Alliance Program
MFO has created the Alliance Program, through which we build and maintain relationships with stakeholders interested in promoting the financial capability of low-income people globally. MFO’s focus is on education and research, but we welcome alliances with financial service providers, regulators, philanthropic foundations, philanthropists, government ministries, other NGOs, activists, and consumer groups, to name a few.
The relationships we build through the Alliance Program will vary, depending on the stakeholder, but will fall into two main categories: Technical Assistance and Investments.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
MFO is a global leader in providing technical assistance to support the development and delivery of financial education content to low-income consumers; and to conduct original, field research on the financial capabilities of low-income consumers.
For example, in Zambia, MFO developed a set of training posters, agent flip-books, and customer workbooks in alliance with Vision Fund Zambia and the mobile money platform Zoona, to help their customers better understand how to use mobile phones to receive loan disbursements, make loan repayments, and improve their ability to track and manage their money.
In Papua New Guinea, MFO worked in alliance with the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme and the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) to implement a Financial Diaries project to better understand the financial behaviors of low-income individuals and households. BNPG and PFIP intend to use the data generated, and the analysis conducted by MFO to inform the countries’ financial inclusion policies and support financial service providers interested in developing and tailoring financial service products for low-income individuals and households.
Clients pay for MFO’s technical assistance through a variety of funding instruments: the Innovation Fund, the Prize Fund, Pay for Performance, and Fee for Service.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Philanthropic foundations, philanthropists, corporations, and other organizations interested in supporting MFO’s activities may choose to invest through three different funds managed by MFO: the Innovation Fund, the Prize Fund, or Pay for Performance.
MFO is registered with the Internal Revenue Service of the United States as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization able to accept tax-deductible grants and philanthropic support. We also accept program-related investments and venture-philanthropy investments. For more detail, download our most recent audited financial statement
MFO has a history of consumer research and financial education innovation. Our goal for this fund is to gain financial support from donors and venture philanthropists, which will be used to leverage technology in the development of engaging, low-cost financial education tools that will lead to more cost effective financial education for all. Financial service providers interested in testing innovations in financial education are welcome to inquire as to the availability of Innovation Funds for their project.
MFO is pioneering the use of Prize Funds in financial education. When funds are available, MFO will announce a competition in which financial service providers of all types (banks, microfinance institutions, mobile money platforms etc…) will compete for a prize. To win the prize, the competitors must achieve certain agreed upon results through the implementation of a financial education program. Depending on the funder, the results to be achieved might be established by MFO, or they might be negotiated — competitors “bid” for a certain prize in exchange for achieving a certain result. Donors and venture philanthropists interested in investing in this fund should contact Guy Stuart, Executive Director, at guystuart@mfopps.org or fill in the enquiry form.
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MFO offers clients the opportunity to pay its services on a Pay-for-Performance (PfP) basis. In such an arrangement, MFO and the client jointly invest in a project and MFO only gets paid if the project performs as agreed. For example, a bank hires MFO to provide financial education to customers to conduct more transactions with branchless banking agents and move away from using bank tellers. The bank agrees to commit certain of its own resources to the project and to pay MFO for each additional transaction performed with a branchless banking agent.
MFO will finance its up-front investment in PfP through its Venture Fund, which will, in turn, be repaid from the proceeds of the project. Donors and venture philanthropists interested in investing in this fund should contact Guy Stuart, Executive Director, at guystuart@mfopps.org or fill our an enquiry form.
MFO will also provide consumer research and financial education consulting services on a traditional Fee-for-Service (FfS) basis. FfS is convenient for a client who has a clear idea of the problem they are trying to address and is looking for a quick solution.
Click here to enquire about MFO’s daily rates and staff or associates’ availability for Fee-for-Service assignments.
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