MicroSave, an international financial inclusion consulting firm, is set to launch the first Helix Digital Finance Training Institute in Nairobi, Kenya.
The inaugural training course on Agent Network Management will seek to help mobile network operators (MNOs), banks and third party providers create strategic action plans for the deployment, management and growth of their agents network.
Speaking to HumanIPO, Annabel Lee, marketing and communications for Helix, said the motivation to launch the the institute came from a global understanding that one of the biggest barriers preventing lower income earners from accessing digital financial services is the cost and complexity of building and managing sustainable agent networks across a broad geographic.
This led to the start of a four year global research project on the agent network business module run by MicroSave and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“We wanted to do something valuable with the exclusive, cutting-edge operational insights and data derived from the research,” said Lee.
“Hence, the launch of The Helix Institute of Digital Finance where these findings will be infused into the course curriculum, equipping participants to implement learnings and make impactful improvements to their agent network.
“Many mobile network operators try to emulate the success of M-Pesa, however not all elements of the business model apply to different environments geographically, we aim to train digital finance practitioners on best practices in digital financing and how to apply this to their environment.”
The Agent Network Accelerator training course will offer participants exclusive evidence-based operational insights, practical field visits to understand M-Pesa and bank models such as Equity Bank.
Additionally, there will be exclusive tools tailored for adapting action plans in local ecosystems as well as networking and technical assistance for selected participants.
The latter will involve two to three weeks consultancy from MicroSave, sponsored by the Gates Foundation.
The courses will take five days, four to six times every year, and will cater for up to 20 participants at a time.
The Helix Institute of Digital Finance will go on to offer courses beyond agent network management such as ‘Risk & Fraud Management’, ‘Data Analytics’ and ‘Behavioural Insights for Product Delivery’.
Tuition is US$4,500 for internationals to attend, excluding flights, with the local price US$3,400 excluding flights, accommodation and airport transport.
There are also scholarships being offered by the Gates Foundation, with more details available here.
