Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, governments and donors have significantly expanded the use of cash transfers to alleviate poverty and address other developmental needs such as education and health (Garcia and Moore 2012). These programs to “just give money to the poor” have been called a “development revolution” for their positive influences and administrative simplicity (Hanlon et al. 2010). Typically, these provide small cash grants at regular intervals to poor or vulnerable populations, most often to directly alleviate poverty but also to boost education or health. In addition to the direct goals of these initiatives, the aid industry has begun to explore ancillary benefi ts and opportunities.