BFA has globally-recognized expertise in understanding financial behaviors and needs of low-income consumers. By identifying needs and balancing the realities of the supply side (financial services provider) and demand side (consumer), they create products and services that generate shared value for both sides.

They work successfully with institutions serving the poorest individuals
Such as individuals who earn $2 per day and below. While working with the Aga Khan Foundation and Selcom in Tanzania, they helped design and introduce a digital savings group product to women who earned less than $1 per person per day, many of whom are illiterate. Their Financial Diaries in Mozambique gathered data on households with earnings less than $0.50 per person per day and workshopped with financial service providers to create solutions for their needs.

They also address the needs of the working low income and the rising middle classes
Such as individuals who earn $5 per day, even up to $10 per day in some environments because they are still underserved and vulnerable. In their own research for the Credit at the Cusp project which they prepared with FSDA (Financial Sector Deepening Africa), they found that the income segment between $2 to $5 per person per day – often active earners – were indeed still quite vulnerable to slipping back into poverty. This particular segment, which they call “cuspers,” is becoming increasingly important as the middle class begins to expand in many developing economies.

As they leverage their technical expertise, a range of tools, and an open mind about what is possible for each income segment
They provide a distinctive view across low income livelihoods, gender, urban, and rural settings to allow providers to better target their acquisition and retention strategies.