The digitalization of financial services and their use by low-income people is a topic of growing importance, not just for MFIs but for all kinds of providers who deliver services for low-income people. In November 2024, we ran a workshop on this issue at the e-MFP conference in Luxembourg.

The DiFF team is pleased to announce the release of a report, The Financial Ecosystem for Smallholder Farming Households in Lao PDR. The report maps the financial ecosystem for smallholder farmers in Laos and makes recommendations for stakeholders to develop the ecosystem while mitigating risks.

On Wednesday, 1 November, the DiFF team held a workshop at the Crowne Plaza in Vientiane to present the initial results of our exercise to map financial inlcusion stakeholders in Laos. Here we present the group discussion on the state of digital financial services in Laos and how the results of our work might be used.

As part of our workshop in Laos, the DiFF Team undertook a field study tour to a farm in Xienglom village in Luang Prabang Province on Wednesday 25 January 2023. The project team also had the opportunity to visit a local market to observe activities, especially the use of mobile money.

From 23-27 January 2023, members of the DiFF project team gathered for a workshop in Luang Prabang, Laos, to discuss the project objectives, concepts, research activities and methods, research questions and research planning for the immediate future and also for the next five years.