectors. Prior to joining BFA, Brendan performed econometric research on international housing microfinance markets and authored a global comparative analysis of the potential market and impact of this type of finance in developing countries. In a related role, he also served as regional planning consultant to the municipal government of Casablanca, Morocco working on the development of a sustainable program of long-term infrastructure planning. Brendan holds an M.C.P. (City Planning) from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.T. (Teaching) from Pace University, and a B.A. (History) from Cornell University.

Joseph Fetaa - Assistant Vice President, Retail Assets & Customer Value Management, Barclays Uganda

Joseph Fetaa is the Assistant Vice President - Retail Assets & Customer Value Management at Barclays Bank Uganda. Joseph has over 11 years of banking experience spanning from microfinance to commercial banking fields. He holds certificates in various fields of banking, audit, credit risk management and in the social innovation space with CARE Uganda. Other areas of expertise include: product development and management, audit and credit risk management, branch sales, relationship and operations management. Joseph is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Admin from Edinburgh Business School after graduating from Makerere University with a degree in Economics.

Prabhat Labh - Program Manager, Financial Inclusion, The MasterCard Foundation

Prabhat Labh is a financial inclusion and international development expert with two decades of experience working in Asia, Africa and North America. Currently, as Program Manager - Financial Inclusion at the MasterCard Foundation, Prabhat manages a portfolio of projects aimed at scaling access to savings services specifically targeted at highly excluded and low income populations in over a dozen countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Prabhat’s areas of interest includes savings-led financial services, informal savings groups and their linkage to financial service providers, design and deployment of innovative technology solutions for sustainable last mile access and cross-sector partnerships.

Melch Muhame Natukunda - VSLA Products Manager, Barclays Uganda

Melch Muhame Natukunda is a Product Manager, Village Savings and Loans Association. He is responsible for supporting the VSLA product roll out at the bank and relationship management with all stakeholders. Since 2009, Melch worked at CARE Uganda - Women and Youth Financial Inclusion Program (WAYFIP) - as a Program Coordinator, supporting the Banking on Change Project.

Matt Wilson - Global Community Investment, Barclays

Matt Wilson is Assistant Vice President, Global Community Investment, at Barclays where he is responsible for the bank's Banking on Change partnership. Prior to this role he worked for Barclays’ Social Innovation team and was Global Programme and Partnership Manager at UNICEF UK. He has a M.Sc. in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh.