"I received money on my wallet awhile back. I went to the neighbouring village located at 3 km, impossible to cash it out. I had to take a moto taxi and go 8 km farther to do my operation. Between the transport and the cash-out costs, I lost $8 of the initial amount I should receive." Mohamed Tidiane Cisse, a 32-year-old shopkeeper from Nioro de Rip, shares this experience that highlights the potential impact of a solution developed by the Senegalese fintech Intouch.¹ This innovative solution is a unique interface that allows digital finance operations with multiple service providers. It is part of a rural agent expansion project supported by the UNCDF MM4P programme, which counts as one of its intervention strategies in Senegal the promotion of prototypes that demonstrate the opportunities that exist for digital finance in the country. Mr. Cisse is one of the first rural agents who has settled in Nioro for this project.

The project emerged to address the low penetration of digital financial services in rural areas of Senegal. A map of digital finance points, prepared by MIX Market with support from UNCDF, revealed that—across 21 departments (home to 3.7 million Senegalese)—there were fewer than five access points per 10,000 inhabitants.² Preliminary analysis also identified priority areas where a deployment of additional agents could bridge this difference in terms of financial service access. Among these were Foundiougne, Nioro and Velingara departments.

The Intouch solution, which addresses most customer needs from a single interface, is distributed by agents recruited in the areas mentioned above. Deployment began in December 2017 in Nioro and Foundiougne departments, where respectively 97 and 24 points have been installed and are operating (at least one transaction in the last 30 days). In total, 368 agents will be installed by January 2019.

Initial challenges experienced in this first phase have been linked to basic infrastructure. Mr. Cisse explains: "There is often no network here, and sometimes the phone turns off in the middle of the transaction as the battery is low. We do not have electricity; we use solar.” Yet, he is convinced of the potential of his new business, which could be even more profitable without these two constraints. Highly motivated, he seeks to circumvent these obstacles and does not hesitate to climb a tree to access the network or to send the phone battery to charge a few kilometres from the village. Thanks to his new business, Mr. Cisse sees within two months that he makes life easier for about 50 people from his village. The enthusiasm of villagers pushes him to find solutions for limited connectivity, while also suggesting that there is an opportunity for mobile operators or providers of network amplification solutions (e.g., amplifiers, GSM repeaters).

Although it is premature to draw conclusions, the interest shown by the rural agents and their satisfaction with the business opportunity are both encouraging. In coming days, the departments of Kanel and Podor will host the second phase of the project's deployment. New challenges will undoubtedly be identified, along with successes hoped for by digital finance customers and providers alike. MM4P will keep you posted!

^{1. Interview was conducted with Mr. Cisse by Bery Dieye Kandji in Pass Ngayenne (Nioro de Rip department) on 9 February 2018.↩}

^{2. Microfinance Information Exchange, ‘Senegal – Key Findings.’ Available from https://finclusionlab.org/country/Senegal/analytics?title=Key-Findings (accessed 3 April 2018).↩}