VF Refugee lending innovations shared at UNHCR event

VisionFund’s Global Resource Development and Management Director, Rory Bruce, was invited to speak as part of a panel at a cross-sector UNHCR event at the London offices of Law Firm DLA Piper on June 5th.

The event brought together investors, humanitarian agencies and financial inclusion providers to raise awareness about the refugee community as an investable and credible proposition. And to preview a new UNHCR Report, Roadmaps for Enhancing the Investment Climate for Refugee Economic Empowerment.

Introducing the event, Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations, said, “True inclusion goes further with credit and Insurance, and mobile banking. But most forcibly displaced people remain unbanked and financially excluded. 1 in 67 people alive today on Earth are forcibly displaced. This work is not just about bringing a blanket. After a few weeks it’s about bringing solutions to help refugees thrive. How can we engage in long term development while also looking at market realities? Displaced people not just recipients of aid. They are economic actors. Ready to be empowered and included.”

VisionFund was invited to share its experiences on a panel titled ‘Innovating Access: Financial services and regulation that work’.

Rory Bruce detailed VisionFund’s innovation with refugees in Uganda.

“We saw a real need in Northern Uganda with South Sudanese refugees,” he said. “We did a market study in 2019 and have been lending ever since. But we recognised our products were not suitable for South Sudanese refugees. We saw they were lending to each otherin savings groups. So we designed a new product to lend to these groups - FAST. By lending to the group, it created trust as women do their businesses together. We saw it worked in a higher risk context and scaled it elsewhere.”

Bruce also called for “A change in perception when we talk about refugees. It takes time”, he said. “Because there is a belief that Portfolio At Risk (PAR) is much higher with refugees. It’s key to have refugees themselves as loan officers; they stay in the refugee camps. VisionFund has this in Uganda. Working in partnership is essential.”